VNU Journal of Science, Foreign [.anguages 23 (2007) 65'75
Changing for the better: Challenges and Opportunities
Nguyen Hoa*, Tran Hoai Phuong
College o f Foreign LattịỊĩiQges, Vietnam National Umversity, Hatwi, 144 Xuan Thuy, Cau d a y , Hanoi, Vietnam
R e c e iv e d 1 J u n e 2007
A b s tr a c t. T h is p a p e r p r o v i d e s a n a c c o u n t 0Í ^ p r o j e c t u n d e r t a k e n a t U n iv e r s ity o f L a n g u a g e s a n d In tc rn d tio n d l S tu d ie s , V ie tn a m N a tio n a l U n iv e r s ity (U L ỈS V N U ) t o i n s t i t u t e a n E n g lis h ias(* track p r o g r a m fo r s t u d e n t s m ajoring in tc d c h in g English f o r e ig n la n g u a g e (T E F L ) s in c c 2001. S p e c ific a lly . It gives insights in to th e change w c initialed a n d h o w w e have mandgcd it oncc w e started in order
n o t (o b e o v e r w h e lm e d b y th e p r o c e s s s e t in m o tio n . T h is p r o g r a m c a n bii d e s c r ib e d a s a s e a c h a n g c in th e lo c a l c o n tc x t w h ic h h a s h e lp e d generate creaHvc ideas f o r c o u r s e o r g a n iz a tio n , le a r n in g
activities and assessment methods. With great efforts by all stakeholders, the program has gained
e n c o u r a g in g s u c c e s s , i m p r o v in g Ih e te a c h in g a n d le a r n in g a n d r e n d e r in g a b e t t e r q u a lity o f U n iv e r s ity o f L a n g u a g e s a n d I n te r n a tio n a l S tu d ie s {ULIS) g r a d u a te s .
This p a p e r p ro v id es an account of a project u n d ertak en at U niversity of Languages and International Studies, V ietnam N ational U niversity (ULISVNU) Ỉ0 institute an English fasl-track p ro g ram for stu d en ts m ajoring in TEFL since 2001. In particular, it gives an insight into the change we initiatcxi and how we have it oncv wc Mailed ữo ú\i%\ wc would Iiol be overvvheừned by the process set in motion.
This program can be described as a sea change in ihe Icxral contcxt. W hen wc started the process ứ\e whole team involved w as fully aw are thal this change w as a tender and vulnerable affair prone to deraiừnent, dim inution and abandonm ent in the given context.
1. R atio n ale for th e change
English language teaching (ELT) has had quite a long history sp an n in g a period of m ore than half a century in Vietnam . M any m ethods w ere tried w ith varying degrees of success, The
• C o r r e s p o n d in g a u th o r . Tel.: 84-4'8582630.
old m ethods d ie hard. Believe it or n o t the gram m ar translation is stìll there. Those w ho preach the usefulness of the communicaHve approach or leam or centercdness are not alw ays aw are thal w hat they have been doing is a far cry from w hat they preach. A s Vietnam is opening its d o o rs a n d m arket forces are m, cliuiigc bc«.oinc> ÌiiCM.ap4ỉblc. G iubaludtiun tiiid m form atization are olh er factors ứìat p u sh the ELT business forw ard. Tho country needs a new crop of qi*ality tcachers of English, interpreters/translators, and the need for a good com m and 0Í English is felt across the land.
in resp o n se to these d em an d s, ULISVNU w ith th e b lessin g of V ietnam N ational U niversity p u l to g eth er a project to launch a fast track p ro g ram . The tw o au th o rs a n d a n u m b e r of d ed icated teachers w ere in p ut charge. T he idea w as to first pilot i t and then sp read it to th e m ainstream system . S tu d en ts w ere selected o n th eir o w n m erit: they sh o u ld d em o n strate a w illingness to join the project by w riring a letter of application, and generally th ey w ere the m ost m otivated and 65
66 N g ỉỉĩ/ e n ỉì o a , T r a n H o a i Phuon^ ị ỉ V h l U l o u n i a ỉ o f S â e ì ĩ a \ F o r e ig n L a n g u a g e s 2 3 (2 0 0 7 ) 6 5 -7 5
talented ones from ỉhe s tu d e n t body. Class size w as 20 stu d en ts. Screening involved studying their acadcm ic records and subjecting them to a selection test. Teachers w ere also carefully selected. All the team m em bers w ere trained in an English sp>eaking country and h av e a M aster's degree. All of them should h av e prior experience w ork in g in a w estern style environm ent. W e cam e to the task w ith hum ility a n d resolve, kno w in g that m any previous a tte m p ts failed; for exam ple, the large scale effort a t ch anging teacher's teaching m ethods in the 1990s w as n ot fruitful due to in adequate conceptualization and su p p o rt as well as insufficieni follow -up work, resources and appropriate policies. They sim ply introduced a m odel from outside and flew professionals with high credentials m and out without taking the local context m to account.
