Felte quarterly issue 2

FELTE QUARTERLY
☼ Issue 2 ☼ Spring 2012

Faculty of English Language Teacher Education
University of Languages and International Studies, VNU

For internal circulation only

1

Felte Quarterly

Faculty of English Language Teacher Education
University of Languages and International Studies, VNU

For internal circulation only

Editors
Mr. Ngô Xuân Minh (Division II)
Ms. Trần Hoài Giang (Division II)
Ms. Hoàng Hồng Trang (Division III)

Layout Editor
Ms. Trần Hoài Giang (Division II)

Editorial Advisory Board
Ms. Nguyễn Thu Lệ Hằng, FELTE Dean
Ms. Nguyễn Ngọc Quỳnh, FELTE Vice Dean
Ms. Vũ Mai Trang, FELTE Vice Dean
Mr. Khoa Anh Việt, FELTE Vice Dean

Photo Credit
Front cover photo taken by Spoii (2009). Retrieved from:
http://spoii.deviantart.com/gallery/

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Table of Contents

Editors’ Notes ................................................................................................. 4
FELTE Rhythm
Curricula revision and course development projects
Nguyen Thu Le Hang..................................................................................... 5
AUN at FELTE
Nguyen Thanh Thuy & Phan Ngoc Quynh Anh ............................................. 6
Workshop on teaching reading
Vu Thi Kim Chi ............................................................................................... 7
FELTE Library
Do Thi Minh Ngoc .......................................................................................... 8
Been there done that
Vu Mai Trang ................................................................................................. 10
FELTE Faces
Mr. Vu Hai Ha, an inspiring scholar
Nguyen Thi Chi .............................................................................................. 12
Feature Article
Developing socio-cultural competence in the context of English as a global
language: Implications for English classrooms in Vietnam
Nguyen Thi Thuy Minh .................................................................................. 16
Review
Mckay, S.L. (2002). Teaching English as an international language:
Rethinking goals and approaches. New York: Oxford University Press.
Thai Ha Lam Thuy ......................................................................................... 23

Teaching in Focus
Mentoring program at Division of English Skills 1 – the pathway to become
a professional learning community.
Nguyen Thi Thu Hang & Can Thi Chang Duyen............................................ 26

Call for Contribution .................................................................................... 32

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Editors’
Editors Notes

Spring is unarguably the most celebrated season in Vietnam, and to match the
festive atmosphere of the season, this issue of FELTE QUARTERLY has been attired in the rosy
hue of peach blossoms, the symbolic flower of spring in Northern Vietnam. The sight of peach
blossoms is also reminiscent of the time for Vietnamese people to look back on the previous
year and look forward to the brand new one.

Hence, the journal starts with FELTE Rhythm, a quick review of some remarkable events
occurring in the past semester in the faculty, including the Curricula revision and Course
development project, the AUN project and the establishment of the faculty library as well as a
photo stream of other recent activities. In this season of growth, the journal enjoys the birth of
“Been there done that” – a new column hosted by Ms Vu Mai Trang – which gives room for
faculty members’ brief stories about their mind-opening trips. In the third column (FELTE
Faces), F.Q. proudly presents a young, yet exemplar figure of the new generation, Mr. Vu Hai
Ha – a Ph.D. candidate at Monash University. Also in this issue, F.Q. is honored to introduce a
research report by Dr. Nguyen Thi Thuy Minh, who despite her physical absence is still present
in professional discussions and admired for her contribution to the FELTE family. In the Review
column, Ms. Thai Ha Lam Thuy provides a succinct but informative critique of a notable TESOL
publication from Oxford University Press. The issue ends with a report on the mentoring
program at School of English I, which will hopefully act as food for thought for other schools of
the faculty in their process of mentoring new staff. As usual, all readers should not miss the
Call for Papers to keep themselves informed of ways to join the vibrant community of F.Q.
writers and editors.

To conclude this special issue, the Editorial Board would like to offer their best wishes to
all FELTE staff members and their families on the occasion of the new year. Hope the year of
the Dragon will be the opportune time for all to unleash their potential and ascend to the new
heights in all aspects of life.

F.Q. Editorial Board

☼ Issue 2 ☼ Summer 2011
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FELTE Rhythm

CURRICULA REVISION AND COURSE
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Nguyen Thu Le Hang
course developers will have time to go through the
process until teaching handouts are produced and
papers relating to their work presented at
international conferences and get published. The
Faculty of LCESP is in charge of this 1st stream
subjects under the guidance of Dr. Diana Dudzik.
FELTE has 1 subject- Issues in Teaching English as an
International Languages- in this group. The 2nd
stream is named the Rapids as the course developers
had only 2 intensive weeks coached by Assoc. Prof.
Martha Bigelow. During these two weeks of
December, they worked on 8 Proficiency subjects. All
the Rapids teams have kept working on their draft
Following the success of the National English
syllabi and shared the versions on Google Docs. The
Teacher Education Curriculum (NETEC) project led by
3rd stream is called the Rivulet as the course
Dr. Diana Dudzik and the course development
developers had few workshops facilitated by Dr.
project guided by Assoc. Prof. Martha Bigelow in the
Dudzik and the deliverables for this subject group
first half of 2011, the professional team of FELTE had
are limited to Course Overview, Objectives,
several opportunities to get involved in 2 major
Description and Assessment. By 15 January 2012,
projects in the second half of the year.
FELTE successfully completed the huge work load
The 1st one is the revision of the curricula and managed to submit to the University all the
towards uniformity among ULIS faculties in terms of required syllabus summaries for the new subjects.
the total number of credits and the total number of
We still have a long way ahead, as we have only
subjects per curriculum. FELTE Dean joined with
passed the starting point. Highlights of the Course
other Deans of the University in a series of
Development Project, yet, motivate us all as we “are
workshops and working sessions throughout the
making history”, creating such transformational
Summer, with the facilitation of VPAA and the
changes as designing courses following the Backward
Director of the Training Affairs Department, followed
Design, or restructuring the Proficiency courses
by consultation sessions among the key staff of
condensed to 4 semesters only while adopting the
FELTE. Two curricula for mainstream and two
challenging approach- the Integrated, Theme-based
curricula for the Fast-track- one set for English
and Genre-based Approach.
teacher education, another for the training of
interpreter/translator and administration officer- In the coming months of the first half of 2012,
were finalised, with 8 new English proficiency a larger number of team leaders and members will
subjects and 14 new subjects in the professional involve themselves in various tasks including the
knowledge domain. survey among employers, alumni and current
students about the curricula and program standards,
The 2nd major project is the Multiple-stream
the comparative analysis of similar English Teacher
Course Development. There are 3 streams: the
Education and English language programs in the
Contextual subjects, the Proficiency subjects, and the
world and in the region, and above all, the course
Other subjects in the Professional Knowledge Domain
development as planned in our roadmap.
(M5). The 1st stream is called the Meandering as the

