HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF FACEBOOK-BASED E-PORTFOLIOS IN EFL WRITING: A CASE IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM

Electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) have grown in popularity in ESL/EFL writing instruction for their contributions to students’ writing. However, selecting an electronic tool in e-portfolios is of concern to many researchers and teachers. The combination of Facebook and e-portfolios is a rather new implementation in educational research, especially in high school contexts. Therefore, the current research aimed at exploring (1) high school students’ perceptions of the use of Facebook-based e-portfolios in terms of their contributions in writing, and (2) problems in using Facebook-based e-portfolios in writing. Fifty grade 11 students at a high school in Soc Trang province, Vietnam participated in the research. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected by using close-ended questionnaire and the interview. Prior to data collection, the students spent six weeks writing on Facebook close-typed groups. The results showed that the students highly appreciated the contributions of Facebook-based e-portfolios in terms of enhancing interaction, giving and receiving feedback, motivation and confidence in writing, writing skills, vocabulary, and grammar knowledge. No significant problems were found in using Facebook-based e-portfolios. The research is expected to shed light on implementing Facebook-based e-portfolios in improving the quality of teaching EFL/ESL writing in high school contexts.  Article visualizations

Covid-19 And Factors Affecting Vietnamese Students’ Readiness For Digital Transformation

Education in Vietnam is trying to make use of the values of the digital technology revolution. As one of the eight key fields of National Digital Transformation, education needs to find ways to develop and take advantage of opportunities to be able to shape the future of society with high-quality human resources. As a huge challenge, the Covid-19 pandemic has quickly put pressure on the past predicted trends in education such as the “university of the future”, but, from a positive viewpoint, it also brings a big opportunity for universities to make the transformation, from classic one to the new and trendy university – the digital one. The paper analyzes in-depth the factors affecting the readiness of Vietnamese students for digital transformation in the above context. The research model is built based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) theory and corrects necessary variables. The results show that the impact of Covid-19, self-study ability and attitude are the factors that have the most influence on the willingness to shift the learning method towards digitization. According to the result, the authors will propose several recommendations on improving the readiness of Vietnamese students for the digital transformation of education and training. Thereby helping students change to adapt to learning activities when the pandemic appears, and know how to take advantage of digital transformation. Keywords: digital transformation, Covid-19, awareness, attitude, self-study DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-16-04 Publication date:June 30th 202

The Role of Multi-Sensory Experience Toward Perceived Medical Service Quality: A Research at Vietnam Public Hospital

The theory of Sensory Marketing has been developed as a special approach to help managers understand customers through creating multi-sensory experiences. In medical services, a patient's multi-sensory experience with a medical facility will shape each customer's different perception of service quality. The article evaluates the role of multi-sensory experience in customers’ perceived service quality at public hospitals in Vietnam. Research results have shown that tactile, olfactory, visual and taste stimuli have a significant influence on the perceived service quality of customers when experiencing medical services. Besides, the authors also detected that customer’s expectation and satisfaction have a proportional relationship. Discussions and recommendations on the application of sensory marketing to improve people's perception of the medical service quality have been proposed to enhance the brand image of Vietnam's public hospitals as well as to ensure the interests of the customer during the use of the service. Keywords: sensory marketing, perceived service quality, medical service, public hospital. DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/83-02 Publication date: December 31st 202