2. T he b lu e p rin t a n d p la n n in g stage
The final go-ahead w as given and w e started the conceptualization a n d planning process. Jack Lindquist [1Ị m entions four changc strategies, w hich are rational planmng, social interaction, h um an problem-solving and poliHf'al ;^pproiirh W h^t ì.inHrỊiiÌQt is very insightful and interesting. In every organization, there will b e a few innovators, eager to change and reinvent thcmselveS; and usually uncom fortabie w ith the sstatus quo. A second g ro u p of a b o u t 12 to 15 p ercent of the organization is called the early adopters, open to new ideas and changcs, th o u g h not as eager as the innovators. Follow ing is the early majority, m aking u p a th ird of the population.
T h ese a rc th e c a u tio u s fo llo w e rs o f th e ea rly a d o p te rs . T h e n c o m e s a n o th e r th ird , th e S0‘C alled s k e p tic a l la te m a jo rity , w h ic h w a n ts fairly im p re s s iv e e v id e n c e th a t th e c h a n g e is w o rk in g , p o s sib le , a n d r e w a rd e d b efo re th e y v e n tu r e a try . F in ally , a b o u t 15 p e rc e n t o f m o st o r g a n iz a tio n s a re the laggards^ w h o w ill p ro b a b ly re sis t c h a n g e u n til e v e ry o n e is d o in g th e n e x t n ew
th in g s. L in d q u is t's o b s e rv a tio n s a re q u ite tru e in o u r co n tex t.
Given o u r culture m uch influenced by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, we decided on the social interaction approach. We im plem ented and m anaged the change as a soda] interaction w here ideas sh o u ld be com m unicated to people, and contacts, cx^nsultations, a n d persuasions w ere effecti\'e in biingm g people round to our view. A num ber of w orkshops w ere held am ong the team m em bers w here w e discussed the followừìg issues:
(a) W h at is o u r philo so p h y reg ard in g the org an izin g of a fast track course?
(b) W hat standards should we aim for in terms of knowledge, skills, and qualities/characters?
(c) W h at sh o u ld be o u r ap p ro ach to delivering the goods?
(d) H ow sh o u ld w e m o n ito r o u r progress and incorporate feedback into the project as appropriate?
(e) W hat sorts of likely constraints are úìere?
D efining an u n d e rly in g philo so p h y w as a b reak from trad itio n since in this country training pro g ram s are often defined in term s of aim s and objectives, W e believed th at a p hilosophy clearly defined w o u ld h elp answ er question (b), i.e. w h at stan d a rd s w e sh o u ld go for in term s of know ledge, skills and qualities/charactcrs. A philo so p h y w ould serve as a fram ew o rk to set educational sta n d a rd s a n d assessm ent criteria, and to outline w h at th e m ost im p o rtan t goats w ere to achieve, and w h at resources w ere req u ired for the achievem ent of those educational aims. As F u h rm an n [2] excellently su m m arizes the m ajor ed u catìo n al philosophies as w e w ere a b o u t to e n te r the n ew m illennium . This early decision w as extrem ely useful in help in g us d e sig n th e k in d o f p ro g ra m w e w a n te d . AlsO;
the choice of teaching course books, and p rep aratio n of m aterials is m u ch facilitated.
Basically, w e ag reed th a t o u r philosophy und ersco red th e follow ing things
N ị iu y c ì ỉ H o a , T r a n H o o i P h u o ìig / V N U jo u r n a l o f S c ie n c e , F o r e ig n L a n g u a g e s 23 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 6 5 -7 5 67
. C areer p rep aratio n is an expected outcom e of a college education,
• College should develop stu d en ts' problem solving and decision m ak in g evaluating, and interactional or interpersonal skills,
• Students m ust learn how to m anage change,
• S tu d en ts can loam in a variety of ways;
all m u st be u n d ersto o d and fostered,
• S tu d en ts m u st able to use n a n d oth er technologies,
• S tu d en ts sh o u ld leam to interact in a variety of cultural en vironm ents, and
• E ducation is a lifelong proccss.