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FELTE Rhythm

AUN at FELTE
Nguyen Thanh Thuy & Phan Ngoc Quynh Anh
AUN-
WHAT IS AUN-QA? 13/9/2011, Professor Nguyen Hoa, ULIS
rector, signed the decision to establish the self-
ASEAN University Network-Quality
assessment board of the Honor program of
Assurance (AUN-QA) System was originated by
English teacher education according to the AUN-
Dr. Vanchai Sirichana, the first chairman of the
QA, including:
AUN Board of trustees (AUN-BOT) in 1998 in
order to reach and maintain the high standard • Professor Nguyen Hoa, President – Chairman
education for not only a particular country but • Dr. Do Tuan Minh - Vice President – Vice
also for ASEAN as a whole. Since then, AUN-QA chairman
has been continuously put into practice, • Ms. Nguyen Thu Le Hang, M.A. - Dean of FELTE
developed and thrived to become a strong QA – Vice chairman
system, gaining the international recognition. • Ms. Vu Tuong Vi, M.A. – Head of Fast Track
Program – Secretary
QA should be an instrument for mutual
• Dr. Lưu Bá Minh, Associate Prof – Standing
recognition to and respect of differences among
member
individual institutions including their diversified
• Dr. Ha Le Kim Anh, Head of Academic affair -
cultural and basic resources. The Project was
Member
welcomed by the 4th Meeting of the AUN-BOT in
• Mr. Nguyen Xuan Chu, M.A. – Head of
Myanmar in 1998 and became an important
personnel office - Member
priority of the AUN, particularly in the dimensions
• Dr. Lam Quang Dong, Head of Faculty of
of teaching, research and overall academic
English - Member
management.
The assessment of the Fast Track Program
AUN IN VIETNAM
based on AUN including 15 criteria and 68 sub-
In Vietnam, AUN-QA has been carried out criteria started from September to November,
with various activities and Vietnam National 2011. During this time, lecturers of FELTE were
University, Hanoi has officially been one member divided into different specifically-assigned
of AUN Board of trustees since 1995. groups namely Writing group, Editor Group and
Supporting Groups. Supporting groups are
ULIS – VNU is currently working on Fast-
different groups of lecturers taking charge of
track program evaluation. One of the objectives
finding evidences for AUN 15 criteria.
of this program is to look back on the
achievements of Fast-track program education By the end of November, Writing group will
during the past years as well as to define existing have finished the first draft of the AUN self-
problems that need to be solved in order to build assessment report based on the evidences found
up the orientation for development in the coming by Supporting groups.
years. On the other hand, thanks to the AUN-QA
As planned, at the beginning of December,
project, not only ULIS teachers’ self-evaluation
2011, the report and the self-assessment
competence will improve but they also get more
checklist will be submitted to the Quality
familiar with international standards and criteria.
Assurance Board of VNU. On January 2012, ULIS
Besides teachers’ participation in the project,
will welcome the experts of AUN coming to ULIS
students’ contributions are of great importance
to evaluate the quality of Fast Track Program for
to the success of the project.
ELT students.

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FELTE News

Workshop on Teaching Reading by Ms. Susan Lucasse
Vu Thi Kim Chi
The workshop on Teaching Reading by Ms. attractive was the partial conduct of a sample
Susan Lucasse on August 30th, 2011 was an eye- integrated reading lesson designed by Dr. Melissa
opener to many novice teachers who were Smith. In the role of students, we gradually went
fumbling for an effective and inspiring way to through the three phases of the lesson with
teach reading skill. New teachers with little relevant and exciting activities which required us
experience of teaching at college learnt a lot not to read both intensively and extensively. This
only from Ms. Lucasse’s presentation, but also sample lesson illustrated really well the theory of
from the way she organized activities and integrating intensive and extensive reading tasks
modeled an effective reading lesson. By putting in L2 classroom and gave me a lot of ideas for my
the audience in the shoes of learners, she actually teaching. The post activities were very creative
made us consider what a student looked forward but quite challenging, as they asked students to
to and needed to acquire after some time actually get engaged in the story by acting the
reading. She also directed our attention to roles of the characters. Although it might be
reading as a daily activity that we did, both in difficult for such activities to be included in a real
Vietnamese and English, very often. Reading does reading lesson under our circumstances, they
not need to be academic and serious all the time. provided the hints for us to design reading tasks
Therefore, we can help students improve their in which students are encouraged and challenged
reading ability with interesting authentic tasks at the same time to use the knowledge they just
and texts which seem to be part of their everyday learn in the lesson for certain purposes.
life. The section that seemed to be the most

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FELTE Rhythm

FELTE Library
Do Thi Minh Ngoc
It’s finally here after months of planning! deserves to be called the first resource for meeting
FELTE Library is now officially open to the mass all FELTE Teachers’ information needs. The Faculty
community of FELTE Teachers on every Tuesday and Managerial Board and the library staff are
Thursday morning, starting from November, 2011. endeavoring for the commitment to turn the library
into the key agent in enabling FELTE Teachers to
“Headquartered” in Room 206, B2 Building on
prosper in the information society and supporting
the campus of the University of Languages and
any individual who is undertaking professional self-
International Studies (HULIS), the library offers
development.
ideally tranquil and inspiring work space, welcoming
atmosphere, and easy and unrestricted access to an Just spare your time, come along and join with
extensive collection of university course-books, us. The library staff – all of whom are young and
reference materials and CDs. The library, currently energetic teachers of the Faculty, are always on
housing nearly 170 items in high demands, hand to help you!

FELTE Library is open from 9 a.m to 11 a.m on every Tuesday and Thursday!

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FELTE Rhythm

Division 2 Inset Training
L2 Vocabulary knowledge 16 Nov 2011

as a two-sided coin
two
18 Oct 2011

Dr Michael Harrington,
School of Languages and Comparative
Cultural Studies, the University of
Queensland, Australia

ULIS StarS
16 Nov 2011

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BEEN THERE DONE THAT

Hosted by Vu Mai Trang
Having recently taken a course? Gone on a trip? Done something interesting? Met new
people? In this space of each issue of FELTE Quarterly we post a question for you to
share your experience and to learn about, and from, our colleagues.

In this issue let’s meet four FELTE faculty members who have attended conferences in
the last couple of months to find out what had well impressed them.

Ms Hieu Thuy (ELT)
Voices in ELT International Conference, Thamasat University, Thailand, June 2011.

The first impression that the Conference had on me was its
organization. Though that was the first time TU held such an
International conference in ELT, they had decided to make it
big. The venue was placed in a five-star hotel, and the
reception dinner was extremely Thai. I was also delighted by
the helpfulness, English proficiency level, and
professionalism of their voluntary students. They were all
wearing their smart uniform - the guys in suits with ties and
girls in shirts and skirts. There were just about 15 of them
but whenever the guests needed help, they could manage
right away. For example, on discovering that my name was
misspelt on the Certificate of Participation, I immediately
sought for help and a nice girl appeared just in time to
direct me to the responsible person.

(ELT)
Ms Mai Trang (ELT)
New Directions, British Council Assessment and Evaluation Symposium, Kuala Lumpur,
July 2011.

One of the things I most remember from the trip was the story
of one Malaysian colleague. Every single day of the Symposium
she came into the conference hall with a super tiny,
sometimes crying, baby in her arms. Struck by an empathy
being a working mother myself, I talked to her and found out
to my amazement that her baby is just 3 weeks old! I was
further taken aback when one of her friends joined our
conversation and almost proudly added that this is the
seventh child of hers! The efforts of this woman to make this
far must be enormous, considering what I learned from the
participants list that most people who came to this
Symposium are those of significance, including noted scholars
Women seen on KL streets, many in black veils
and policy makers. Thinking of her, however, I can’t help
feeling lucky, in some way, imagining the boundaries she
must have tried hard to go beyond, successfully or not.

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BEEN THERE DONE THAT

Thơm Thơm 1)
Ms Thơm Thơm (English 1)

Discourse, Knowledge and Culture Symposium, University of Danang, University of Hue
and University of English and International Studies (ULIS-VNU), Danang, December
2011.

