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

DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH STORIES

Teaching speaking skills is always considered difficult activity. Therefore, choosing an appropriate teaching methodology to help students improve speaking skills is really important. This paper is going to discuss personal experience of taking advantage of stories to enhance students’ speaking skills. Besides, the researcher expects to explore the effectiveness of stories in most of English classes. The researcher also illustrated an example of how to conduct the lesson by storytelling in a real class.  Article visualizations

Solutions to Expansion of Import-export Financing Operations at Agribank Thanh Hoa in the Process of Participation in Free Trade Agreements

This research aims to describe solutions to expansion of import-export financing operations at Agribank Thanh Hoa in the process of participation in FTAs (Free Trade Agreements). This paper presents the results of the study titled “Impacts of FTAs on Vietnam’s Economy - Finance”, clarifying the opportunities for and challenges to Vietnam’s economy - finance from joining the FTAs and influences on Vietnam’s commercial banks during the involvement in the FTAs. It also emphasizes the current situation of lending operations in Agribank-Thanh Hoa Branch (hereinafter referred to as Agribank Thanh Hoa), Complete solutions group credit activities financed import-export in Agribank Thanh Hoa, including solutions for executive management, professional solutions group credit for export financing, solutions group strategic human and banking technology and policy solutions for customers

SALT TOLERANCE OF RICE CULTIVARS IN GREENHOUSE

Abstract: The response of 10 rice cultivars, including the salt-tolerant variety (Pokkali) and salt-susceptible variety (IR29) as controls at five salinity levels (i.e., 0, 4, 6, 8, and 10 dS·m–1) under hydroponic conditions was studied at the seedling stage in the greenhouse. The heading stage was evaluated at the salinity level of 8 dS·m–1 in a completely randomized block with 3 replications per each cultivar under non-saline and saline conditions. The results show that the growth of cultivars is retarded severely at the external salinity levels. Almost all leaves dried and died completely (score 7 and 9) at the level of 8 to 10 dS·m–1. Cultivars IR29 and OM7347 died (score 9) at 10 dS·m–1; whereas, Pokkali and IR93350 were evaluated at score 5. Salinity induces the reduction of overall agronomic parameters of cultivars, especially in dry weight relative-to-reduction over control (ROC%), salt tolerance index (STI%), pollen germination, and grain yield. Salinity-sensitive cultivars decreased their pollen viability by more than 50%, leading to a poor grain yield at a salt level of 8 dS·m–1. Tested cultivars as an initial response to salinity stress were ranked as follows: OM7347, IR87832-303-1-B, and IR29 – susceptible; OM8104, IR93340, and IR93343 – moderately tolerant, and IR86385-8D-1-2-B, IR5040, IR93350, and Pokkali – tolerant.Keywords: heading stage, pollen germination, susceptible, seedling stage, salinity-toleran

Petrology, geochemistry, and Sr, Nd isotopes of mantle xenolith in Nghia Dan alkaline basalt (West Nghe An): implications for lithospheric mantle characteristics beneath the region

