Teaching pragmatics in English as a Foreign Language at a Vietnamese university: Teachers' perceptions, curricular content, and classroom practices

Pragmatic competence is an essential component in communicative competence (Bachman & Palmer, 2010; Canale, 1983). Therefore, teaching pragmatic knowledge plays an important role in a foreign language curriculum, particularly in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL). However, there exists a lack of literature about the teaching of pragmatics with little empirical research on teachers’ perceptions and classroom practices at the tertiary level in Vietnam. Informed by key constructs of three theories of symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1969; Mead, 1934), cross-cultural/intercultural pragmatics (Kecskes, 2004; 2011; 2012; Kecskes & Romero-Trillo, 2013; Wierzbicka, 2003), and critical approach to language teaching (Kachru, 1992a; 1992b; 1997; 2006; Kirkpatrick, 1995; 2006; 2011b; Pennycook, 1994; 1999), this case study of a Vietnamese university attempts to investigate teachers’ perceptions of pragmatics, their pragmatic teaching, and pragmatic content presented in textbooks and the curriculum. Methods of data collection included questionnaire survey, interviews, focus group, classroom observations, and documents. Major findings include: (a) teachers’ understanding of pragmatic knowledge and its teaching varied, although all of them recognised the vital importance of teaching pragmatic knowledge to enhance EFL students’ communicative competence; (b) the way teachers taught pragmatic knowledge was influenced by how they learned pragmatics and their perceptions of pragmatics; (c) there was a dearth of pragmatic knowledge presented in the analysed textbook; and (d) teachers relied mostly on textbooks to teach pragmatics and encountered difficulties in teaching pragmatics because of their lack of pragmatic competence as well as methods to teach it. The implications of the above are considered and recommendations are made regarding teachers’ perceptions of pragmatics and its teaching, approaches to teaching pragmatics in particular and teaching EFL in general in a Vietnamese university or a similar context, teacher training and development, and designing materials and tasks from the perspectives of symbolic interactionism, cross-cultural/intercultural pragmatics, and critical approach to language teaching

Numerical modelling of steady-state flow in 2D cracked anisotropic porous media by singular integral equations method

International audienceThe equations governing plane steady-state flow in heterogeneous porous media containing curved-line intersecting cracks (Pouya and Ghabezloo 2010) and the potential solution obtained for these equations are considered here. The theoretical results are first completed for the mass balance at crack intersections points. Then, a numerical procedure based on a singular integral equations method is described concretely to derive this solution for cracked materials. Closed-form expressions of elementary integrals for special choice of collocation points lead to a very quick and easy numerical method. It is shown that this method can be applied efficiently to the study of the steady state flow in cracked materials with anisotropic matrix permeability and a dense distribution of curved-line intersecting cracks. Some applications of this method to the permeability of cracked materials are given

Public Investment Management of Higher Education in Vietnam : Current Issues and Policy Recommendations

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to provide a comprehensive insight on public investment management practices in higher education and experiences of developed countries, to analyse the current approaches to public investment management in Vietnam and to propose applicablepolicy recommendations.Design/methodology/approach: Case study based on literature of public investment in higher education and analysis of legal documents, reports and data regarding Vietnam’s current practices in the field.Findings: Public investment management practices of Vietnam still follow the traditional approach, which has shown various weaknesses and drawbacks in terms of efficiency, lack of unification, and incapability of higher education institutions to seek for autonomy and alternative operational resources.Research and practical limitations/implications: Lack of quantitative data and survey tools to enhance the practical implementation of the study.Originality/value: This paper can become a reference resource for policy makers in terms of promoting reforms in the public investment system for higher education in the future.Paper type: Case study

ETUDE NUMERIQUE DE L'ECOULEMENT DANS UN MILIEU POREUX FISSURE : APPLICATION AU CALCUL DE LA PERMEABILITE EQUIVALENTE

International audienceLa perméabilité effective des roches fracturées ou des matériaux poreux fissurés a des applications importantes aux problèmes d'intérêt environnemental ou industriel. Elle a été intensivement étudiée ces dernières années par différentes méthodes. Cet article expose une méthode simple de modélisation de l'écoulement dans des milieux poreux fissurés et en déduit une méthode d'estimation numérique de la perméabilité effective de ces milieux

Modelling of steady-state fluid flow in 3D fractured isotropic porous media: Application to effective permeability calculation

International audienceIn this paper, 3D steady-state fluid flow in a porous medium with many intersecting fractures is derived numerically by using collocation method. Fluid flow, in the matrix and fractures, are described by Darcy's law and Poisseuille's law, respectively. The recent theoretical development presented a general potential solution to model the steady-state flow in fractured porous media under a far-field condition. This solution is a hypersingular integral equation with pressure field in the fracture surfaces as the main unknown. The numerical procedure can resolve the problem for any form of fractures and also takes into account the interactions and the intersection between fractures. Once the pressure field, and then the flux field in fractures have been determined, the pressure field in the porous matrix is computed completely. The basic problem of a single fracture is investigated and a semi-analytical solution is presented. Using the solution obtained for a single fracture, Mori-Tanaka and self-consistent schemes are employed for upscalling the effective permeability of 3D fractured porous media