Since it was the very first time I joined a conference in
this city, I was filled with lots of emotions: the curiosity
to discover Danang as a place of interest, the honour to
meet and learn from many researchers in the field, and
the anxiety to prepare for my presentation on Discourse.
However, what most impressed me at the Symposium
was the presentation by the guest speaker, Professor Ly
Toan Thang (Institute of Dictionaries and Encyclopedia)
focusing on Discourse Analysis from Cognitive
perspective. The presentation attracted me in the way
that the scholar was serious to investigate a seemingly
minor example: “đít chai/the bottom of the bottle” in a
Picture taken in My Son
popular Vietnamese saying: “mắt kính dày như đít chai”.
To my surprise, the professor did a thorough research in
various languages in different parts of the world, and traced back to our longstanding history and culture
to provide rather impressive explanations and conclusions. He strongly believed that the example might
have rooted from the traditional and habitual sitting habit of the Vietnamese, “ngắi bắt”. Hardly words
can express my thirst for every single theory proposed and my satisfaction to listen to the rational
explanations. Most importantly, I have learnt much from his commitment in doing scientific research,
which greatly motivates young learners like me in the research career. I was fortunate enough to have a
good time in Danang and join the interesting Symposium.

Ms Quỳnh Lê (English 1)
Quỳnh Lê
International Conference on Language
and Communication, ICLC 2011,
Bangkok, December 2011.

I was most impressed by the hospitality and
excellent organisation offered by the host at the
Conference. On arriving at the site, instead of
seeing young beautiful volunteering girls, as we
usually do domestically, I caught the sight of
many not-so-young ladies and gentlemen here Picture taken with Teun and Dijk
and there giving help in the plenary session room
and always with a friendly smile on their faces. During the welcoming party that afternoon, we learned
that they were holding key positions in their organisations and all were with ..Ph.D! They did their best to
comfort the participants, from the "tiny" things - like making a walking tour to get our feedback on lunch
food- to "bigger" ones, like getting us the proceedings released years ago! Not until the last day did I
find out that they had just recovered from the severe floodings ever just weeks before!

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FELTE Faces

Mr. Vu Hai Ha, an inspiring scholar
FELTE has a tradition where the teachers, generation by
generation, have made non-stop endeavor to pursue their
desire of self-fulfillment in learning and teaching. Among
those who have been successful in reaching out to the world
education is an arguably outstanding young figure, Mr. Vu
Hai Ha, an enthusiastic, inquisitive, and inspiring teacher -
researcher. He is pursuing a PhD degree in Education at
Monash University, Australia in his 20s.
Stimulated by a desire for the engagement and
enhancement of young-generation teachers currently
working in FELTE in their teaching and researching career, I
have invited teacher-cum-postgraduate-student Ha to share
his philosophy and experience in his developmental route.

‘The teacher always needs to learn ,
• Nguyen Thi Chi (C): Hello, my teacher. Thank something, ; and that’s the most important
you for joining in this second issue of FELTE thing I think. And dedication, especially
Quarterly. How are you there? teaching in Vietnam… you know when it comes
to teaching in Vietnam, there are a lot of
• HH: Hello Chi. Everything is fine. How about
difficult conditions and parameters that I think
you and your work?
dedication will come first to good teachers;
• C: Everything seems to go in a right way for and that’s what I am trying to do.
me. And now, shall we talk a bit about you,
about your qualities? ☺

• HH: It’s my pleasure ☺ ‘ when it’s your job, especially concerned

• C: If you have to choose three adjectives to quite a lot of people, you should give it
describe yourself, what will you choose?

• HH: Uh… ‘Dedicated’; that’s the first one. The
what you have ,
second one might be ‘hard-working’; and the
• C: Well, that seems the reason why you have
third one is ‘serious’. ☺
been so popular in our department as well as
• C: So what do you mean by ‘dedicated’ and in our university. Many teachers and students
‘serious’? have praised your endeavor and dedication in
both teaching and researching. So could you
• HH: Well, I think it’s a kind of complementary
please share with us your thoughts of these
in the sense that when you show your
broad areas?
dedication to something, it doesn’t mean that
you are not serious. You shouldn’t take • HH: Of course. I am always willing. ☺
‘serious’ in the negative sense. I think ‘serious’
• C: Thank you, teacher. As I know, teaching
means that when you are interested in
philosophy is very important because it can

12

FELTE Faces
assist the enhancement of a teacher’s the task of students is doing exercises and the
performance, so I wonder what your task of the teacher is saying it’s right or wrong,
philosophy of teaching is. or skim and scan the text to take the cues, or
that’s sort of thing. And when I was a student
• HH: Well, I think it’s very hard. I never collect
in CLC or Fast-track program, I found reading
my philosophy of teaching. But I think the most
was dull, was boring and kind of monotonous.
important principle underlying teaching is, you
It’s like exam-coaching, I think. But when it
know, being able to explain to students. I
comes to the reality, I realize that there is
mean that you should help your students
much more in reading than to answer the
understand the matter as much as possible.
questions. I read an article in real life, I realize
And another thing is that you inspire your
that at the end of the article there is no
students. In the past I emphasized the first
question and no right or wrong, no multiple
one, the first principle, that is how to convey
choice questions, so reading is to relate what
my ideas to the students in the clearest way as
you already know with what you are reading,
possible. But in recent years, I think that I am
so that it can help you best with your purpose
shifting to the later principle, instead of, you
as well as enrich your knowledge. That is the
know, passing on the information to the
main thing that I want to be realized in my
students, I try to inspire them; that is I give
reading lesson, reading is not for answering
them the tool, the inspiration, I inspire them,
questions, but reading for life. So reading is
and I encourage them to explore things in real
not just receptive, but reading is input and is a
life. So, in brief, teaching means inspiration
source of inspiration. I want to use the word
and inspiring students.
‘inspiration’ again. It is again my philosophy of
teaching. Reading is inspiration to other skills
• C: Yeap, I like the word ‘inspiring’. Honestly, and also to life, to work, everything. I really
when I was a student, I was inspired a lot in want my student to understand that reading is
your reading lessons. They did not only very important, not for exam, but for real life
provide me with knowledge and skills but they as well.
also proved me that teaching was an art, • C: How did you do to make your students
particularly teaching reading. And I’d like to understand that reading is not doing the
ask you some more specific things related to exercises but the input for other skills?
your reading lessons.
• HH: It’s really hard because whether we like it
• HH: Ok! or not, examination and testing system in our
• C: You know many students reckon reading university is kind of standardized tests, so the
lessons are so dull, but those who attended students don’t… It’s kind of paradox here, the
your lessons, as far as I know, all felt excited. students don’t want to do exercises like IELTS
How did you keep students motivated with so- or TOEFL so much but when they are directed
called dull lessons? towards reading for other purposes, they
complain that, you know, we need to be
• HH: Well… well. Normally, people classify
coached for the exams. So that’s what I say
reading as receptive skills, and by receptive,
there is a paradox here. I think that the most
they give students kinds of reading in the
important thing here is to help students
classroom, something prescribed by the
understand the purposes of reading. For
teacher on syllabus, and their tasks are simply
example, with your class, at the beginning of
answering the questions. And sometimes the
the semester, I talked about my intention of
questions are very closed-ended… I mean that
critical reading, and I told you, I remember,

13

FELTE Faces
course, you are talking about reading, but
‘ teaching means inspiration and inspiring students , when it comes to warm-up activity, I always
tried to make the connection between the
• “It’s up to you. If you are willing, you will learn warm-up activities with the listening skills that
a lot. If you are not willing, it is ok, because your class focused. So I think that meaningful
you know, it’s kind of workload, not only for makes creative sustainable, and in order to do
you, students, but also for teacher. But if you that the teacher should read a lot. There are
think it’s the opportunity to learn, we do many sources of reading, library, somewhere
together”. I think that it is important for else, and even workshops. I remember I learnt
teachers to help students to understand why a lot from the workshops when I was in my first
they are doing something in the first place. teaching year. I attended the workshop on
Otherwise, it’s kind of imposing on the Critical Thinking by Ms. Phung Ha Thanh, and
students that they must do that. So it takes it was very useful, it gave me a lot of
time; and come back to your question: how, I interesting ideas about how to improve my
think, talking to students, motivating them and classes. And that’s the first thing; the teacher
helping them to see what kinds of problems, always needs to learn. And secondly, you
and what the reading program does not should think, put yourself in the students’
provide them, and then inspire them to do situation, you think of how students are gonna
something different. Finally, I think both do this, or think of what activities will work and
students and teacher need to involve in that. what you are going to do. We, teachers, always
• C: Humm… That will be kind of food for need to encourage the students to give
thought for teachers, especially for me, a feedback because creativeness, if it is not
‘new-comer’ in teaching career. And I appreciated by the students explicitly, and
remember you once told us that innovation sometimes students do not show whether they
was essential in teaching; it makes a teacher an enjoy the activities, the new things brought by
attracting and vivid textbook. Could you please the teacher, we may feel demotivated; so I
share with us how to be constantly innovative think listening to the students is one way to
in our teaching? encourage you to be even more creative. I
shouldn’t forget to mention that I also learn
• HH: Well… I remember some people asked me
from the students themselves because
this question before, and I say first of all, it
sometimes I ask students to be creative in
comes from the nature of the teacher, being
class and some students have really good
creative. I think that not all teachers are
techniques or ideas. I may duplicate their ideas
creative because for some of them, creative
or I may build up my ideas based on their
means breaking the rules, the textbook. It is
ideas. So in brief, in order to be constantly
kind of take risk and some don’t like to take
creative, the teacher needs to learn all the
risk. So, first innovative comes from teachers,
time, whenever you can, when you are a
and second it must come from students. Some
teacher, when you are a student, when you are
classes like to explore new things and we find
a workshop attendant.
their motivation to learn, but there are classes
which don’t want to change at all. As for your • C: So interesting: teachers need to learn at any
question about the techniques to be creative, I time, and even learn when talking to each
think that first of all the teacher need to read a other in this way. ☺
lot because, you know, innovation should be • HH: ☺
meaningful. For example, you remember the
warm-up games at your listening class? Of

14

FELTE Faces
• C: And now I’d like to move on to another big • ‘ Research is an opportunity to learn ,
area in which you are also popular, that’s enthusiasm for teaching. I didn’t know why
research. Could you please share with us what because, you know, dedication is still my merit,
‘research’ means to you? And how come have my strength, my quality. I think the problem
you been attracted to research? might be my communication with the students.
So I really want to understand the younger
• HH: For me, research is an opportunity to
generation even more, so that in the future
learn… Research is an opportunity to sharpen
when I come back to Vietnam, I love teaching
your skills. Many people think that research is
even more. So far I think that at least I
just reading and writing only but research
understand the younger generation much
includes a lot of skills, for example, when you
more. I realize that in the past I had some
go out to interview people, that is socialization,
conflict with young generation because I didn’t
communication skills, when you present your
understand them enough. That’s why I decided
idea to the public or to the panel, you sharpen
to work on their voice, their language, and
your presentation skills…And I realize lots of
their values in classroom.
skills I have today and I am confident with
come from my research experiences… The • C: I think not only you but many other teachers
most important thing that inspires me to do a can get benefit from your study. I long for
lot of research is that I could learn a lot from much more inspiring lessons of yours when
them… Another thing is you have right attitude you come back… And the last question is ‘Do
to understanding of research. You don’t try it, you have any research plan in the coming
you know, kind of application for scholarship, time?’
or prizes I think. Actually, in my situation I
• HH: Of course, I am doing one, my PhD project.
didn’t even, you know, claim the prize when I
I’m also writing a course book for critical
got the first, second prizes, and I was eligible
reading program. So you’ll find new ideas
for extra points or marks in GPA but I didn’t
about critical reading in this book rather than
claim that, because I was satisfied with what I
handouts. Actually Ms. Yen and Ms. Ha in Fast-
got already. In brief, you take research as an
track program are experimenting the program
opportunity to learn and understand it,
right now. We are working closely as a team
especially student research. Probably that will
although we are thousands of miles away.
inspire you.
That’s collaborative teaching and action
• C: I remember that your current thesis is about research in my view.
Vietnamese 9X TESOL trainees’ Struggle of
• C: Thank you very much for your energetic
Voice for their Language and Values. And what
sharing. I believe that FELTE teachers,
inspires you to do such research?
especially young teachers, as well as students
• HH: Well, again I have to say that research will soon find teaching and learning about
should come from your real life. Many people reading much more an interest and a challenge
think that I do research on 9X because they are than a bore. Also, we will probably be more
popular, modern, and they are probably of my engaged in research ourselves as well as in
topic and that I am going to talk about the guiding our students to do research. On behalf
international language or anything, but actually of FELTE teachers, I wish you notable success
it’s not. You know, the reason why I chose the in your PhD study. We hope to see you soon in
topic is that the more I taught them, the young teaching.
generation, the more I realize that I was bored,
• HH: Thank you. I also hope to see all of you
and I lost my appetite, energy and my
soon. Best wishes to my colleagues!

15

Feature Article

socio-
Developing socio-cultural competence in the context of English as a Global
Language: Implications for English classrooms in Vietnam
Nguyen Thi Thuy Minh

National Institute of Education

In his report for the British Council entitled “English Next”, David Graddol (2006) points out that as
English becomes a global language, native-speaker (NS) norms are becoming less relevant. This is
because the global spread of the language would mean fewer interactions involving an NS. The fact that
an increasing number of interactions in English nowadays are taking place between people who use it as
an additional language can make the task of teaching cross-cultural communication skills more complex
than ever. Instead of introducing only NS socio-cultural norms, English teachers now need to help their
students to accommodate to a much more diverse range of cultural differences and perspectives
(Crawford 2006).

In this paper, I will discuss the challenges that the globalization of English has posed for teachers in
preparing ‘socio-culturally competent’ English language users, and draw implications for English
classrooms in Vietnam. I will firstly address the concept of ‘socio-cultural competence’ as a core
component of ‘communicative competence’ with reference to the context of English as a Global
Language (EGL). Drawing on this discussion, I will then argue that teaching English rules of speaking in
this new context should be informed by a World Englishes perspective rather than by NS norms as it was
previously assumed, and finally I will explicate the relevance of this proposition to English Language
Teaching (ELT) in Vietnam.

1. Socio-cultural competence in the context of EGL: A critique of the NS model

Socio-cultural competence is the knowledge that enables a speaker to express his/ her meanings and
intentions via speech acts (e.g. requests, invitations, disagreements and so on) appropriately within a
particular social and cultural context of communication. This knowledge necessarily involves both having
linguistic means for expressing speech acts and understanding the socio-cultural constraints on the use
of these means (Canale 1983). Socio-cultural competence is essential for effective communication and in
fact constitutes one of the core components of one’s communicative competence’ (see Canale and Swain
1980, Canale 1983). That is to say, a language user cannot be deemed ‘competent’ if he or she is unable
to, among other things, ‘do things with words’ properly in a given context of use of the given language.

Research into cross-cultural communication has repeatedly shown that performing speech acts in a
second language (L2) can be a challenging task for many L2 learners (see Kasper and Rose 2002).
Difficulties arise mostly due to the inherent differences that exist between their first language (L1) and
culture and the second language and culture. Very often, these differences have caused
miscommunication (Thomas 1983). The implication drawn from this body of research is language
pedagogy needs to allow L2 learners to explore the socio-cultural norms of the NS community and the
various ways they constrain the language use by this community (see Rose and Kasper 2001).

Indeed, this idea has tremendously impacted L2 classrooms in the past few decades. It has remained
widely accepted among teachers and researchers for years that L2 pedagogical practices can benefit
enormously from a description of NS models. For example, Cohen (1996: 412, cited in McKay 2002)

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explained how studies that compare NS speech act behavior with learners’ speech act behavior can
contribute to the teaching of L2 speech acts:

“Once descriptions of the speech acts are made available, the next task is to determine the
degree of control that learners have over those speech acts … Ideally, this information could then
be used to prepare a course of instruction that would fill in the gaps in language knowledge and
also give tips on strategies that might be useful for producing utterances. The role of the learners
is to notice similarities and differences between the way native speakers perform speech acts and
the way they do.”

McKay (2002) points out that what underlies this NS-based pedagogical model is the assumption that the
goal of L2 learning is to achieve the ‘NS competence’. According to this model, any variation from the NS
norms would be considered undesirable or even ‘defective’ (Crawford 2006, Foley 2007). For example,
Thomas (1983) describes two types of learners’ ‘failure’ when performing a speech act in the L2. “Socio-
pragmatic failure’ is evident when the learner either performs the given speech act where it is not
expected (e.g. asking a new acquaintance personal questions) or does not perform it where it is required
(e.g. thanking for a service). “Pragma-linguistic failure’ happens when the learner expresses the speech
act in a non-target-like manner (e.g. making an imperative request).

While the proposition that L2 pedagogy needs to set as its aim the development of learners’ socio-
cultural competence is plausible, the assumption that this competence should be based on an NS model
is not without criticisms (McKay 2002, 2003, Crawford 2006, Foley 2007). Kasper (1997) argued that for
adult L2 learners the goal of achieving a native-like competence is unfeasible since L2 is increasingly
difficult to acquire with age. Cook (2002: 333), for instance, indicated that “only a vanishing small
percentage of students ever come close to the ‘success’ of duplicating native attainment”.

What is more, it is unreasonable to assume that the goal of L2 learners is to achieve a native-like socio-
cultural competence. There is evidence to suggest that L2 learners do not always desire to adopt NS rules
of speaking because sometimes it happens that these rules conflict with their own system of cultural
beliefs and values (Hinkel 1996, Ellis 1994, Kasper 1997). Perhaps they only target at becoming
competent L2 users while maintaining their cultural identity (Ellis 1994, Siegal 1996). The total
convergence with the NS behavior by L2 speakers may also be viewed negatively by some NSs. For
example, the former might be perceived as “intrusive and inconsistent with the non-native speakers’
(NNS) role as outsider to the L2 community” (Kasper 1997: 12, abbreviation added). Therefore, some
divergence as a marker of non-membership could perhaps be more appreciated (Kasper, ibid.).

Another problem lies in the difficulty establishing what can count as ‘NS norms’ because as Kasper (ibid.)
argues, the NS community is certainly not a homogenous group. This is precisely the case of the English
language, where so many varieties exist. Kachru (1989), for example, divides the English speaking world
into three groups, which he terms the ‘inner’, the ‘outer’, and the ‘expanding’ circles (Figure 1). The
‘inner circle’ includes countries where English is spoken as the first/ native language (ENL) (e.g. the
United Kingdom, the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), and which he refers to as ‘norm-
providing’ countries. The fact the NS of these English varieties do not necessarily share the same ‘norms’
would make the task of ‘following NS norms’, supposed it were desirable, rather daunting for English
learners, especially if they learn the language outside the territory of the ‘inner circle’. As Yano (2001:
120) puts it,

“As far as English is learned by immigrants in English-speaking societies such as Britain and the
United States, there does not seem to be any problem in learning the language in the socio-

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cultural framework of these societies. However, problems arise when English is learned as a
second (ESL) or foreign language (EFL) in societies where English is not used as the native
language, because English is no longer used in the Anglo-American socio-cultural framework
alone”(abbreviations added).

Indeed, NS norms seem less relevant in contexts where people do not need to interact with the NS (Yano
2001, Graddol 2006). People in the ‘outer circle’ such as Singapore, India, or the Philippines have their
own rules when using English to communicate within their society. These rules inform appropriate
language use for particular contexts, though not necessarily similar to those observed in the UK or the
USA (McKay 2002). In encounters where people come from all different countries, it also makes little
sense why they should adopt the socio-cultural norms of a particular English NS community to
communicate with one another (McKay 2002, 2003).

Inner
Circle
(ENL)

Outer Circle
(ESL)

Expanding Circle
(EFL)

Figure 1: Kachru’s categorization of countries in which English is used (from Crystal 1997: 54)

Finally, the difficult is related to the term ‘NS’ itself. As Graddol (2006: 110) indicates, “Global English
has led to a crisis of terminology. The distinction between ‘native speaker’, ‘second-language speaker’,
and ‘foreign-language user’ have become blurred”. In other words, it has become more problematic than
ever to define ‘an NS’ in the new context. One reason is varieties of English in the ‘outer circle’ have
become so well established that many ESL speakers would feel they are NSs of English and do have NS
intuition (Yano 2001). In fact, Kachru himself (1999) has acknowledged the increasing importance of the
‘outer circle’, proposing that the English speakers from this circle should now be better described as
‘functional’ NSs rather than L2 speakers. Another reason for Graddol’s claim is the boundary between the
‘outer circle’ (ESL) and ‘expanding circle’ (EFL) is also becoming less clear since the EFL learners in some
countries are becoming more like second language users (Graddol 2006). For example, many European
countries such as Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland have been
found in transition from an EFL context to an ESL context (Graddol 1997, cited in McKay 2002, Yano
2001). English is now being used daily in various areas of life such as media, business, professional
discourse, higher education and so on in these countries. Spreading at the present rate, English language
use is anticipated to be found in similar transition in other continents very soon (Yano 2001). Given all
these changes, Graddol (2006) argues that it makes little sense to hold on to the ‘traditional’ distinction
between NSs and NNSs, and in a globalized world it would be more helpful to distinguish English
speakers according to their proficiency levels rather than their ‘native’ status.

Also, what can be threatening to many L2 speakers is the fact that the term “NS’ seems to emphasize the
‘superior authority’ of the NS over the latter. As Graddol (2006: 83) points out,

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“the target language is always someone else’s mother tongue. The learner is constructed as a
linguist tourist – allowed to visit, but without rights of residence and required always to respect
the superior authority of native speakers.”

As argued earlier, the assumption of ‘NS superior authority’ is hard to justify today. This is because with
the vast and fast growing number of English L2 speakers, far surpassing the so-called ‘NS communities’,
the ownership of the language seems to be shifting away from the latter (Yano 2001). There is an
increasing consensus that English should no longer be viewed as a possession of the Anglo-Saxon
community, but should be considered to belong to anyone who uses it (Yano 2001, McKay 2002, 2003,
Foley 2006, Graddol 2006). Graddol (ibid.) even points out that the future of the English language does
not depend on the Anglo-Saxon countries but in fact is determined by the people of Asia since this
continent will boast the largest number of English language users in the 50 years or so to come.

In short, as McKay (2003: 13) points out, “there are many reasons for putting aside the traditional
pedagogical approach of employing NS models”. It is unfeasible and does not allow for learners’
subjectivity and social claims. Nor does it cater to their communication needs in a wider diversity of
contexts and reflect the recent global development of English. In response to the given criticisms, there
is a need to reconsider what it means to be a ‘socio-culturally competent’ EGL user, and work toward an
appropriate pedagogy that helps to achieve this competence in the new context.

2. Towards a socio-cultural competence in the EGL context: Implications for Vietnam

Needless to say, if the goal of ELT pedagogy is to train English speakers who will be communicating in a
globalized world, there is a need to shift to a new notion of ‘communicative competence’ “where the
communication is defined by the capacity of individuals of different cultures to interact” (Brumfit 2003:
120) rather than is limited to the capacity to interact with NSs. In a similar vein, socio-cultural
competence needs to be redefined by a broader set of knowledge and abilities than the knowledge of the
target culture norms alone. It needs to be seen as the capacity of individuals to be aware of the
differences that exist between their own system of beliefs and values and that of their interlocutors and
the capacity to negotiate these differences such that common understanding is achieved and solidarity is
established (see Gee 1993, Kramsch and Thorne 2002, Bredella 2003, all cited in Crawford 2006 for a
similar discussion). Obviously, the teacher’s task in the multilingual context of English use will become
more complex than in the past since they will need to help their learners to accommodate to a much
wider diversity of cultural perspectives and discourse communities than what is presented by the NS
community, and at the same time to achieve intelligibility without losing their cultural identity (Crystal
2001). This can be achieved only by a pedagogy that advocates cultural and linguistic diversity and that
respects learner individuality and system of beliefs and values.

Like any other countries in the ‘expanding circle’, Vietnam is giving an increasingly higher status to the
English language. A recent article found in Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reveals that the Ministry of
Education and Training of Vietnam is planning a project worth 300-400 million USD for promoting the
teaching and learning of English in schools. English will be taught from Grade 3 (age 8) and become the
medium of instruction for selected subjects when students reach the upper-secondary school level. The
goals are also set that 80% of secondary school students throughout the country will be learning English
by the year 2020 and university graduates in targeted majors such as financing, banking, IT, and tourism
should achieve a working knowledge of the language. These facts and figures are plain indicators of the
government’s growing awareness of the important role of English as a means of both regional and global
communication.

19

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Figure 2: Top 10 FDI countries/ economies by number of projects

Looking at the context of English use in Vietnam today, I would argue that although much of cross-
cultural communication happening in the areas of business, trade and tourism is done in English, the
people involved come from a far wider diversity of L1 backgrounds than merely NSs of English. For
example, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), over 80 different countries and economies
have invested in Vietnam between 1988 and 2007. Among the top 10 investors (in terms of both number
of projects and registered capital), only USA is an ENL country (see Figures 2& 3). The statistics provided
by the General Statistics Office between 2000 and 2005 also indicates that international visitors to
Vietnam represented a wide diversity of nationalities and cultures (Figure 4). Besides the two ENL
countries, namely the UK and the USA, many EFL countries such as China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand
were also found among the top sources of visitors.

Investment Capital in 1988-2007

16,000
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
A
ng
a

ce
ds
an

I
re

n

ia

US
V.
re

pa

an
Ko
po

lan
ys
iw
Ko

sh
Ja

e
ala

Fr
ga

Ta

Th
ng

er
iti
Sin

th
M
Br

Ho

Ne

Figure 3: Top 10 FDI countries/ economies by investment capital (in million USD)

When English is learned to be used outside Vietnam, I would also argue that it is for communication
across a wide range of cultures and speech communities. For example, in education, besides the vast

20

Feature Article
number of Vietnamese students going to study in ENL countries such as the USA and Australia (PTIT, 18
May 2007), the number of students going to ESL countries such as Malaysia and Singapore is also
growing very fast (Bao Viet Nam, 28 September 2008; Gia dinh Online, 19 December 2007). A source
from Singapore reveals that Vietnamese students are among the 6 largest groups of overseas students in
this country (Bao Viet Nam, 28 September 2008).

Obviously, as English is increasing its influence as a global lingua franca on the world’s communication,
the range of cultural boundaries English users cross is also expanding. This is precisely what English
users in Vietnam are experiencing now. The implications that this reality has for English teachers are
crucial. My argument is the time has come for us to rethink our goal of ELT and the implications it brings
in terms of teaching methods, materials and assessment. If we are to develop fluent users of EGL, who
are capable of accommodating themselves to a wide variety of cultural perspectives without losing their
own sense of self and identity, we need to reconsider such issues as what makes a socio-culturally
competent English user, how this competence should be assessed and what cultural materials are useful
in teaching it. A pedagogical approach that employs NS models as sole ‘standard’ reference is certainly
not capable of helping us to achieve this goal.

900

800

700

600 2000
2001
500
2002
400
2003
300 2004
200 2005

100

0
Taiwan Japan France USA UK Thailand China

Figure 4: Statistics of international visitors to Vietnam in 2005

References
Bao Viet Nam (2008). Hoc sinh Viet Nam du hoc Singapore tang manh. Accessed October 20, 2008 at
http://www.baovietnam.vn/giao-duc/84085/20/Hoc-sinh-VN-du-hoc-Singapore-tang-manh

Bredella, L. (2003). For a flexible model of intercultural understanding. In G. Alfred, M. Byram, and M.
Fleming (Eds.), Intercultural Experience and Education (pp. 31-49). Clevedon: Multilingual
Matters.

Brumfit, C. (2003). Individual Freedom in Language Teaching: Helping Learners to Develop a Dialect of
their Own. Oxford: OUP.

Canale, M. & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language
teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics 1 (1), 1- 47.

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Canale, M. (1983). On some dimensions of language proficiency. In J. W. Oller (Ed.), Issues in Language
Testing Research (pp.332-342). Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House.

Cook, V. (201). Second Language Learning and Language Teaching. London: Anorld.

Crawford, J. (2006). Becoming an L2 user: Implications for Identity and Culture in the Language
Classroom. Studies about languages 8, 70-76.

Crystal, D. (1997). English as a Global Language. Cambridge: CUP.

Crystal, D. (2001). The future of Englishes. In A. Burns & C. Coffin (Eds.), Analyzing English in a Global
Context (pp.53-64). London: Routledge.

Ellis, R. (1994). The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

FIA (2007). Statistics of Foreign Direct Investment in Vietnam in 1988-2007. Accessed October 08 at
http://fia.mpi.gov.vn/Default.aspx?ctl=Article2&TabID=4&mID=52&aID=412

Foley, J. (2007). English as a Global Language: My two satangs’ worth. RELC Journal 38 (1), 7-17.

Gee, J. (1993). An Introduction to Human Language: Fundamental Concepts in Linguistics. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.

Gia dinh Online (2007). Sinh vien Viet Nam du hoc o Malaysia tang nhanh. Accessed October 20, 2008 at
http://www.giadinhonline.vn/Chitiettintuc/tabid/7944/ArticleID/100964/

Graddol, D. (2006). English Next. United Kingdom: British Council. Also vailable at
www.britishcouncil.org/learning-research.

Kachru, B. (1989). Teaching world Englishes. Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics 15 (1), 85-95.

Kachru, B. (1999). Asian Englishes: Contexts, Constructs and Creativity. Keynote address, The 12th World
Congress if the International Association of Applied Linguistics, Tokyo.

Kasper, G. (1997). The role of pragmatics in language teacher education. In K.Bardovi-Harlig &
B.Hartford, Beyond methods (pp. 113-141). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kasper, G., & Rose, K. (2002). Pragmatic Development in a Second Language. Oxford: Blackwell.

Kramsch, C. & Thorne, S. (2002). Foreign language learning as global communicative practice. In D. Block
& D. Cameron (Eds.), Globalization and Language Teaching (pp.83-100). London: Routledge.

McKay, S. (2002). Teaching English as an International language: Rethinking goals and approaches.
Oxford: OUP.

McKay, S. (2003). Toward an appropriate EIL pedagogy: re-examining common ELT assumptions.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics 13 (1), 1-22.

Tong cuc Thong ke (2005). Nien giam thong ke 2005. Hanoi: NXB Tong cuc thong ke.

Nguoi Lao Dong (2008). 300-400 trieu USD cho du an day tieng Anh. Accessed October 20, 2008 at
http://www.nld.com.vn/tintuc/giao-duc/217900.asp

Rose, K., & Kasper, G. (2001). Pragmatics in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

PTIT (2008). Du hoc: Dua di sao chang don ve? Accessed October 20, 2008 at
http://www.ptit.edu.vn/news_detail.asp?id=1126&lang=0

Thomas, J. (1983). Cross-cultural pragmatic failure. Applied Linguistics 4, 91-112.

Yano, Y. (2001). World Englishes in 2000 and beyond. World Englishes 20 (2), 119-131.

22

Review

Teaching English as an International Language:
Rethinking Goals and Approaches
Sandra Lee Mckay – 2002

New York: Oxford University Press

Review by Thai Ha Lam Thuy

Academic Development, ULIS, VNU

Recent decades have witnessed the worldwide spread of English. It is estimated that
speakers of English as a second language and a foreign language will soon outnumber those
who speak it as a first language. For its globally undeniable dominance, many agree that
English has become an international language. Nevertheless, the spread of English has resulted
in a number of varieties of English spoken today regarding grammar, lexical, and phonological
levels (p.1). Hence, pedagogical implications in the teaching and learning English as an
international language (EIL) are urgently necessary to be examined more than ever before.
Teaching English as an International Language: Rethinking Goals and Approaches by McKay is
one among very few books dealing with this issue. The book also achieved Winner of the Ben
Warren International Book Award for outstanding teacher education materials.

This book consists of five chapters, an introduction, and a conclusion, each of which
examines a particular aspect of the phenomenon of teaching and learning EIL. The first chapter,
‘English as an International Language,’ tries to define an international language by examining
the essential features for a language to be international. Though the number of individuals who
use the language does count, it would be a hasty conclusion to define a language as such. One
very important characteristic of an international language is that it is “no longer linked to a
single culture or nation but serves both global and local needs as a language of wider
communication.” (p.24) Moreover, an international language needs to develop alongside other
languages. McKay also discusses the reasons which enhance and hinder the development of
English. The negative effects of this spread are touched upon together with its positive effects.
Kachru’s classification of Inner, Outer, and Expanding Circle countries is used to explain for the
current trend of English use in the world. The idea of the three concentric circles of the
language is utilized throughout the book to help better understand the assumptions that
current theories and practices of the teaching and learning English have stood on.

The purpose of Chapter two, ‘Bilingual Users of English,’ is to argue a native speaker norm
in English language research and pedagogy is not relevant and unproductive to many contexts
in which English is used as an international language. McKay also proceeds to problematize the
definition of ‘native speaker’ by evaluating the validity and appropriateness of a native speaker
norm. Furthermore, she points out the problems of using native-like competence in second
language acquisition research and suggests thoroughly examining individual learners’ specific

23

Review
uses of English within their particular speech community as a basis for determining learning
goals. She explores the native speaker ideal's impact on bilingual teachers and enumerates the
advantages that bilingual teachers bring to their profession when they share their students’
culture.

In Chapter three, ‘Standards for English as an International Language,’ McKay investigates
what variety of English should be considered the standard for international use of the language.
Distinctive linguistic features of varieties of English are examined. Changes in and attitudes
towards changes in lexical, grammatical, and phonological aspects are discussed with a
thorough review of previous studies. Regarding pragmatic and rhetorical competences, the
demand for conformity to Western cultural pragmatics and rhetorical conventions is
questioned. It is concluded that the focus should be placed on developing “awareness of cross-
cultural variation [rather than] promoting Inner Circle pragmatic and rhetorical rules” to answer
the question of intelligibility. (p.94)

As defined in chapter one, an international language is a language that “can’t be linked to
any one country or culture”, and it must belong to those who use it. However, questions of
whose discourse rules to apply in the use of EIL is problematic and whose culture of learning
should be used receive a great deal of concerns from educational. Regarding these issues,
Chapter four, ‘Culture in Teaching English as an International Language,’ explores culture in EIL
teaching and culture as it is embedded in teaching materials. The teaching of discourse
competence, the use of cultural materials in the classroom, and the cultural assumptions that
inform teaching methods are reexamined.

The last chapter, ‘Teaching Methods and English as an International Language,’ explores
the concept of ‘culture of learning’ by describing the cultural differences in learning between
Asian and Western countries. Moreover, different attitudes towards knowledge are examined.
While Asian students tend toward conserving knowledge end (knowledge of the past), Western
students tend toward extending knowledge (new knowledge is developed). From this point of
view, McKay argues “comparison of various non-western cultures with western ones suggests
that in some ways the latter are the standard and hence should provide the model for the
teaching of English. However, in the teaching of an international language, bilingual users
should be allowed to take ownership not only of the language but also of the methods used to
teach it.” (p. 107). Unfortunately communicative language teaching (CLT) – a teaching method
of Inner Circle developed countries - has been adopted widely under the assumption of
modernization theory with “limited insights until they become virtually meaningless” (Swan
1985, cited in McKay, 2002). In this chapter, McKay critically reviews the rise of communicative
language teaching (CLT) in particular contexts, especially in Asian countries. It is concluded
that one should not assume that a single teaching method (e.g., CLT) is appropriate in all
teaching and learning contexts. The notion of a cultural sensitivity of learning is promoted.

Furthermore, McKay shares an opinion with Prabhu (1990) that “no one best method and
no one method that is best for a particular context.” Prabhu’s believes “there is a factor more
basic than the choice between methods, namely, teachers’ subjective understanding of the
teaching they do” (1990, cited in McKay, 2002) – teachers’ ‘sense of plausibility’. This belief is
advocated by many famous scholars such as Kramsch and Sullivan. The findings in their study

24

Review
in Vietnam context are in keeping with the motto ‘think globally, act locally’; in other words,
‘global thinking, local teaching’. However, my concern would be laid in the validity of ‘teachers’
sense of plausibility’ or how teachers themselves can enhance their plausibility sense.

McKay's conclusion, Rethinking Goals and Approaches, succinctly summarizes the major
points elaborated in the book on the development of theories in EIL, teaching goals, and
approaches to teaching EIL. The book develops a strong case for shifting the ownership of
English away from Inner Circle countries through a wide review of studies in many parts of the
world.

The book is clearly written with well-structured organization. A short summary of what
have been discussed is provided at the end of every chapter. Teaching English as an
International Language is a useful source for reflection among those teaching English to
multilingual users, creating curriculum and materials for English courses, or conducting
research in the field of English language acquisition.

25

Teaching in Focus

Mentoring program at Division of English
Skills 1– the pathway to become a Professional
Learning Community
Nguyen Thi Thu Hang & Can Thi Chang Duyen

Setting the scene
Division of English Skills 1 (hereafter the division or Division 1) is in charge of teaching the
four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing to first-year students enrolled in
English Department. The division has totally 28 teachers, ranging from 24 to 34 years of age. Half
of the teaching staff has been working in the division for 4-6 years; one third has less than two
years experience; and the most senior group (5 teachers) has been teaching for about 8-10 years.
The division suffers high rate of turnover since every year an average of 4-5 teachers (mostly in the
middle group) are transferred to other divisions in the department and it usually expects to recruit
very young teachers who are newly graduates. Therefore, a mentoring program was devised in 2009
to 1) assist the young teachers in the beginning of their career; 2) promote the learning and sharing
practice in the division; 3) create an understanding and supporting relationship among the teaching
staff; and 4) improve the teaching quality reflected in the enhanced students’ outcomes.

