REFLECTIONS UPON THE BACCALAUREATE EFL TESTS AS A SOURCE OF AND A MEANS FOR INNOVATION AND CHANGE IN ELT IN ALGERIA

Abstract

This thesis serves to introduce the issues and concerns of language testing at large within the Algerian context. In line with such ‘worries’, a two-fold question, the what-to-teach question and the how-to-teach question, de facto, is brought to the forefront as it forms an integral part of the platform underlying the problematics of the present research work. Undoubtedly, teacher knowledge and the oft-held beliefs are of paramount importance in the success of the teaching-learning process. The knowledge that teachers have and the beliefs they hold about teaching and learning are likely to affect their abilities to adopt innovative and change-oriented approaches. Admittedly, it is the teachers who have the most meaningful role in initiating the culture of innovation and change (bottom-up), a process that cannot be implemented by policy decisions alone (top-down). The assertions made, the proposals advocated and the suggestions put forward initially represent the visions of players (teachers and students), stakeholders (administration and the general public). These were collected through interviews, structured, semi-structured and unstructured, and formal and informal discussions. Worth-noting here is that the Baccalaureate, as a high-stakes exam, has always been used as a lever of change as well as a valid tool for providing information to several concerns in the field of education in general and to ELT in particular; this being our direct concern. In this context, EFL Baccalaureate exams can provide a clear and vivid picture of ELT in Algeria. From a broader angle, the Baccalaureate examination gives an evidence of the results of the learning environment. Surprisingly, perhaps, this idea has become a common belief among teachers, school administration and students’ parents that high pass rates in the Baccalaureate reflect undeniably the teacher success and his competence and the seriousness of the educational institution. In effect, the present work strives to come up with an ensemble of ideas making up a model that may serve as a conceptual framework for better testing that hopefully will positively affect the teaching-learning process of EFL at different levels of the education system. In conclusion, it should be noted that many of the ideas developed in this doctoral thesis grew out of a Magister dissertation which was presented by the researcher in June 2009.