2018 Online TEFL Survey of English Teachers - Vietnam

1. Vietnam Research
2018 online TEFL Survey of English Teachers
Eric H. Roth
Tuanni Vasconcelos
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2. Context and Methodology - Vietnam
 ESL/EFL teachers that teach or have taught in Vietnam
 Online Survey written, collected, and analyzed by Eric H. Roth,
Tuanni B. Vasconcelos, and Teresa Nguyen
 Number of responses: 12
 When: 02/17/2018 – 03/13/2018
 Where: social media, websites, blogs, clubs, conferences, etc.
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3. 50%
33%
17%
Q1: How long have you been
teaching English in Vietnam?
0 to 2 years 3 to 5 years 6 to 9 years
80%
40%
60%
70%
10%
30%
50%
60%
50%
40%
50%
30%
30%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
adult programs
advanced level
beginning level
college/university
conversation schools
preschool
elementary school
high school
intermediate level
middle school
mixed levels
private tutoring
workplace programs
Q2: Where do you teach?
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4. Q3: What do you find satisfying about
teaching in Vietnam?
“[Students] reflected diligence, eagerness, enthusiasm, effort, and commitment to
improve their English language ability at every level, and therefore, the quality of their
lives for themselves and their families. They requested homework beyond normal
assignments and took every opportunity to speak with me outside of class.” (#9)
“The students are lovely and keen to learn. I particularly enjoyed teaching the younger
kids. They have enthusiasm and a sense of wonder at the simplest things”(#4)
“A lot of students are hard-working. Most of them are able to acquire easily a
considerable amount of foreign language knowledge.” (#10)
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5. Q4: What do you find challenging (frustrating?) about
teaching English in Vietnam?
“Pronunciation can be a big issue (dropping final consonants). I found students often
didn’t improve even over long periods of learning. Also parents put huge pressure
on the kids and performance and they wanted tests to show improvement. Didn’t
like ongoing assessment” (#4)
“While many students in Vietnam have excellent team working skills, many found
debates and forming individual opinions difficult (such as IELTS writing task 2). I
would often get a uniform answer from all of my students. Also, there was a
tendency for students to copy the model I give them exactly, rather than take the
idea and apply it creatively.” (#5)
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6. 18%
9%
45%
36%
73%
73%
27%
18%
73%
18%
45%
64%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
assignment length
budget
cultural sensitivities
curriculum omissions
language level
level appropriateness
prerequisites
school policies
student interest
textbook limitations
unmet student needs
visual appearance
Q5: What considerations do you
make in choosing or creating
supplemental materials for teaching
in Vietnam?
8%
33%
67%
8%
Q6: Which specific language
differences between Vietnamese
and English do you focus on in
your EFL classes?
Cultural elements Grammar/Syntax
Speaking/Pronunciation Vocabulary
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7. Q6: Why?
“Pronunciation: dropped most final consonants Language itself I wouldn’t
say there was a major language difference. An issue could be topics
especially when students had a conservative background or limited
experience with international contexts. Some topics could be challenging for
these students” (#4)
“Pronunciation, specifically consonant clusters, end sounds and word stress. I
focused on these things because it is important for the students to be
understood. Also use of present perfect tenses was problematic, so a lot of
focus was on that to help the students understand when to effectively use
them.” (5)
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8. Q7: Which aspects of Vietnamese culture seem most
significant in your English classes? Why?
 “Tact. The differences in tact could cause issues in
communication with other English speakers, rather they
make the mistakes in class than upset someone / colleague
in the future” (#7)
 “In Vietnam, family and community (classmates and
colleagues) hold extremely high value” (#12)
 “Diligence, eagerness, enthusiasm, effort, commitment, and
courtesy. Students brought excitement and energy to the
classroom.” (#9)
 “The values & morals.” (#3)
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9. 90%
10%
Q8: Do you use or create
supplemental materials in your
English classes? Why?
Yes No
 ”Yes! In order to offer a greater
variety of resources to my students
and to broaden the challenges of
each assignment.” (#9)
 “Yes. Text books were not written
with my specific group Vietnamese
learners in mind so it makes sense to
create more appropriate materials.”
(#7)
 “Yes because no textbook is perfect.
It may not have everything that we
need to use right then & there.” (#3)
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10. Q9: What is the most significant barrier that your
students face in learning English?
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0%
18%
27% 27%
36% 36% 36% 36% 36% 36%
100%

11. Q10: What do you know now that you wish you knew
when you started teaching English in Vietnam? Why?
 “Some places will take advantage of teachers in terms
of hours and they seem to have little understanding
of 'normal' teaching practices (hours and time
between classes).” (#11)
 “Greater knowledge of Vietnamese language and
culture helps me to better connect students with the
material.” (#12)
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12. Q11: What advice can you provide to English teachers
who want to teach in Vietnam?