2 .1 . t h e s ta tid a r d ii
T hus the sta n d a rd s w e set for o u r pilot project w ere very high- S tu d en ts m u st reach the level four of the ALTE's or C am bridge' CAE after a b o u l 900 h o u rs of English leaching and learning. (All the stu d en ts had 300 hours of English a t their high schools). O u r answ er to quesh o n (b) w as d ciin ed in term s of know ledge of English a n d c u ltu re required by the rcprcsentationiil, interp retiv e and interpersonal skills. For exam ple, shadents
d Ik u u K i d e v e l o p l l i c iỉb iH ty t u i n l c i a c L b u l h
propositionally and interpcrsonally. They sh o u ld h av e acquired the ability to m ake assessm ent, o r evaluations, to w o rk in a team and to be able to deal w ith bolh academ ic and em otional issues. D iscussions w ere m ad e to clarify vvhaỉ is m ean t by acquiring know ledge, for exam ple. W e follow ed Bloom 's taxonom y [3] of educational goals. A ccording to him, educational goals can b e d efin ed in term s of cognilive, m otor skills and affective goals. O n the cognitive scale, there are 6 levels:
know ledge, com prehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. A t the top
' ' ' T h e C a m b r id g e s y s te m h a s fiv e b a n d s : KEY, PET, FCE, C A E , a n d P ro ficicn cy , c o r r e s p o n d in g to th e ALTERS W a y s ta g c , T h re s h o ld . I n d e p e n d e n t C o m p e te n t a n d G o o d .
end, stu d en ts sh o u ld b e able to look a t issues critically, and m ake w ell-inform ed evaluation and assessm ent. Skills d evelopm ent and the interpersonal skills w ere given special attention rig h t at the start to m ake su re the stu d en ts w o u ld g ro w a n d dev elo p into ỉhe ty p e w e set out. O n this basis, leam er-cenlercd activities w ere d esig n ed to h elp stu d en ts acquire know ledge a n d d ev elo p their skills, ừì setting these goals, w e loo k into account a n u m b er of factors such as the m arket's d e m a n d s for o u r products, the go v em m en l's overall d ev elo p m en t goals, as w ell the availability of resources, both financial and otherw ise. W ith o u t these inputs, it w o u ld be im possible to realize o u r program .
2.2. O ur chosen approach
It is com m on know ledge th at no m atter h o w clear o u r aim s and objectives are, the key to success is d e p e n d e n t to a large degree on o u r ap proach to delivering the goods. After a n u m b e r of m eetings, w e discussed how to deal w ith th e problem , a n d w e all agreed that the best w ay forw ard w as to translate the concept of learn er's au to n o m y and leam er- centeredness in to action, ih e w orld w e are living and w ork in g in now is very different from w h at w e w ere fam iliar with. K now ledge is exploding and becom ing m ore specialized and highly technical. K now ledge also has a sh o rt shelf life, too. Thus any approach based on giving know ledge is dcx>mcd to failure.
Students need to be equippx?d with competencies, skills and suitable qualities so that they can survive and thrive 'ưx an ever-changing environm ent. It's leam er< en tered n ess, stupid!
This is w hat w e often said to each other. The stu d e n ts involved in o u r project h av e tu rned o u t to be g reat resources- We gave them the o p p o rtu n ities to show w h at they w ere worth/
a n d m ost of them^> proved extrem ely
O n e o f th e m d r o p p e d o u t fo r failin g t o rise to th e c h a lle n g e o f th e p ro ject.
68 N ^ u y e ĩ ĩ H o a , T r a n H o o i P h u o ìt g / V h ỉ U lo i ír ĩì a l o f S c ie t ĩc ĩ , P o reÌỊỊtt L ữ H g u n ỊỊc s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 65-75
com petent to design learning m aterials, and capable of m aking co n trib u tio n to Ihe success of the p ro ject T hus w e successfully laid o u t a good foundation for a cooperatìve, collaborative, peer-intcractive learning and tutoring, This is our first lesson: keep going once ựou believe ĩuhat you are cioitĩiỊ is right, and develop ữpprơprừite and stiitable metiwds of delivery,
2,3. D c f i y x i n g g o o d e f f i X i i v e l e a r n e r s
A nother issue w e looked a t w as defin in g a good, in d ep en d en t loam er. K now ing their characteristics w o u ld h elp u s a g reat d eal in designing suitable pro g ram s w ith a p p ro p riate activities for them . W c concur w ith H edge (2000: 76), w h o characterizes a good, com petenl learner as one w h o is
(a) aw are of ỉheir stu d y needs and can w ork w ith teachers to achieve th eir goals.