Modelling effective permeability of fracture networks in permeable rock formation by singular integral equations method

International audienceIn this paper, theoretical and numerical formulations of plane steady-state fluid flow in a fractured porous rock are used to investigate its effective permeability. If the far field inflow is uniform, the theoretical solution shows that the pressure field in the matrix is a function of the discharge in the fracture network. A numerical resolution based on singular integral equations is employed to derive the general problem of many intersected fractures in order to obtain the pressure field in anisotropic matrix. This solution allows computing the flux in the fractures which is the key issue for upscalling the equivalent permeability. This paper presents in detail the method for deriving the equivalent permeability from this solution. This method is applied to two real cases: an Excavation Damage Zone (EDZ) around a deep underground gallery and a geological rock formation presenting several families of fractures. The results of the both cases show that the developed method provides an easy and efficient way to determine the equivalent permeability of the fractured porous rock medium. This equivalent permeability can be implemented in analytical and numerical tools for continuous media towards estimating the flow characteristics in the rock formation

Approche hamiltonienne à ports pour la modélisation, la réduction et la commande des dynamiques des plasmas dans les tokamaks

The modelling and analysis of the plasma dynamics in tokamaks using the port-Hamiltonian approach is the main project purpose. Thermo-mMagnetohydrodynamics balances have been written in port-Hamiltonian form using Stokes-Dirac interconnection structures and 3D differential forms. A simplified 1D model for control has been derived using quasi-static and symmetry assumptions. It has been proved to be equivalent to a classical 1D control model: the resistive diffusion model for the poloidal magnetic flux. Then a geometric spatial integration scheme has been developped. It preserves both the symplecticity of the Dirac interconnection structure and physically conserved extensive quantities. This will allow coming works on energy-based approaches for the non linear control of the plasma dynamics.An Interconnection and Damping Assignment - Passivity Based Control (IDA-PBC) , the most general Port-Hamiltonian control, is chosen first to deal with the studied Tokamak system. It is based on a model made of the two coupled PDEs of resistive diffusion for the magnetic poloidal flux and of radial thermal diffusion. The used TMHD couplings are the Lorentz forces (with non-uniform resistivity) and the bootstrap current. The loop voltage at the plasma boundary, the total external current and the plasma heating power are considered as controller outputs. Due to the actuator constraints which imply to have a physically feasible current profile deposits, a feedforward control is used to ensure the compatibility with the actuator physical capability. Then, the IDA-PBC controllers, both finite-dimensional and infinite-dimensional, are designed to improve the system stabilization and convergence speed. The proposed works are validated against the simulation data obtained from the Tore-Supra WEST (CEA/Cadarache, France) test case and from RAPTOR code for the TCV real-time control system (CRPP/ EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland).L'objectif principal de la thèse est d'établir un modèle sous forme hamiltonienne à ports pour la dynamique du plasma dans les réacteurs de fusion de type tokamak, puis de démontrer le potentiel de cette approche pour aborder les problèmes d'intégration numérique et de commande non linéaire. Les bilans thermo-magnéto-hydrodynamiques, écrits sous forme hamiltonienne à ports à l'aide de structures Stokes-Dirac, conduisent à un modèle 3D “ multi-physique ” du plasma. Ensuite, un modèle 1D équivalent au modèle de diffusion résistive est obtenu en supposant les mêmes hypothèses d'équilibre quasi-statique et de symétries. Un schéma symplectique de réduction spatiale de ce modèle 1D qui préserve la structure du modèle et ses invariants est établi. Il ouvre la voie à des travaux ultérieurs de commande non linéaire fondés sur la structure géométrique d'interconnexion et les bilans du modèle. La commande IDA-PBC (Interconnection and Damping Assignment - Passivity Based Control) basée sur la passivité du modèle est d'abord synthétisée pour ce système en dimension finie. Finalement, une commande IDA-PBC associée avec la commande à la frontière est proposée pour le système en dimension infinie. Les controlleurs sont testés et validés avec les simulateurs des tokamak (METIS pour le Tore Supra de CEA/ Cadarache, et RAPTOR pour le TCV de l'EPFL Lausanne, Suisse)

The impact of corruption on the performance of newly established enterprises : empirical evidence from a transition economy

This paper investigates the effects of corruption on the performance of newly established enterprises. Using longitudinal data from enterprise surveys containing virtually all firms over the period from 2011 to 2015 in Vietnam, we find that corruption deteriorates firm financial performance, and subsequently exposes them to a greater failure probability. We further find that, while corruption imposes more harmful effects on the performance and survival of private domestic firms, it exerts no significant impact on state-owned firms. On the other hand, foreign firms are also able to take advantage of corruption to enhance their performance and survivability. In addition, our results suggest that the more mature firms are better at dealing with corruption and can eventually take advantage of it to enhance their performance. The results are robust after various model specifications as well as alternative classifications of newly established firms.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe