Exploring CALL Options for Teaching EFL in Vietnam

Research has demonstrated that computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has the capacity to enhance second language learning. Therefore, in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts like Vietnam, the government has invested in computers in schools as a way to address the lack of quality in education. However, Vietnamese EFL teachers have made little or no use of these computers. The purpose of this Alternate Plan Paper (APP) is to assist Vietnamese ESL teachers in choosing appropriate CALL programs. I select some of the most effective, user-friendly, and cost-effective CALL options for language areas and language skills. The options are selected based on the availability of resources, the teachers\u27 and learners\u27 computer proficiency levels, and the Vietnamese institutional context. The recommended options are also based on my personal experience as a CALL learner and user, and a one-month observation of CALL applications in a classroom at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The paper also discusses the pedagogical principles for using the recommended options effectively and efficiently

Teaching languages in primary schools using educational technologies: Experiences of primary-school language teachers in Vietnam

Using educational technologies (ETs) in classrooms to teach languages in primary education has become increasingly popular worldwide in the last few decades. In Vietnam, since 2000, the government and the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (VMOET) have also encouraged teachers at all levels of education, including primary education, to use ET to support their teaching. The VMOET has created opportunities for teachers to improve their teaching with ET integration, with some teacher professional development (TPD) being offered. Thus, primary school language teachers in Vietnam have different experiences of using ET as well as the ET teacher professional development activities being provided. There have been a number of studies on teachers’ experiences of using ET and ET TPD in higher levels of education in Vietnam but few at the primary level, especially in language teaching. Therefore, this study examines the experiences of primary school language teachers and makes suggestions for teachers, school leaders, and policy makers to improve the quality of ET TPD activities, and thus the effectiveness of ET use in language classrooms. The research method used in this study to gain an insight into the teachers’ experience is a mixed-method approach under the lens of hermeneutic phenomenology. First, teachers of languages in primary schools were surveyed to identify the more specific phenomena to study. Then, I interviewed primary school principals, school technology coordinators, and individual teachers about their lived experiences of applying ET in their teaching to have a deeper understanding of their experience. I also analysed documents such as teachers’ e-lesson plans, school policies, and government policy to address the aim. There are three key findings of this study. First, the language teachers in this study experienced the use of a limited range of ET including both personal and school-owned ET, but most had a positive attitude and made judicious use of the ETs most of the time. Second, they experienced using ET with a teacher-centred approach, which means ET was substituted for printed materials and chalk and board tools to present the language e-lessons, although the VMOET was advocating for a more student-centred teaching approach with ET support. Third, these teachers had differing perceptions of the two types of ET TPD available. The formal TPD activities were not equally accessed, nor practical enough to address teacher needs, and any learning was not shared formally with colleagues; whereas, the language teacher's informal TPD activities were useful and met the teachers’ needs. These findings may be of use to teachers, school technology coordinators, and school leaders as confirmation of teachers’ predominantly positive perceptions of ET use and that they endeavour to use ET according to their availability and the language learning purpose for the teachers’ lessons. These findings affirm a shift in research attention from ET integration generally to a focus on curriculum specific subject use of ET for teaching and learning. Further recommendations include that the VMOET TPD programmes become more learner-centred to meet the needs of the teachers attending. Overall, these results confirm the need for bridging the gap between policy and the practice of using ET in language teaching in the primary education sector in Vietnam

Fostering EFL students’ communicative language competence : Facebook as a platform for a triad of types of talk