(b) able to stu d y both w ithin a n d w ith o u t the classroom.
(c) able to fu rth er d ev elo p w h at they have learned in class.
(d) proactive in th eir learning.
(e) capable of a d a p tin g ihcir learning strategies (0 suit their needs and m ake learning m ore effective.
(f) able to maritigo their tim e, and (g) not d ep e n d e n t on teacher's inputs.
This served us well sincc this w as the change w e w anted to m ake in stu d en ts. To start w ith this w as no easy task.
3. A nticipating im plem entation problem stage 3.1. Some genera! and stm ctural constraints
A nticipating im plem entation problem s and constraints w as im p o rta n t too, We encounỉered som e faculty resistance and unfavorable feelings in th e beginning.
Structurally, m oving teachers aro u n d w as unthinkable in a culture w h ere stability is generally desirable. But w e knew then that this w as som ething u n av o id ab le in any organization as Jack L in dquist suggests w e
sh o u ld b e p rep ared for. W orking in such a context, teachers sh o u ld be encouraged and su p p o rte d trniely^ getting alt the resources they n eed ed . Very critical in this connection w as the fact lhat w e all enjoyed the strong backing of ỉhe top lead ersh ip o f o u r College a n d the V ietnam N alional U niversity with w hich o u r C ollege is affiliated a n d they still continue to d o so. The backing o f the top leadership was instnwtental in keepitiịỉ the project on track. This is o u r next lesson.
3.2. Setting the record straight
There has been a lot of m isunderstanding about learner's autonom y and learner- centeredness; as a result, they w ere d isaed ited in some circles of professionals. Some staffs were skeptical of w hether o u r plan w ould work. They m ade unflattering cx)mments such as: 'T h is is nothing novel. W e tried it before, and it didn't w ork” . Some w ere even w aiting for a tim e when they could utter "I told you so"'. This was discouraging for somo people, b ut w e d id not give up. We w ere resolved to get people to understand ửie concept and the realit)' by striving to do a good job.
W e m anaged U) create m o re toUowers by startin g sm all, k eep in g a low profile, and d eterm in ed to m ak e o u r w o rk a succcss righi from th e start. T h e succcss a n d stu d en ts' w o rd s w o u ld sp eak for us, a n d this strategy w as w orking. M ore stu d e n ts w ere interested in o u r fast track p ro je c t and w anted to join.
W e could n ot accept all of them , so a t the b eg inning of each n ew academ ic year, a qualifying test w as given to decide w ho w o u ld be invilcd to participate in the program . This is o u r th ird lesson: be realistic and keep a low profile when ]/ou are just startin<Ị to avoid unnecessíìrỵ publicity.
3.3. Staffing problem
This is o ne of the issues th at w e anticipated very early on w o u ld h appen. Like
N g u y e n H o a , T r a t i H o a i p h u o n g i V N U jo u r n a l o f S c ie n c e , F o r e ig n L a n g u a g e s 23 (2 0 0 7 ) 65-75 69
u s a t the b eg in n in g of Ihe project, they were given train in g in th e m e th o d s of d eliv erin g the course, and w e m a d e su re th at they w ere in step w ith us. Som e left the project either to stu d y overseas o r m ove on to oth er assignm ents a s d ictated by the circum stances, and others joined us. There has never been a m anpow er vacuum . This is very im portant to ensure consistency and quality.
4. T h e im p iem en taH o n stage
W hatever d esig n w c m ig h t h av e b ro u g h t to ỉhe p rogram a n d w h a te v er im portance we m ig h t h av e attach ed to the concept stâge, we w ere aw are th at th e im plem entation w as far m ore im p o rtan t a n d th a t it w as th e key to the success of the project. S tu d en ts sh o u ld be able to participate m w ell-designed, w ell-organized ncHvities and learning experiences set for them,
c i n d w e could really becom e ứ \ e type of
facilitators thai w e alw ays talked a b o u t
Team w o rk w as encouraged and stu d en ts found them selves w ork in g in an open and relaxed b u t serio u s m anner. E verybody's say w as counted, as w e teachers listened to 2»iudciU2>* ieedbdck. Iherciuri*, w e w ere able to deal w ith th eir problem s very early on.
Enforcing learning discipline in th e sense that each stu d en t h a d to w o rk o n th eir o w n stu d y program and m eet dead lin es look som e tim e m the first year as students werv finding ihemselves struggling to m ake a break from Kigh school routines. All of us w orked very hard and patiently, and by the end of the first year at college, things w ere fine-luning. O u r students were very quick studies. Everyone w as satisfied vviửì their progress. This lesson is ive must ptit in place an open, particrpafory process.
