VNU Journal of Science: Education Research

Abstract: There are many solutions to improving the quality of teaching and learning foreign languages in general and teaching and learning English in Vietnamese schools in particular. One of the most important solutions is probably the renovation in curriculum design and textbook development. This is the focus of this paper. The paper is organized around five main sections. Following Section 1 - Introduction, Section 2 provides an overview of the National Foreign Languages 2020 Project, focusing on the points related to the design of school English curriculum and the development of school English textbooks. Section 3 is concerned with the design of three pilot English curricula for Vietnamese schools and highlights their innovative points. Section 4 discusses in some detail the design and development of the ten-year English textbook series for Vietnamese schools under the National Foreign Languages 2020 Project and highlights its innovative points. Section 5 presents the achievements related to the development of the ten-year English textbook series. Finally, Section 6 summarizes the main points discussed in the paper and makes some recommendations for further improving the quality and the effect of use of the ten-year English textbook series before putting it into use on a large scale.Keywords: The 2020 Project, the three pilot English curricula, the ten-year English textbook series, the six-level foreign language proficiency framework for Vietnam.

Abstract: The online social networking site, especially Facebook, has been tremendously developing in all aspects of life and impacting students’ life. Students are using Facebook to communicate and connect with each other because of its conveniences and popularity, and students atUniversity ofEconomics and Business, Vietnam National University-Hanoi, are no exception. That is why, this study will investigate the impact of the connection with the online social networking of an individual from the viewpoint of students. The result of the analysis from the survey has proved the direct impacts of UEB students’ connection with Facebook on the process and result of their social study. For that reason, the online social networking site (Facebook) not only makes tremendous influence on the result of UEB students’ study, but also helps them adapt to the culture of the University and have close relations with their friends in the University. Both of these things play an important role in bettering their study results at the University. Besides, this study suggests some activities which may help urge both UEB lecturers and students to use Facebook as an effective learning tool. Keywords: Social networking, study, Facebook, social acceptance, cultural acceptance.

The purpose of the present study was to define the term “cyberbullying” from the perspective of middle- and high-school students in Vietnam, detailing its characteristics. The study used qualitative focus groups with Vietnamese students, teachers, parents, school psychologists, and psycho-educational experts in Hanoi, Vietnam. From the perspective of these informants, cyberbullying involves seven characteristics: (a) The indirect transmission of negative, untrue, hateful, and/ or secret, personal information through electronic devices and applications, (b) with the intention to hurt the victim, (c) which may or may not be part of a series of repetitive actions that nonetheless may have ongoing effects, (d) with the perpetrator an individual or a group, (e) in the context of a power imbalance relationship, (f) with the perpetrator(s) able to hide his or her identity, (g) and the bullying able to occur at all times in any place the victim has internet access.

Many studies have confirmed the organizational commitment is an important factor deciding the success or failure of the organization. However, how to commit employees with the organization is a challenge for many agencies and organizations. This study was conducted to determine the demographic factors that affect organizational commitment of university lecturers. The study was conducted at a university with a convenient sampling method so the results are not generalized to all university lecterers. The results showed that there were low correlation between years of work and continuance commitment; between gender and affective commitment; between highest degree earned with normative commitment. There was a moderate correlation between position hold and affective commitment. There was a low negative correlation between age and normative commitment.  The correlation between other demographic variables with OC was negligible.Keywords: Organizational commitment, demographic factor, faculty member.

Despite various challenges confronting teachers, learners and other stakeholders, English language education in rural settings remained relatively underexplored. This study reviews contemporary research on the global and local constraints confronting language teaching and learning in rural areas with a view to proposing measures for boosting the quality of education specifically for the context of Vietnam. The findings uncover a number of limitations in facilities and funding for language education, shortages of teaching staff and the deployment of English curricula. The study also reveals that such learning conditions impact significantly on students’ motivation as well as the associations they develop with language learning. These problems are attributable to inequities in educational policy, financial support and endeavors to account for the discrepancies existing in different learning settings. Such insights provide important implications for policy makers, school administrators, teachers and parents in formulating approaches to tackling such issues and the complexities resulting from contextual elements.

Tóm tắtBài báo tập trung thảo luận tình hình ứng dụng Công nghệ Thông tin (CNTT) vào quá trình dạy-học ngoại ngữ nói chung và cụ thể là tiếng Anh từ lí thuyết đến thực tiễn; từ mô hình thế giới đến thực trạng ứng dụng tại ViệtNam. Ở phần kinh nghiệm quốc tế, trên nền tảng giáo dục kĩ thuật số, bài báo phân tích các đường hướng phổ biến hiện nay thế giới đang áp dụng làm các mô hình lí thuyết cho việc đưa CNTT vào lớp học, vào quá trình giảng dạy, tiếp theo là phần phân tích các năng lực CNTT mà người giáo viên cần đạt được. Ở phần nghiên cứu thực tiễn ở ViệtNam, bài báo đi sâu phân tích nhu cầu thực tiễn và tính thiết yếu của việc ứng dụng CNTT trong bối cảnh ViệtNam, kèm theo là thực trạng ứng dụng hiện nay. Kết luận rút ra và các kiến nghị được trình bày ở phần kết luận.Nhận ngày 26 tháng 9 năm 2015, Chỉnh sửa ngày 07 tháng 11 năm 2015, Chấp nhận đăng ngày 22 tháng 6 năm 2016Từ khóa: Giáo dục, CNTT, kinh nghiệm, thực trạng, ứng dụng, ngoại ngữ.