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is believed to provide students with skills to communicate outside the classroom. It is tailored to engage students in meaningful language use through authentic tasks in real-world contexts focused on information exchange, critical thinking and problem solving. Meanwhile, Facebook also has the potential to enhance students’ communication and collaboration by engaging them in real-world contexts. Apart from creating a sense of community and engagement, Facebook enables more interactive communicative language learning activities. This study used the theoretical framework of CLT to examine how a triad of types of talk enhanced upper secondary students’ communicative competence on Facebook in Vietnam. This study utilised a three-phase convergent mixed method approach, including the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. Three main ways in which a triad of types of talk fostered students’ communicative competence on Facebook were identified: (a) students became more active and were capable of applying their own previous knowledge; (b) students developed their communicative competence embedded in simulated real-world situations on Facebook; and (c) students cultivated their self-directed learning strategies to communicate with others in the real-world contexts enabled by Facebook. The findings also revealed three main ways that Facebook hindered the development of communicative competence: (a) students’ inexperience in Facebook learning; (b) Vietnamese cultural issues related to English teaching and learning; (c) unavailability of adequate time. The study also raised some implications for language learning in Vietnam and highlighted the important roles of Facebook as a complementary learning platform and a triad of types of talk in strengthening students’ communicative competence. Finally, this study encouraged ongoing research on the impact of a triad of types of talk on communicative competence on Facebook in accordance with the principles of CLT with different populations and subject areas

Using ICT to foster collaborative writing for EFL university students in Vietnam

The development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has changed most aspects of life, and its diffusion into education was inevitable. Vietnam is a developing country where English and ICT are highly valued as two of the most important instruments of industrialisation and modernisation. These instruments help facilitate the country’s integration into the globalised world. Thus, the use of ICT in English language teaching and learning has received much attention from both policy makers and researchers. In this study, the possibilities of using ICT in fostering English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university students’ collaborative writing in a Vietnamese context were examined. Teachers’ and students’ readiness for ICT-supported collaborative writing as well as their attitudes and perceptions toward this learning mode were investigated. Pedagogical implications for ICT-supported collaborative writing are also discussed. A case study methodology using both quantitative and qualitative data was employed. The study consisted of two phases. Phase 1 was a preliminary investigation in which online surveys were distributed to 16 English language teachers and 315 first year students at FPT University. The results of the surveys suggested that it was feasible to implement ICT-supported collaborative writing in this university and that the most suitable ICT applications to use were Facebook and Google Docs. In Phase 2, an intervention, in which Facebook and Google Docs were used as ICT platforms for collaborative writing was conducted with three EFL classes of three English levels: elementary, pre-intermediate and intermediate. During Phase 2, methods of data collection such as observations, focus group interviews and experience-of-change interviews were employed. This study found that successful ICT integration in English language teaching and learning required not only the readiness of teachers and students to engage with technology, but also the pedagogy to use that technology informed by an understanding of the cultural characteristics of the learners. Based on the main findings, a number of recommendations have been suggested in relation to policies, teacher training, curriculum design, and future research

Contact Zones in Internationalizing Asian Universities: Identities, Spatialities and Global Imaginations

Master'sMASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

A Journey of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

This portfolio is designed to share with the reader the author’s beliefs about a number of issues related to effective foreign language (FL) learning and teaching rooted in theoretical foundations of second language acquisition as well as provide insights about her own teaching and observation experiences per the requirements for her Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program. The target languages focused on in this portfolio are FL Chinese and English. Divided into three main parts, this portfolio addresses: 1) the author’s teaching philosophy; 2) language, literacy, and culture papers from research perspectives; and 3) annotated bibliographies that serve as additional records of the author’s learning while in the MSLT program. The language paper is a hypothetical study involving the technological application of Memrise in FL Chinese classrooms. The literacy paper is a description of a proposed study that examines the use and effects of digital storytelling on Chinese FL learners’ writing and speaking skills. Finally, the culture paper is a literature review that focuses on the impact of English and Chinese FL learners\u27 identities on their learning

An investigation of ICT policy implementation in an EFL teacher education program in Vietnam