Each year the mentoring program focuses on a particular language skill. In the first year it was
Listening skill, then Reading in 2010, and this year Speaking. The most senior group and some from
the middle group (with 6 years experience) are appointed mentors, and mentorship is for less
experienced teachers, though priority is given to the youngest group with less than two years
teaching. Participation in the mentoring program is on a voluntary basis, though most of the
division members are encouraged to join.

At the first meeting of the program (usually one or two weeks before school year starts), the
list of mentors and mentees is finalized and mentees can directly contact and choose his/her
mentor; otherwise the program coordinator will randomly match mentor-mentee pairs, making sure
each mentor has no more than two mentees to avoid overload. At the second or third week, a senior
teacher in the mentor group will give a sample lesson of the focused skill. This sample lesson is
video recorded. Anyone can access this video and consult it for his/her teaching.

After the sample lesson of an experienced teacher, each mentor-mentee pair will then agree
on a meeting schedule, in which they can discuss the mentee’s lesson plans and teaching activities
(of the focused skill) to receive feedbacks, comments, and suggestions. They also decide the two
lessons in a semester when the mentor will come to the mentee’s class to observe. The observation
schedules of all pairs are sent to the coordinator, who will make a synthesis to inform the whole
division.

When it comes to the scheduled lesson, mentor goes to observe mentee’ class. Then mentor
and mentee sit down again to discuss the delivered lesson and draw out remarks and possibilities
for improvement. All of the mentees’ classes in which there is mentors’ observation are video
recorded. In case they want to have a closer look back at their lesson, the video tape is served as a
useful means. Also, by watching the video tape again, both mentor and mentee may find other
details that they have missed in the observation. The bank of video tapes is accessible to not only

26

Teaching in Focus
the mentor-mentee pair but also everyone in the division. It is also stored for later use as teaching
resources and researching database.

After each observed class, an evaluation form is delivered to the students, asking them to give
comments on content of the lesson, the teacher and their overall feeling. At the end of the
semester, another evaluation form is given to students, but focuses on the teacher who teaches the
focused skill. The evaluation of teachers is known to leaders of the division only.

There are two meeting sessions held for the whole division, one in the middle and the other at
the end of the semester. In these meetings, feedback for mentors and mentees in general is
discussed and evaluation of the whole program is given. Besides, these meetings aim to facilitate
and consolidate the open and sharing atmosphere among the members.

A learning community
In implementing the mentoring program and making it a regular practice, Division of language
skills 1 is hoping to create a Professional Learning Community. As Stoll et al. points out in his
review of literature on Professional Learning Communities (2006), “learning can no longer be left to
individuals. To be successful in a changing and increasingly complex world, it is suggested that
whole school communities need to work and learn together to take charge of change, finding the
best ways to enhance young people’s learning” (p. 222). It can be seen clearly that the mentoring
program in the division is first and foremost to “enhance young people’s learning”. By discussing
and receiving feedbacks, comments and suggestions, young teachers get the experience from more
senior teachers on their specific teaching pedagogies and contents; hence, the theories they learnt
at college are consolidated with real-life practice. By exchanging opinions, teachers find out the
best way to deliver a lesson with its particular aims and objectives, with particular teaching
resources that a teacher has at hand.

Not only does mentoring program benefit young teachers, it also provides opportunities for
more senior staff to critically reflect their teaching practices. Young teachers are often characterized
by enthusiasm and vigorous teaching styles, their inclination to apply updated technological
advancements in their classroom practice while more senior staff, who after several years has
accumulated remarkable experience and resources, tend to follow their routines. By working with
new teachers, it is likely that more experienced staff is motivated to revitalize their teaching
routines. Moreover, the exchange of applying technological advancements into classroom practice
can be mutually beneficial, for senior staff, it helps to diversify their teaching resources; for junior
staff, it is to make sure they don’t get carried away by fancy techno, become indulgent in technical
details and forget the global content of the lesson. But most importantly, during the process of
lesson plan discussion, both mentor and mentees have to “make the tacit explicit” by analysing the
underpinnings of each and every teaching activity, by which reflecting their underlying beliefs in
teaching profession. As such, the division is driven toward “a group of people sharing and critically
interrogating their practice in an ongoing, reflective, collaborative, inclusive, learning-oriented,
growth-promoting way” (Mitchell et al., as cited in Stoll et al., 2006, p. 223).

The observation is to be actually involved in the teaching and learning atmosphere planned by
the mentees. It is obvious that what one plans is never exactly what happens. Although it gives
certain pressure on the mentee, it does make the mentee prepare better for their lesson and
therefore, more able to respond to unexpected situations. “The reported changes in teacher
behaviour included: greater confidence; enhanced beliefs among teachers of their power to make a

27

Teaching in Focus
difference to pupils’ learning; development of enthusiasm for collaborative working despite initial
anxiety about classroom observation; and, greater commitment to changing practice and
willingness to try new things” (Stoll et al., 2006, p. 230). In observing the class, both mentor and
mentee see what really works of their plan and draw valuable insights for themselves. Mentor and
mentee compare their lesson plan and the actual happenings to develop lesson plans for further
classes.

Apart from the “learning” component of the concept, the “community” part is also essential.
What matters in a community is not just the growth of the division but also “an ethic of
interpersonal caring permeating the life of teachers, students and school leaders” (Hargreaves &
Giles, as cited in Stoll et al., 2006). This “interpersonal caring” characteristic of a community is
clearly felt in every day interactions between division leaders and teachers, between teachers
themselves, and between teachers and students. Perhaps since most of the teaching staff are
alumni of the same department, they have been familiar with the learning and teaching style, the
shared norms and values. Above all, for the long period of time they have spent in the same college,
they have a feeling toward the division and the department like “a second family”.

For the learning community to be effective, it is important that “the ultimate outcome of PLCs
has to be experienced by students” (Stoll et al., 2006, p. 229). Understanding this crucial criterion,
the division has indicated in the goal of mentoring program that the improvement in teaching
quality has to translate into students’ outcomes. As a matter of fact, it is very difficult to establish
and confirm the causal relation between teaching quality enhanced by the mentoring program on
the one hand and increased students’ outcomes on the other. However, the overall effectiveness of
the program still needs to be assessed from students’ perspective. Researchers have found that
“increased classroom motivation and work satisfaction, greater collective responsibility for student
learning” can be good indicators for community’s effectiveness (Stoll et al., p. 229). To obtain this,
one method that the division has exploited is the evaluation form delivered to students after each
observed class. Students have reported to find the activities sufficiently challenging, the teachers
highly competent, and the lessons generally more exciting and engaging. Another means for
assessment is students’ standardized test scores. All the students’ scores in diagnostic test in the
first week, mid-term test, and end-of-term test are analysed and compared to detect progress or
remaining weakness. Based on the analysis, suggestions or adaptations in the teaching syllabus are
made. This practice is also prescribed by Newmann, King and Youngs in the operation of effective
learning communities. According to the authors, three key components to be stressed in a strong
professional learning community are “collaborative work and discussion among the school’s
professionals, a strong and consistent focus on teaching and learning within that collaborative
work, and the collection and use of assessment and other data to inquire into and evaluate the
progress over time” (as cited in Giles & Hargreaves, 2006, p. 126).

Collaboration and collegiality among teachers
As discussed earlier, though the program is named mentoring and mentor/mentee roles are
assigned, the members of the division stand on a relatively equal footing. They view the program
more like collaboration among colleagues rather than supervision of senior staff toward beginning
staff. As such, the form of collaboration in the mentoring program can be distinguished as a
continuum from providing aid and assistance to sharing ideas, materials and methods (Little, as
cited in Kelchtermans, 2006). Together with other joint research projects and co-teaching
programs, teachers in the division actively develop various forms of collaboration.

28

Felte quarterly issue 2

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