Volume 4, Issue 2 August 2021, pp. 38–58 
Regular Articles
Perceived effects of CET4 test preparation, language ability, and test performance: An exploratory study of Chinese EFL learners
Jiuliang Li 
1
1 Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, CHINA 
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29140/lea.v4n2.480
Abstract
This study examined the perceived effects of test preparation for College English Test Band 4 (CET4) on development of language ability and test performance, which has not received sufficient attention previously. A total of 79 undergraduate students from two classes in a Chinese university participated in the study. At the end of the CET4 preparation program provided by the university, the participants completed a questionnaire indicating their perceived improvement in the various attributes (language skill development, skill understanding, test-taking strategies and confidence) in relation to writing, listening, reading, and translating measured by the test. Six participants took part in one-to-one interviews to provide detailed information about their perceived effectiveness of learning as a result of the preparation program. Overall participants thought they made more progress in reading and translating, but less in listening and writing. Regression analyses mainly established that the perceived improvements of most of the attributes and language abilities are significant predictors of students’ anticipated and actual CET4 performance. Implications for test preparation programs, language learners and instructors are discussed with reference to how to facilitate learners’ learning and development of language ability and how to improve performance on future tests.
Copyright
© Jiuliang Li
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Suggested citation
Li, J. (2021). Perceived effects of CET4 test preparation, language ability, and test performance: An exploratory study of Chinese EFL learners. Language Education & Assessment, 4(2), 38–58. https://doi.org/10.29140/lea.v4n2.480
Related Articles:
TOEFL iBT Training in the CALL Classroom
Aaron P. Campbell, Richard Silver
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 August, 2011, Volume 7(2), 217–229. 
EFL student and faculty perceptions of and attitudes towards online testing in the medium of Blackboard: Promises and challenges
Abdulaziz I. Fageeh
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 30 April, 2015, Volume 11(1), 41–62.
EFL students’ readiness for e-learning: Factors influencing e-learners’ acceptance of the Blackboard in a Saudi university
Abdulaziz Ibraheem Fageeh
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 30 April, 2011, Volume 7(1), 19–42.
Effects of Blackboard on EFL academic writing and attitudes
Abdulaziz Fageeh, Mohamed Amin A. Mekheimer
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 August, 2013, Volume 9(2), 169–196.
Touch the page and mimic me: Evaluation of a talking-pen learning tool
Abigail Odakura
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 December, 2013, Volume 9(3), 287–295.
A survey of Japanese university students' computer literacy skills
Adam Murray, Andrew Blyth
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 December, 2011, Volume 7(3), 307–318.
Negotiating intercultural spaces and teacher identity in an internationalised school in Shanghai
Adam Poole
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 23 August, 2019, Volume 2(2), 59–70.
Designing a course in intercultural education
Adrian Holliday
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 11 August, 2018, Volume 1(1), 4–11.
Encouraging autonomy through the use of a social networking system
Adrian Leis
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 30 April, 2014, Volume 10(1), 69–80.
(Re)imagining a course in language and intercultural communication for the 21st century
Adriana Raquel Diaz, Paul J. Moore
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 83–99.