Due to the increasing pace of advances in technology and attempts to integrate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into education in Vietnam, teachers are now expected to make routine use of ICT in their teaching. The Vietnamese government has promulgated ambitious policies aimed at engaging in an increasingly globalised world and promoting the country’s economic development. These policies focus on education, and in particular, the development of ICT and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) competencies, seen as key requirements for greater international participation. The competencies of teachers are a major factor in the successful implementation of these educational changes. Given the key role played by ICT and EFL knowledge and skills in the educational reforms under way in Vietnam, this study investigated the process of implementing ICT into a pre-service EFL teacher education program. It was aimed at exploring and understanding lecturers’ and pre-service EFL teachers\u27 perceptions, knowledge and skills in the use of ICT in their teaching and learning practice, particularly as they related to pedagogical reforms in EFL that were occurring at the same time. The theoretical framework for this study, derived from Fullan’s (2007) Educational Change and the TPACK framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006), was used to determine the factors that affected the implementation of new policies and reforms in the use of ICT in EFL teacher education in Vietnam. The study applied a mixed method design involving a quantitative data collection phase followed by a qualitative data collection phase (Creswell & Clark, 2018) through an analysis of national ICT policy, institutional translation and classroom implementation. At each level the analysis provided useful insights into the factors that impeded and supported the implementation progress. The quantitative data were derived from a questionnaire, and the qualitative data, from document analysis, focus groups and face-to-face interviews. Additional data were provided from analyses of policies, teacher education and course documents, lecturers’ teaching outlines and pre-service teachers’ lesson plans. The participants included faculty managers, EFL lecturers and pre-service teachers. The key findings of the study were that, despite the noble goals of national ICT policies, conducive conditions at the university and the positive perceptions of lecturers and pre-service teachers, ICT was not fully integrated into the teacher training program. Evidence of a gap emerged between ICT-related policies and classroom practice, mainly due to barriers at every level of the educational system. The absence of clear ICT policies and guidelines at both national and institutional levels was a major cause of ineffective leadership, inappropriate allocation of ICT resources, and a lack of professional development, maintenance and support. Based on the findings, a number of recommendations have been provided to address the development, translation and embeddedness of ICT policies and assist all stakeholders to solve the relevant issues. In addition, a model has been presented to address the interrelationships between the relevant factors and effectively guide lecturers and pre-service teachers to integrate ICT and enhance their EFL teaching and learning practice

UA12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 94, No. 9 [10]

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles: Voter Guide – Patti Minter, Benjamin Lawson DeLetter, Emily. Construction of First-year Village Slated to Begin – Housing & Residence Life Austin, Emma. Will Local Voters Make Warren County Wet? – Alcohol Austin, Emma. Fraternity Member Brings Firearm to Float Site – Delta Tau Delta / Chi Omega Dobbs, Jack. Kentucky Museum Hosts Celebration of WKU Professors – Jim Wayne Miller, Mary Ellen Miller DeLetter, Emily. WKU to Host Annual International Education Week DeLetter, Emily. Kentucky Museum to Establish Youth Scholarship DeBerry, Kierra. Organizations Provide Resources to Victims of Domestic Violence Bowling Green City Commissioners Coyle, Cameron. So Bad They’re Good Horror Movies on Netflix Allen, Ellie. Editorial Cartoon re: Social Media Platforms Time to Get Social: School of Journalism & Broadcasting Falls Short in Social Media Dressman, Jake. Marijuana Can Help Reduce Opioid Epidemic in Kentucky Mt. Sterling – Mountain Workshops Webster, Mark. Changing Lives – Life’s Better Together Yaacoub, Sarah. Students with Disabilities Share Their Stories Holland, Kelley. Boba Lounge Brings Bowling Green a Taste of Taiwan Sisler, Julie. Actress Among Three Inducted into Hall of Distinguished Alumni – Becky Baker McCarthy, Casey. Lady Toppers Halt Skid with Pair of Road Wins – Volleyball Jessie, Alec. Square One – Basketball Kizer, Drake. Greg Collins Looking for Hard-working Players to Fill Big Shoes Stahl, Matt. Sustaining Offensive Drives Arises as Newest Issue in Latest Hilltopper Loss – Footbal