Teaching English in Vietnam : improving the provisionin the private sector (original) (raw)
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Factors affecting teaching and learning English in Vietnamese universities
By conducting qualitative research inviting the voice of university students and recent graduates regarding the teaching and learning of English at tertiary level in Vietnam, this research aims to investigate the factors affecting the English teaching practices in Vietnamese universities. It is suggested that developing foreign language skills, especially English skills has become one of the key factors helping Vietnamese higher education accelerate its internationalisation process and integration into the international academic community. However, with the current English teaching practices, the task of enhancing English development for university students does not seem to be implemented successfully. There is a need to redesign English classes, to reconsider the aim and the focus of English teaching in English non-specialised programs, to create more culturally oriented and interactive language activities, and to allocate more time and resources to better address various needs in English teaching and learning at tertiary level.
The introduction of English in primary education curricula is a phenomenon occurring in many non-English-speaking countries in Asia, including Vietnam. Recently, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in Vietnam issued guidelines for the piloting of an English as a foreign language (EFL) primary curriculum in which English is taught as a compulsory subject from Grade 3; however, there is limited research on the practices required to successfully implement this policy. This paper reports on a study that looked at the implementation of the primary English language policy in terms of the policy goals in two primary schools, one private and the other public, in Hanoi to shed light on the practice of EFL teaching at the primary level in Vietnam. The research was conducted as an exploratory case study with data collected from multiple sources, including classroom observations and interviews with different stakeholders. The results revealed variation in the implementation of primary English education between the two schools, with the private school providing better outcomes. The language planning issues discussed in this study, including teacher supply, training and professional development, resourcing, teaching methods, and materials, have been raised in previous educational research in Vietnam. However, despite being a new start to primary English, the 2010 programme seems to have done little to improve policy implementation in these areas, hindering the effectiveness of teaching English in schools. This study suggests a number of ways the current situation might be improved.
A J A L Teaching English to young learners in Vietnam: From policy to implementation
The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2019
This paper analyses and evaluates the current national language policy adopted at the Vietnamese primary education level and its implementation in classroom practice. The study was conducted as an exploratory case study with data from three viewpoints to explore how well the language policy is enacted in state schools in Vietnam. The findings reveal that the policy has brought considerable benefits to Vietnamese educational stakeholders. Vietnam has witnessed a lot of responses to this national language policy such as restructuring the English programmes, writing a new series of textbooks; and training and retraining English primary school teachers. However, the policy also shows a lack of alignment with its implementation due to poor planning.
In the Resolution 29/NQ-TW (2014), the Party’s Central Executive Committee has established the strong determination of fundamental and comprehensive renovation in education and training to meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization in the conditions of our current socialism-oriented market economy and global integration. Within such an educational, social and economic context of teaching and learning English, Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has proposed the Foreign Language Teaching and Learning Project in the National Education System in the stage 2008 to 2020 (called Project 2020 for short). This Project 2020, can be seen as a remarkable landmark in renovating and modernizing the English teaching and learning processes in Vietnam. However, how can we achieve the targets set forward in the Project and whether this Project will be able to be successful or not? There are still some concerns I would like to share in this essay.
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Interrogating Troubling Issues in Vietnam’s English Language Teacher Education, 2020
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English as a Medium of Instruction: Challenges for Vietnamese Tertiary Lecturers
The development of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) is of great interest to language and language policy researchers in an era of globalization and internationalization. Despite recognition of a number of implementational problems and constraints, EMI has been widely introduced into various non-native English-speaking (NNES) countries. The question of what challenges face stakeholders in the implementation of EMI was our major focus in a two-year project that investigated a new EMI undergraduate program in Vietnam. Selected findings from the study's interview component reveal that lecturers were challenged by their own language abilities, students' language competence and learning styles, pedagogical issues, and resource availability. Based on these findings, suggestions are made for enhancing the success of similar programs.
Un(intended) Language Planning in a Globalising World: Multiple Levels of Players at Work, 2018
English education reforms have been implemented across Asia in response to globalisation and the increasing spread of English as an international language. This has created both opportunities and challenges for local systems of English language education in non-English speaking countries. This chapter critically examines the role of English education in Vietnam in view of the broad context of the globalisation of English. It starts with a discussion on how globalisation has impacted English language education in general and in Vietnam in particular. It includes a review on the current reforms in English education policy, which is followed by a discussion of three empirical case study findings on the English education policy implementation in Vietnam. The chapter concludes by highlighting the possible implications for policymakers and language educators in Vietnam. Authors: Hoa Thi Mai Nguyen, Huong Thu Nguyen, Huy Van Nguyen, Trang Thi Thuy Nguyen. Please cite (APA): Nguyen, H. T. M., Nguyen, H. T., Nguyen, H. V., & Nguyen, T. T. T. (2018). Local challenges to global needs in English language education in Vietnam: The perspective of language policy and planning. In P. C. G. Lian, C. Chua, K. Taylor-Leech & C. Williams (Eds.), Un(intended) Language Planning in a Globalising World: Multiple Levels of Players at Work (pp. 214-233). Warsaw: De Gruyter Open.
Portraits of Vietnamese teachers of English: an inquiry into their language proficiency development
For non-native English speaking (NNES) teachers, the most important professional duty beyond teaching their students is to develop their own foreign language proficiency (Medgyes, 2001). However, most in-service professional development activities tend to take NNES teachers' English proficiency development for granted. The results of a nationwide evaluation of the current teaching workforce in Vietnam during 2011-2012 identified in-service English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' low level of language proficiency as an inherent problem of English education in Vietnam. This thesis explores the perceptions of Vietnamese primary and secondary EFL teachers regarding their English proficiency and the level they consider as necessary for their teaching in comparison with the standard mandated by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). The thesis also investigates teachers' attitudes towards English proficiency development, and the characteristics of their language practice. This research employed a mixed-methods design using a combination of a self-rated English language proficiency survey, semi-structured interviews, and narrative inquiry. The survey collected responses from 298 in-service EFL teachers participating in professional development courses in four provinces of Northern Vietnam. Forty-two teachers were then selected for the semi-structured interviews. Of these participants, five were chosen and then repeatedly interviewed using narrative-inquiry techniques over a ten-week period. The findings indicate that participants' perceived English proficiency was significantly higher than both the level they perceived as required for their teaching practice and the English proficiency level mandated by MOET. Participants were found to have confidence to teach English mainly as a content-subject rather than as a means of communication, partly due to the powerful negative wash-back effects of high-stakes examinations. The study also documents how participants struggled to improve their English proficiency with limited and intermittent support. The research uncovers how participants' English proficiency developments were shaped by their language learning history, personal circumstances, and various other institutional and socio-cultural factors. These factors are categorised into a model with three overlapping categories namely personal, institutional and socio-cultural challenges. The close interdependence of the three groups of challenges demands a holistic solution to the daunting task of improving EFL teachers' English proficiency in Vietnam. Successful implementation of such an approach requires Publications during candidature Peer-reviewed papers Khoi, N. M., & Iwashita, N. (2012). A comparison of learners' and teachers' attitudes toward communicative language teaching at two universities in Vietnam. University of Sydney Papers in TESOL, 7, 25-49. Khoi, N. M. (2014). Towards a holistic approach to developing the language proficiency of Vietnamese primary teachers of English. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 11(2), 341-357 Trao, V. N., & Khoi, N. M. (2015). Responses to a language policy: EFL teachers' voices.