EDMODO USE IN ESP WRITING: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

A growing body of literature has examined the nature of blended learning and its effects on language teaching and learning, including the use of Edmodo to promote student writing. However, this type of integration of face-to-face instruction and online learning remains relatively new for EFL contexts. Also, teaching writing at the Vietnamese contexts, particularly in the ESP tertiary education, is still largely dependent on conventional way. This paper therefore reports students’ perceptions about Edmodo use in writing classes at a Vietnamese university. This paper draws on data collected as part of a larger mixed methods project including tests and interviews over a fifteen-week semester of an ESP writing class. In this paper, the focus is the data from interviews, which explored how students perceived the effects of Edmodo use in their writing learning process. The findings indicate students’ positive perceptions about this supportive learning delivery method in writing classes. Implications for teachers and school administrators with regard to practical applications of Edmodo as a potential tool are also discussed.  Article visualizations

Evaluating factors affecting attitudes of IT-intensive and non-IT-intensive students towards e-assessment

Despite the significant shift to distance computer-based test as an inevitable outcome of Industry 4.0 and the public lockdown of COVID-19, little effort has been made to research this new testing mode. To address this issue, this study targets two groups of information technology (IT)-intensive and non-IT-intensive students with an aim of investigating factors that effectively encourage each group to adopt online assessment and whether their majors cause any differences in the students’ attitudes. Based on the student perception of e-assessment questionnaire (SPEAQ) with some slight modifications, a final 28-item survey was formed and distributed to 400 students. Results have shown that the factors of security, and affective factors were the top factors to impact both groups of students, while the impact of validity and practicality varied among the two groups and reliability and teaching-learning were at the bottom. Besides, there were no noticeable differences in the attitudes of students coming from different majors

Trends in, projections of, and inequalities in non-communicable disease management indicators in Vietnam 2010–2030 and progress toward universal health coverage : a Bayesian analysis at national and sub-national levels

Background: Movement towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) can improve health services, risk factor management, and inequality in non-communicable diseases (NCD); conversely, prioritizing and monitoring NCD management can support pathways to UHC in resource-limited settings. We aimed to estimate trends in NCD management indicators in Vietnam from 2010, and projections to 2030 at national and sub-national levels; compute the probability of reaching UHC targets; and measure inequalities in NCD management indicators at demographic, geographic, and socio-economic levels. Methods: We included data of 37,595 households from four nationally representative surveys from 2010. We selected and estimated the coverage of NCD health service and risk management indicators nationally and by six sub-national groups. Using Bayesian models, we provided trends and projections and calculated the probability of reaching UHC targets of 80% coverage by 2030. We estimated multiple inequality indices including the relative index of inequality, slope index of inequality, and concentration index of inequality, and provided an assessment of improvement in inequalities over the study period. Findings: Nationally, all indicators showed a low probability of achieving 2030 targets except sufficient use of fruit and vegetables (SUFV) and non-use of tobacco (NUT). We observed declining trends in national coverage of non-harmful use of alcohol (NHUA), sufficient physical activity (SPA), non-overweight (NOW), and treatment of diabetes (TOD). Except for SPA, no indicator showed the likelihood of achieving 2030 targets at any regional level. Our model suggested a non-achievement of 2030 targets for all indicators in any wealth quintile and educational level, except for SUFV and NUT. There were diversities in tendency and magnitude of inequalities with widening gaps between genders (SPA, TOD), ethnic groups (SUFV), urban-rural areas (TOH), wealth quintiles, and educational levels (TOD, NUT, NHUA). Interpretation: Our study suggested slow progress in NCD management at the national level and among key sub-populations in Vietnam, together with existing and increasing inequalities between genders, ethnicities, geographic areas, and socioeconomic groups. We emphasised the necessity of continuously improving the healthcare system and facilities, distributing resources between geographic areas, and simultaneously integrating economic, education, and gender intervention and programs. Funding: None. © 2022 The Author(s

Revealing the Hidden Structure of Affective States During Emotion Regulation in Synchronous Online Collaborative Learning

This study aims to explore the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to reveal learners' emotion regulation. In particular, this study attempts to discover the hidden structure of affective states associated with facial expression during challenges, interactions, and strategies for emotion regulation in the context of synchronous online collaborative learning. The participants consist of 18 higher education students (N=18) who collaboratively worked in groups. The Hidden Markov Model (HMM) results indicated interesting transition patterns of latent state of emotion and provided insights into how learners engage in the emotion regulation process. This study demonstrates a new opportunity for theoretical and methodology advancement in the exploration of AI in researching socially shared regulation in collaborative learning

LEARNING IDIOMS FOR ENGLISH MAJORS: VIETNAMESE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF DIFFICULTIES AND LEARNING STRATEGIES

Learning idioms play an influential role in language generally and in English notably. Comprehending idioms assists language learners in integrating culture, enhancing skills, and ameliorating English levels. Numerous studies have analyzed the function of idioms in second language acquisition (Cieślicka, 2015). This study investigates the difficulties and strategies used in learning idioms by English-majored students at a regional public university (PU) in the south of Vietnam. This paper furnishes data showing learners’ perceptions of facing complications and learning methods. The samples consisted of 150 undergraduate EFL students from English-medium instruction programs. The data was analyzed by utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings reveal that students struggle to understand idiomatic terms without specific, understandable contexts. Furthermore, the results indicate that the most frequently employed strategies are guessing the meaning of idioms, learning idioms through keywords, and learning from a range of sources, particularly via media. The findings also mentioned that low-proficiency and high-proficiency students encounter identical challenges, with no significant differences. The study's results revealed that the majority of students have difficulty acquiring, recognizing, and interpreting idioms. The findings indicated that guessing the implication of idioms is the most used strategy.  Article visualizations

NONLINEAR CHARACTERISTICS OF SQUARE SOLID-CORE PHOTONIC CRYSTAL FIBERS WITH VARIOUS LATTICE PARAMETERS IN THE CLADDING

Nonlinear characteristics of fused silica, solid-core photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) with a square array of air holes are studied numerically. We present a novel design that emphasizes the difference in air hole diameters in the photonic cladding. These PCFs have the advantages of flat dispersion, high nonlinearity, and low attenuation. Based on simulation results, three optimal structures, denoted #F1, #F2, and #F3, having anomalous and all-normal dispersions in the near-infrared range are selected to investigate characteristic properties at the pump wavelength. Such PCFs open up many possibilities for nonlinear optical applications, especially supercontinuum generation