Study of petrological and geochemical characteristics of mantle peridotite xenoliths in Pliocene alkaline basalt in Nghia Dan (West Nghe An) was carried out. Rock-forming clinopyroxenes, the major trace element containers, were separated from the xenoliths to analyze for major, trace element and Sr-Nd isotopic compositions. The data were interpreted for source geochemical characteristics and geodynamic processes of the lithospheric mantle beneath the region. The peridotite xenoliths being mostly spinel-lherzolites in composition, are residual entities having been produced following partial melting events of ultramafic rocks in the asthenosphere. They are depleted in trace element abundance and Sr-Nd isotopic composition. Some are even more depleted as compared to mid-ocean ridge mantle xenoliths. Modelled calculation based on trace element abundances and their corresponding solid/liquid distribution coefficients showed that the Nghia Dan mantle xenoliths may be produced of melting degrees from 8 to 12%. Applying various methods for two-pyroxene temperature- pressure estimates, the Nghia Dan mantle xenoliths show ranges of crystallization temperature and pressure, respectively, of 1010-1044°C and 13-14.2 kbar, roughly about 43km. A geotherm constructed for the mantle xenoliths showed a higher geothermal gradient as compared to that of in the western Highlands (Vietnam) and a conductive model, implying a thermal perturbation under the region. The calculated Sm-Nd model ages for the clinopyroxenes yielded 127 and 122 Ma. If the age is meaningful it suggests that there was a major geodynamic process occurred beneath Western Nghe An in the middle- Early Cretaceous that was large enough to cause perturbation in the evolutional trend of the Sm-Nd isotopic system.ReferencesAn A-R., Choi S.H., Yu Y-g., Lee D-C., 2017. Petrogenesis of Late Cenozoic basaltic rocks from southern Vietnam. Lithos, 272-273 (2017), 192-204.Anders E., Grevesse N., 1989. Abundances of the elements: meteorite and solar. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 53, 197-214.Anderson D.L, 1994. The subcontinental mantle as the source of continental flood basalts; the case against the continental lithosphere mantle and plume hear reservoirs. Earth and Planetary Science Letter, 123, 269-280.Arai S., 1994. Characterization of spinel peridotites by olivine-spinel compositional relationships: review and interpretation. Chemical Geology, 113, 191-204.Ballhaus C., Berry R.G., Green D.H., 1991. High pressure experimental calibration of the olivine orthopyroxene-spinel oxygen geobarometer: implications for the oxidation state of the upper mantle. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 107, 27-40.Barr S.M. and MacDonald A.S., 1981. Geochemistry and geochronology of late Cenozoic basalts of southeast Asia: summary. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 92, 508-512.Brey G.P., Köhler T., 1990. Geothermobarometry in four-phase lherzolite II. New thermobarometers, and practical assessment of existing thermobarometers. Journal of Petrology, 31, 1353-1378.Briais A., Patriat P., Tapponnier P., 1993. Updated interpretation of magnetic anomalies and seafloor spreading stages in the South China Sea, implications for the Tertiary tectonics of SE Asia. Journal of Geophysical Research, 98, 6299-6328.Carlson R.W., Irving A.J., 1994. Depletion and enrichment history of subcontinental lithospheric mantle: an Os, Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic study of ultramafic xenoliths from the northwestern Wyoming Craton. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 126, 457-472.Carlson R.W., Lugmair G.W., 1979. Sm-Nd constraints on early lunar differentiation and the evolution of KREEP. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 45, 123-132.Carlson R.W., Lugmair G.W., 1981. Sm-Nd age of lherzolite 67667: implications for the processes involved in lunar crustal formation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 56, 1-8.Choi H.S., Mukasa S.B., Zhou X-H., Xian X-G.H., Andronikov A.V., 2008. Mantle dynamics beneath East Asia constrained by Sr, Nd, Pb and Hf isotopic systematics of ultramafic xenoliths and their host basalts from Hannuoba, North China. Chemical Geology, 248, 40-61.Choi S.H., Jwa Y.