With globalization, the university-work transition has become increasingly challenging for graduates and employers. In the new context, the mission of university has shifted, and knowledge is no longer considered as singular [1]. The traditional role of universities in producing knowledge has changed to give more focus on the demands of society. The “codified knowledge” acquired from didactic teaching in universities can be at odds with the often “informal and tacit” knowledge required in the workplace. The development of information technology makes the nature of work changing very fast; graduates need to achieve attributes that help them not only do the work corresponding with their disciplines, but be able to learn new skills and new knowledge. This paper presents the primary results of a questionnaire survey among 25 employers of VNU School of Law’s graduates to explore employers’ evaluation of the employability of graduates from Vietnam National University Hanoi. Applying theories of graduate attributes [2], employability [3] and graduate transferable skills [4], [5], the survey explores the gap between university study and the requirements at the work market of graduates. This paper argues that there is considerable distance between university knowledge and skills and the nature of the work. Graduates lack transferable skills, those that allow them to acquire the necessary skills, to satisfy the requirements of the morden workplace, to transfer abstract cognitive skills. These skills are needed before the graduates enter the work market as the employers expect them to practice these skills competently at work. Although these skills can be generated through work, the employers do emphasise their importance for univesrity graduates. Therefore the university teaching and learning process should be reviewed and revised (if necessary) to develop these transferable skills during the time at the university.

Self-regulation of learning plays a vital role in improving second/foreign language learning as it can encourage the development of autonomous learners. It is seen that, nevertheless, ESL/EFL learners in different contexts are not fully aware of the importance of self-regulated language learning (SRLL) strategies in their English language learning. The present study, therefore, aims at investigating the use of SRLL strategies by English-majored students at a university in Bac Lieu province, Vietnam. This study involved 100 English-majored freshmen in answering a closed-ended questionnaire. The results showed that students sometimes used SRLL strategies, and they used SRLL strategies for keeping and monitoring records and seeking social assistance more often than for other purposes. The findings imply that students lacked knowledge of how to use SRLL strategies and get engaged in using SRLL strategies. This study recommends that students’ awareness of SRLL strategies should be seriously taken into account in order to facilitate their learner autonomy.

Abstract: To enhance the quality of education in primary schools in Vietnam, the Vietnamese Government decided to implement a full day schooling regime and in 2010 a School Education Quality Assurance Program (SEQAP) was piloted for this purpose. After an implementation period, a case study of nine schools in disadvantaged areas in Vietnam, both the SEQAP support and non–SEQAP support had been carried out from October to December 2013 to identify those factors that facilitate or inhibit the transition by a school from half day to full-day schooling (FDS), the importance of SEQAP’s supports and draw lessons for the ongoing implementation of SEQAP and ultimately the national roll-out of FDS. Different findings were found. This article will not analyse all the findings, but focus on discussing FDS implementation and student learning achievement; factors that affected on it. The case study proves that FDS has improved student education quality and for a well FDS performance, a school needs at least minimum physical conditions (e.g. adequacy of classrooms and spaces for school activities, availability of kitchen for lunch, toilets...) but more importance is leadership and teachers’ qualification, parents’ and community participation and support. Keywords: Full day schooling (FDS), well performing school, student achievement, ethnic minority student, SEQAP.

School-based mental health literacy (MHL) programs are used to reduce stigma and promote help-seeking among students and teachers. This study aimed to adapt and evaluate a teacher-delivered MHL program in Cambodia, where the impact of MHL programs has not previously been evaluated. 67 teachers and 275 students from a high school in Phnom Penh voluntarily completed the study. School staff were randomly assigned, and classrooms purposively assigned, to either a 2-day MHL training program or a control condition. Four teachers in the intervention condition were also pragmatically selected to deliver a 6-week classroom MHL curriculum to students; these teachers receive an extra day of implementation training. Teacher and student MHL were assessed before and after the intervention. Results showed significant improvements in all indicators of teacher and student knowledge and attitudes about mental illness; largest improvements were in teachers’ perceptions of dangerousness and willingness to interact. This pilot RCT supports the potential benefits of school-based MHL training in Cambodia, where there is substantial mental health stigma and discrimination. However, small to moderate effect sizes, particularly for students outcomes, suggest a need for further refinement and testing of the curriculum to optimize impact, including further consideration of implementation strategies and supports.