The influences of the TEM tests on English majors

1、the influences of the tem tests on english majorstem tests are national designed english examination projects. it include: tem-4 and tem-8. the second year english-major students can take the tem-4 and the fourth year students can take the tem-8. tem tests have been taken by millions of chinese stud

2、ents over the last 20 years. the tem tests are like a compass to students who major in english. it has a tremendous influence on different generations of students, especially us, not only by improving our english skills but by helping us master the english language. this test has a strong influence

3、on us. what are they?outline:. background informationa. assessing the english level of chinese students when they enter universityb. the goals of teaching english to english majors in chinese universities. research processa. interviewb. summary of interviews. other influences of tem testsa. the infl

4、uence on students mastering english skillsb. the influence on the psychology of english learners . the future development of tem testsa. how will tem tests develop?b. some suggestions are provided to the development of tem tests . conclusion appendix sources .background information a. assessing the

5、english level of chinese students when they enter universityfor most freshmen, their english level has been improved a lot these five years. they have a general knowledge of english grammar and a vocabulary of 2500 to 3500 words, but also very limited. another problem is that most of the students ha

6、ve difficulties in their oral english, such as they tend to use english words in chinese structures when they are communicating with english native speakers, a lack of understanding of the english culture, and a lack of conversational competence. lots of chinese education experts already know this a

7、nd they are taking measures to solve these problems. these measures can also be reflected on the questions of the tem tests.b. the goals of teaching english to english majors in chinese universities 1. words: tem4-8000 words; tem8-12000 words. 2. listening skills: students should understand english

8、native speakers and english tv programs and newspapers. 3. speaking skills: students should speak fluently with english native speakers and be able to exactly express own feelings. (a study of college english learning strategies, wang limei, 2002). research processa. interview(i have interviewed doz

9、ens of students, the five interviewees below are somewhat representative and they are all translated from chinese versions)interview 1tem tests are very important to our english major students. if we can get the certificate of tem-8, we can more easily get a good job; and also it can prove our engli

10、sh ability.interview 2i do not attach much importance to this test because my father owns a company and i do not need to worry about a job in the future.interview 3i have prepared for this test for a long time. i listen to voa every day and have a habit of reading english newspapers such as china da

11、ily so that i can expand my vocabulary. i hope i will be successful in the coming tem-4.interview 4my sister also majored in english. she said she would get a much better job if she had studied hard and got the certificate of tem-8. her words have a strong effect on me. so i think it is the most imp

12、ortant examination for me.interview 5i am good at english listening, reading and writing, but i have problem in oral english. so i worry about whether i can pass the tem oral test or not. god bless me!b. summary of interviews the interviews show that most students in our college attach much importan

13、ce to tem tests. they can well coordinate their preparation to the tem tests. on the whole, tem tests are important, because1. if one gets the certificate of the tem-8, it will be easier to find a good job and a better future.2. during the process of preparation for tem tests, one can improve his kn

14、owledge of english language and expand his vocabulary.however, some problems are also shown. they are1. some students are under great pressure of this test. they are too worried about it, which may have a negative effect on their mental health.2. some students connect this test with money. if their

15、family is somewhat wealthy, they will look down upon this test. this may lead to complete failure of their college academic studies. other influences of tem testsa. the influence on students mastering english skillsin the reading, listening, writing and translation parts of tem tests, students abili

16、ties are improved a lot. for example, before this test, therere a lot of students developing habits on reading which affect their reading ability greatly: they are accustomed to murmuring when reading. this may be unscientific, but they pay much attention to the word and pay less attention to the wh

17、ole text which will have an adverse effect upon the entire understanding as well as reading speed. after the tem tests, students listening, writing and translation abilities will also improve a lot. before the test, students will require doing lots of listening exercises which cover almost all the s

18、ituations they will meet in the real life, they can also understand the news broadcast better than before(such as voa, cnn). (a study of relationships between the sub-tem4 scores of high-score & low-score groups and their language learning strategies, liu zhengqian, 2005)b. the influence on the psyc

19、hology of english learnersas we all know, tem tests have their strict time limit. so tem tests will also have a strong effect on students psychology. at the start of the test, one should develop self-confidence. with the exception of that, one should follow the principle from easy to hard. at the sa

20、me time, one should also be calm, patient enough and avoid being complaining and remorse when they meet difficulties or forget the spelling of a certain word. these traits play a dominant role in our life. after passing the tem tests, they will find their psychological qualities are also improved. t

21、his may be the extra gift that tem tests give them. (the mental and english study influences of tem-4 test, sun jun, 2001). the future development of tem tests a. how will tem tests develop? this test will add some grammar concepts in order to encourage students to master english well. and also the

22、experts said this test would have a closer relationship with life. so students should develop their skills through practical exercises, not only books. b. some suggestions to the development of tem tests1. this test can be more frequently held so that it can reduce the feeling of frustration of the

23、students who fail the exam.2. this test can add more practical questions and can be more creative. . conclusion throughout this paper i have tried to show that it is one-sided that we merely emphasize on passing the tem tests. not only should we have a good knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, target c

24、ulture understanding, but also psychological qualities. we can take advantage of this test to improve us. if one ignores this test, he will lose lots of opportunities to improve himself. appendix: directed by professor lauren mcinnis.works cited(in the mla style)1, frederiksen, norman. influences of

25、 testing on teaching and learning. mar.1984 note: this one is good because it is relative to my topic and also very specific. 2, kristinlewis1 and johnwilding. influences of test expectations on memory-processing strategies. volume1, number1, 1981 note: this one is good because it tells me what the

26、influences are and at the same time very professional. 3, 孫君. 論英語專業(yè)四級考試對學生英語學習和心理的影響.2001年 第3卷 第03期 sun jun. the mental and english study influences of tem-4 test. the third edition,2001. note: this one is good because it is exactly relative to my topic and very helpful to my research. 4, 孫廣平. 談英語學習

27、策略與大學生英語學習成績的關系. 2006年 第03期. sun guangping. the students selection and application of leaning strategies are closely related to their achievements in english. the third edition, 2006. note: this one is good because it tells us how to learn english efficiency and that is the purpose of my research. 5

28、, 劉振前,. 高、低分組分項四級成績與學習策略的關系研究. 2005年 第22卷 第02期 liu zhengqian. a study of relationships between the sub-tem4 scores of high-score & low-score groups and their language learning strategies. 2005. note: this one is good because it tells me some skills in achieving high marks and i can use it in my research paper. j 6, 王莉梅,. 大學英語學習策略研究.2002年 第1卷 第02期 wang limei. a study of college english learning strategies. 2002 . note: this one is good because the strat