Washback effect of KET Exam in learning English as a foreign language

As learning a foreign language has become one of the necessities in our daily life, tests to assess the learner during the learning process take the major role in this period. The influence of tests on teaching and learning practices is called "washback".This washback effect whether positive or negative has an important place in the language learning period. During the preparation process for a test, this washback effect either positive or negative occurs. There are different types of tests in the English language as it is one of the most used lingua francas in the world. Therefore, washback effect varies according to the type of the tests. The study was conducted on an English teacher and 20 participants from 7th grade students in Çukurova Bilfen College in Adana. Video recordings of the KET exam preparation classes and general English classes, interviews with the teachers and a questionnaire with the students were done to collect the data. The results of this study aimed to show the nature and the scope of washback effects of the KET preparation program on classroom practices and interactions including the teachers? and students? thoughts about this preparation process. Keywords: Washback, KET Exam, Test Preparation