-J., Lee H.Y., 2001. Geothermal gradient of the upper mantle beneath Jeju Island, Korea: evidence from mantle xenoliths. Island Arc, 10, 175-193.Choi S.H., Kwon S-T., Mukasa S.B., Sagon H., 2005. Sr-Nd-Pb isotope and trace element systematics of mantle xenoliths from Late Cenozoic alkaline lavas, South Korea. Chemical Geology, 22, 40-64.Cox K.G., Bell J.D., Pankhurst R.J., 1979. The Interpretation of Igneous Rocks. George Allen Unwin.Cung Thuong Chi, Dorobek S.L., Richter C., Flower M., Kikawa E., Nguyen Y.T., McCabe R., 1998. Paleomagnetism of Late Neogene basalts in Vietnam and Thailand: Implications for the Post-Miocene tectonic history of Indochina. In: Flower M.F.J., Chung, S.L., Lo, C.H., (Eds.). Mantle Dynamics and Plate Interactions in East Asia. Geodynamics Ser, American Geophysical Union, 27, 289-299.De Hoog J.C.M., Gall L., Cornell D.H., 2010. Trace-element geochemistry of mantle olivine and application to mantle petrogenesis and geothermobarometry. Chemical Geology, 270, 196-215.DePaolo D. J., 1981. Neodymium isotopes in the Colorado Front Range and crust - mantle evolution in the Proterozoic. Nature, 291, 193-197.DePaolo D.J., Wasserburg G.J., 1976. Nd isotopic variations and petrogenetic models. Geophysical Research Letters, 3(5), 249-252. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.13.1.11.Embey-Isztin A., Dobosi G., Meyer H.-P., 2001. Thermal evolution of the lithosphere beneath the western Pannonian Basin: evidence from deep-seat xenoliths. Tectonophysics, 331, 285-306.Fedorov P.I., Koloskov A.V., 2005. Cenozoic volcanism of Southeast Asia. Petrologiya, 13(4), 289-420.Frey F.A., Prinz M., 1978. Ultramafic inclusions from San Carlos, Arizona: Petrologic and geochemical data bearing on their Petrogenesis. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 38, 129-176.Garnier V., Ohmenstetter D., Giuliani G., Fallick A.E., Phan T.T., Hoang Q.V., Pham V.L., Schawarz D., 2005. Basalt petrology, zircon ages and sapphire genesis from Dak Nong, southern Vietnam. Mineralogical Magazine, 69(1), 21-38.Gast P.W., 1968. Trace element fractionation and the origin of tholeiitic and alkaline magma types. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 32, 1057-1086.Gorshkov A.P, Ivanenko A.N., Rashidov V.A., 1984. Hydro-magnetic investigations of submarine volcanic zones in the marginal seas of Pacific Ocean (Novovineisky and Bien Dong seas). Pacific Ocean Geology, 1, 13-20.Gorshkov A.P., 1981. Investigation of submarine volcanoes during the 10th course of scientific research vessel ‘Volcanolog’. Volcanology and Seismology, 6, 39-45 (in Russian).Hart S.R., 1988. Heterogeneous mantle domains: signatures, genesis and mixing chronologies. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 90, 273-296.Hirose K., Kushiro I., 1993. Partial melting of dry peridotites at high pressures: determination of composition of melts segregated from peridotite using aggregate of diamond. Earth Planet Science Letters, 114, 477-489.Hoang-Thi H.A., Choi S.H., Yongjae Yu Y-g., Pham T.H., Nguyen K.H., Ryu J-S., 2018. Geochemical constraints on the spatial distribution of recycled oceanic crust in the mantle source of late Cenozoic basalts, Vietnam. Lithos, 296-299 (2018), 382-395.Izokh A.E., Smirnov S.Z., Egorova V.V., Tran T.A., Kovyazin S.V., Ngo T.P., Kalinina V.V., 2010. The conditions of formation of sapphire and zircon in the areas of alkali-basaltoid volcanism in Central Vietnam. Russian Geology and Geophysics, 51(7), 719-733.Johnson K.T., Dick H.J.B. and Shimizu N., 1990. Melting in the oceanic upper mantle: An ion microprobe study of diopsides in abyssal peridotites. Journal of Geophysical Research (solid earth), 95, 2661-2678.Kölher T.P., Brey G.P., 1990. Calcium exchange between olivine and clinopyroxene calibrated as a geothermobarometer for natural peridotites from 2 to 60 kb with applications. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 54(9), 2375-2388.Kushiro I., 1996. Partial melting of a fertile mantle peridotite at high pressure: An experimental study using aggregates of diamond. In: A. Basu and S.R. Hart (Eds.), Earth Processes: Reading the Isotopic Code. AGU Monograph, 95, 109-122.Kushiro I., 1998. Compositions of partial melts formed in mantle peridotites at high pressures and their relation to those of primitive MORB. Physics of Earth and Planetary Interiors, 107, 103-110.Latin D., White N., 1990. Generating melt during lithospheric extension: Pure shear vs. simple shear. Geology, 18, 327-331.Lee T.-y. and Lawver L., 1995. Cenozoic plate reconstruction of Southeast Asia. In: M.F.J. Flower, R.J. McCabe and T.W.C. Hilde (Editors), Southeast Asia Structure, Tectonics, and Magmatism. Tectonophysics, 85-138.Li C-F., et al., 2015. Seismic stratigraphy of the central South China Sea basin and implications for neotectonics. Journal of Geophysical Research (solid earth), 120, 1377-1399. Doi:10.1002/2014JB011686.Li C.-F., et al., 2014. Ages and magnetic structures of the South China Sea constrained by deep tow magnetic surveys and IODP Expedition 349 Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 14, 4958-4983.Malinovsky A.I., Rashidov V.A., 2015. Compositional characteristics of sedimentary and volcano-sedimentary rocks of Phu Quy-Catwick island group in the continental shelf of Vietnam. Bulletin of Kamchatka Regional Association of ‘Educational - Scientific’ Center, Earth Sciences, 27(3), 12-34 (in Russian with English summary).McCulloch M.T., Wasserburg G.J., 1978. Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr chronology of continental crust formation. Science, 200(4345), 1003-1011.Menzies M.A., Arculus R.L., Best M.G., et al., 1987. A record of subduction process and within-plate volcanism in lithospheric xenoliths of the southwestern USA. In P.H. Nixon (Editor), Mantle Xenoliths, John Wiley Sons, Chichester, 59-74.Nguyen Hoang, Ogasawara M., Tran Thi Huong, Phan Van Hung, Nguyen Thi Thu, Cu Sy Thang, Pham Thanh Dang, Pham Tich Xuan, 2014. Geochemistry of Neogene Basalts in the Nghia Dan district, western Nghe An. J. Sci. of the Earth, 36, 403 -412.Nguyen Kinh Quoc, Nguyen Thu Giao, 1980. Cenozoic volcanic activity in Viet Nam. Geology and Mineral Resources, 2, 137-151 (in Vietnamese with English abstract).Nixon P.H., 1987 (Editor). Mantle xenoliths. John Wiley and Sons, 844p.Norman M.D. and Garcia M.O., 1999. Primitive magmas and source characteristics of the Hawaiian plume: petrology and geochemistry of shield picrites. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 168, 27-44.Pollack H.N., Chapman D.S., 1977. On the regional variation of heat flow, geotherms and lithospheric thickness. Tectonophysics, 38, 279-296.Putirka K., 2008. Thermometers and Barometers for Volcanic Systems. In: Putirka, K., Tepley, F. (Eds.), Minerals, Inclusions and Volcanic Processes, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, Mineralogical Soc. Am., 69, 61-120. Putirka K.D., 2017. Down the craters: where magmas stored and why they erupt. Methods and Further Reading. Supplement to February 2017 issue of Elements, 3(1), 11-16.Putirka K.D., Johnson M., Kinzler R., Longhi J., Walker D., 1996. Thermobarometry of mafic igneous rocks based on clinopyroxene-liquid equilibria, 0-30 kbar. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 123, 92-108. Putirka K.D., Mikaelian H., Ryerson F., Shaw H., 2003. New clinopyroxene-liquid thermobarometers for mafic, evolved, and volatile-bearing lava compositions, with applications to lavas from Tibet and the Snake River Plain, Idaho. American Mineralogist, 88, 1542-1554. Qi Q., Taylor L.A., Zhou X., 1995. Petrology and geochemistry of mantle peridotite xenoliths from SE China. Journal of Petrology, 36, 55-79.Sachtleben T.H., Seck H.A., 1981. Chemical control on the Al-solubility in orthopyroxene and its implications on pyroxene geothermometry. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 78, 157-65.Shaw D.M., 1970. Trace element fractionation during anataxis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 34, 237-243.Sun S-S, McDonough W.F., 1989. Chemical and isotopic systematics of oceanic basalts: implications for mantle composition and processes. In Saunders A.D. and Norry, M.J. (eds) Magmatism in the Ocean Basins. Geological Society Special Publication, 42, 313-345.Takahashi E., 1986. Melting of a dry peridotite KLB-1 up to 14 Gpa: implications on the origin of peridotite upper mantle. J. Geophysical Research, 91, 9367-9382.Takahashi E., Kushiro I., 1983. Melting of a dry peridotite at high pressure and basalt magma genesis. American Mineralogist, 68, 859-879.Tamaki K., 1995. Upper mantle extrusion tectonics of southeast Asia and formation of western Pacific backarc basins. In: International Workshop: Cenozoic Evolution of the Indochina Peninsula, Hanoi/Do Son, April, p.89 (Abstract with Programs).Tapponnier P., Lacassin R., Leloup P.H., Shärer U., Dalai Z., Haiwei W., Xiaohan L., Shaocheng J., Lianshang Z., Jiayou Z., 1990. The Ailao Shan/Red River metamorphic belt: Tertiary left-lateral shear between Indochina and South China. Nature, 343(6257), 431-437.Tapponnier P., Peltzer G., La Dain A.Y., Armijo R., Cobbold P., 1982. Propagating extrusion tectonics in Asia: New insights from simple experiments with plasticine. Geology, 7, 611-616.Tatsumoto M., Basu A.R., Huang W., Wang J., Xie G., 1992. Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopes of ultramafic xenoliths in volcanic rocks of eastern China: enriched components EMI and EMII in subcontinental lithosphere. Earth Planet Sci. Letters, 113, 107-128.Taylor S.R., McLennan S.M., 1981. The composition and evolution of the continental crust: rare earth element evidence from sedimentary rocks. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 301, 381-399.Tu K., Flower M.F.J., Carlson R.W., Xie G-H., 1991. Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions of Hainan basalt (south China): Implications for a subcontinental lithosphere Dupal source. Geology, 19, 567-569.Tu K., Flower M.F.J., Carlson R.W., Xie G-H., Zhang M., 1992. Magmatism in the South China Basin 1. Isotopic and trace-element evidence for an endogenous Dupal component. Chemical Geology, 97, 47-63.Warren J.M., 2016. Global variations in abyssal peridotite compositions. Lithos, 248-251, 193-219.Webb S.A., Wood B.J., 1986. Spinel pyroxene- garnet relationships and their dependence on Cr/Al ratio. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 92, 471-480.Wells P.R.A., 1977. Pyroxene thermometry in simple and complex systems. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 62, 129-139.Whitford-Stark J.L., 1987. A survey of Cenozoic olcanism on mainland Asia, special paper, 213. Geological Society of America, 74p.Workman R.K., Hart S.R., 2005. Major and trace element composition of the depleted MORB mantle (DMM). Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 231, 53-72.Zhou P., Mukasa S., 1997. Nd-Sr-Pb isotopic, and major- and trace-element geochemistry of Cenozoic lavas from the Khorat Plateau, Thailand, sources and petrogenesis. Chemical Geology, 137, 175-193.Zindler A., Hart S.R., 1986. Chemical geodynamics. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 14, 493-571

PURE CULTURE OF WILD TOUGH MUSHROOM COLLECTED FROM TAY NINH PROVINCE OF VIET NAM

Pure cultures of wild edible mushroom have drawn much attention all over the world for exploitation and conservation of precious genetic resources. In this study, a wild strain of tough mushroom, which has been used as human food in Tay Ninh Province, was collected. The strain was purely cultured on agar medium and grown on different culture media for mycelial growth and fruiting body production. It was also classified based on morphological characteristics and molecular methods. The results show that this wild tough mushroom belongs to Lentinus squarrosulus (Polyporaceae). The best mycelial growth rate (8.3 mm/day) was recorded on the unhusked rice medium containing CaCO3 (1 %) and MgSO4 (1 %). In both of rubber tree sawdust medium supplemented with corn bran (10 %) and the one supplemented with earthworm fertilizer (5 %), the mycelial growth rates were significantly similar (8.4 mm/day) and achieved full colonization of the both supplemented sawdust bags (each 1 kg) after 24 days of incubation. The fresh fruiting bodies yielded 398 - 412 g/bag of the both sawdust media