 “Prepare intercultural competence to teach effectively” (#2)
 “Learn the language, it makes a difference and makes you a better
teacher” (#7)
 “Find opportunities to get to know locals, who are very happy to
make friends with foreigners. Find out more about the language and
culture.” (#12)
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13. Q12: What kind of speaking activities do you
use in the classroom?
91%
18%
45%
82%
64%
73%
73%
100%
45%
91%
36%
64%
100%
45%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%
class discussions
conversation clubs
dictation
games
individual and/or group presentations
interviews
pronunciation practice
pair work
ranking activities
role play
reading out loud
singing
small group discussions
surveys
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14. Vietnam Survey Results Show…
 Considerable gaps still exist between EFL textbooks and the
perceived needs of EFL teachers and English students
 Motivation matters for ELL in Japan and Vietnam
 Teachers need to use background knowledge specific to
their English students’ needs
 EFL teachers often create intercultural, communicative and
pronunciation activities
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15. What is to be Done? Tentative
Conclusions
Development of national versions of materials
particularly tuned to issues related to motivation and
confidence
Create positive English language experiences for
students
From the publisher’s perspective: Opportunities for
entrepreneur teachers to create intercultural materials
for EFL/ESOL students
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16. Thank you!
Tuanni B. Vasconcelos
Teresa X. Nguyen
Shiggy Ichinomiya
Brent Warner
USC ALI students
APU students
Survey respondents
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17. Contact Information
Eric H. Roth
Master Lecturer
American Language Institute
USC Dana and David Dornsife
College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
University of Southern California
ericroth@usc.edu
www.CompellingConversations.com
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18. References
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su.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/ej26/f1.html
 Caraveo, P., Guevara K. (2013). Like Them or Not: Making Textbooks Works for you.
 Currie-Robson, C. (2015). English to Go: Inside Japan's teaching sweatshops. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform.
 Kondo, D.S., Yang, Y.L. (2004). Strategies for coping with language anxiety: the case of
students of English in Japan. ELT Journal: English Language Teachers Journal , 58(3), 258-
265.
 eHow Contributor. (2015) “How to Adapt Textbook Activities in an ESL Class”. Retrieved from
http://www.ehow.com/how_4481192_adapt-textbook-activities-esl-class.html
 Ferlazzo, L. (2016, November 3). Do’s & Don’ts for Teaching English-Language Learners.
Retrieved from edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/esl-ell-tips-ferlazzo-sypnieski
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19.  Harwood, Nigel (Ed.). 2014. English Language Teaching Textbooks: Content, Consumption,
Production. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 373 pages. ISBN: 978-1-137-27630-8.
 History of ESL and Bilingual Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from Teaching Leadership:
teachingasleadership.org
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http://www.slideshare.net/EmbajadaEEUUenArgentina/adapting-the-english-textbook-to-
students-needs
 Innovation in ESL and EFL Textbooks. (n.d.). Retrieved from TESL-EJ Forum: http://www.cc.kyoto-
su.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/ej26/f1.html
 Falout, J., Elwood, J., & Hood, M. (2009). Demotivation: Affective states and learning outcomes.
System, 37(3), 403-417.
 Pinard, L. (2014) 2 Simple ideas for adapting your course book. Retrieved from
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course-book/
 https://br.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=write&rs=typed&term_meta[]=write%7Ctyped
 https://pixabay.com/en/think-thinking-hand-reflect-622689/
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20.  Roth, E. H. (2012). Views, Reviews, and Interviews. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erichroth/
 Roth, E. H. (2011). Why Are So Many EFL Textbooks So Bland, Boring, and Culturally
Tone Deaf? [Web log comment]. Retrieved from
https://www.compellingconversations.com/efl-textbooks-bland-boring-culturally-
tone-deaf
 Roth, E. H., Vasconcelos, T. B. (2018) Short Version – Teaching English in Japan. Retrieved
from https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8S6JMB2
 Roth, E. H., Vasconcelos, T. B. (2018) Short Version – Teaching English in Vietnam. Retrieved
from https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/83S86JL
 Adelson-Goldstein, J., Burns, W., Jones, S., & Roth, E. H. (2015). Crossing into new
materials writing territory [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
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 Terrell, S. (2012, March 20). 10 Ways to Adapt a Course Book into your Classroom.
(Youtube, LLC) Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OTB8sJe-
nE
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21.  Tuzi, F. (2013, June 5). Adopting & Adapting Textbooks for an ESL Curriculum
[Video file]. Retrieved from Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq9ywxu6Wao
 Tuzi, F. (2014, July 17). Adopting A ESL Textbook in ESL Curriculum [Video file].
Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPuV3utKKe8
 Xerri, D. (2012) Experimenting with Dogme in a Mainstream ESL Context.
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http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/viewFile/19189/12673
 Workskillers and teacherpreneurs. (n.d.). Retrieved from A Revolution in Learning:
https://revolutioninlearning.wordpress.com
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