Research Seminar: Factors impacting English Teacher Professional Development and Student English Learning in Vietnamese Higher Education

Abstract: English teacher professional development and consequent learning of English by Vietnamese students are major concerns of both Vietnamese policymakers and language teachers. These concerns were exacerbated by the implementation from 2008 of the Language Project which aims to help students use a foreign language independently after graduation.

This webinar presents the results from two qualitative case studies which investigated the factors impacting English teachers’ learning and students’ autonomous English learning in the Vietnamese higher education (HE) context. The first case study used multiple data sources from a Vietnamese university to investigate the factors impacting English teachers’ engagement in professional development. The second study investigated factors contributing to students’ autonomous English learning in the Vietnamese HE context.

The findings from the first study reveal that the primary factors enabling PD include financial support, mandated PD, and appreciation from colleagues and students. Prominent inhibitors are inadequate financial support, work overload and time constraints. The second study found that primary contributing factors to students’ autonomous English learning included current assessment system and assessment practices in the class, and teachers’ and students’ understanding of autonomous learning and their perspectives on assessment and the relationship between assessment and autonomous learning.

Researcher Profiles and Contact Details:
Dr Thi Thu Thuy Hoang:
https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/thithuthuy.hoang#my-research

Dr Ha Thi Ngoc Tran:
https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/ha.tran