M onitoring progress a n d incorporating feedback into o u r a g en d a w as also an im p o rtan t aspect of this pilot project.
C onsultations w ith s tu d e n ts a n d gettm g w ritten feedback is n o w a w ay of life for us.
S tu d en ts arc very im aginative a n d indeed, they contributed a great deal to o u r w ork. As o u r project m oved forw ard, m ore staffs w ere recruited to join th e program .
D eveloping a n d p rep arin g resources has alw ays played an im p o rtan t p a rt of a program . However^ w e d id n ot in ten d to be th e only source. In fact, w h at h a p p en e d was th at w e chose a core set 0Í textbooks which co u ld p ro v id e the stu d en ts w ith fundam entals of the lan g u ag e system and necessary cultural back g ro u n d know ledge. Then, both stu d en ts and w e w ere to m ake use of a variety of resources ÍTom th e Internet, newspap>ers and journals. S tu d en ts w ere en co u rag ed to develop, to d o research, a n d to brin g m aterials to class to sh are w ith th eir classm ates and to ev alu ate their preparations. They learned and g rew fast. S tudy m ateriaJs h av e n ev er been in sh o rt supply. N ow , w e will m ove on to discuss the typical class activities and extra
curricular activities w e developed and co
developed w ith o u r students.
4-1- In teaching and learning speaking
Besides the application of speaking activities
tr a c ii H o n a lly u r ^ c i i n t h e E n g l i s h D c p a x l m o n l
prior to the Fast-ừack program such as pair w ork and g ro u p discussions and presentations, w e m ade a special use OÍ various types of prescntâtìon, debate, forum and role play.
a) Presentation
As p resentations arc frequent tasks for stu d en ts in all the four years a t college, we m ad e them m eaningful and interestìng by setting different levels and stan d a rd s for each year. For exam ple, stu d en ts w ere ta u g h t and expected to b e able to give inform ative p resentations in the first year, persuasive p resentations in the second y e a r and m vestigative prescn íatío n s in ứie th ird year. In th e last level, stu d e n ts had to choose a b u rn in g issue to investigate a n d th en present th e results along w ith th eir analysis and com m ents. T he aim of all these types is to
70 NịỊuyen Hoa, Tran Hoai PhuoTĩg / VNU Ịoumal of Science, Foreign Languages 23 (2007) 65-75
develop stu d en ts' know ledge, public speaking skills, confidcnce and m ultip le abilities such as m anaging presentations w ith in ỉim e lim it and h an dling questions from the audiencc.
b) Forum
The aim is to dev elo p stu d e n ts' general know ledge about the topic a n d skills to speak, argue, in terru p t politely in English, etc. The procedure, according to N g u y en e t ai [4], is as follows. First, stu d en ts select a topic from a pool provided by th eir teacher or a topic of their o w n interest o r level. T hen they search for m aterials to leam m o re background know ledge a b o u t the topic. Later, all the stu d en ts share m aterials, each con trib u tin g a m inim um of one article so th at each stu d e n t has copies of ab out 20 articles to read to for content as w ell as ỉhe English vocabulary frequently used in the topic. As ior the grouping, stu d en ts are d iv id ed into su b groups of from 3 to 4 stu d en ts. Each g ro u p is given a role in the forum . For exam ple, w ith the topic of Sex education at upper secondary school in Vietnam, the roles will be: parents, teachers, stu d en ts, psychologists and sociologists (N guyen e l al). G ro u p s will prepare for their assigned roles accordingly.
D uring a forum , there will be a lead g ro u p w hich will present briefly ab o u t the topic, raise questions for discussion and facilitate Ihe discussion. After the forum , teachers and g ro u p s give feedback o n the language perform ance (accuracy and fluency), c o n te n t g ro u p s' or in d ividuals' contributions, etc.
based on an agreed set of criteria for a good presentation, facilitation and contribution.
c) Debate
The pro ced u re for a deb ate is qu ite sim ilar to that for a forum . T he difference is th at there will be only tw o particip atin g g ro u p s of three shidenls; and thal each g ro u p chooses either to agree or disagree w ith ỉhe topic in discussion. They will need to collect inform ation, build th eir arg u m en ts an d d u rin g the debate p ro v id e in stan t attack on the
o pinion of th e opp o sin g team . D ebate is con d u cted a t tw o levels: free style for Ihe second y ear stu d en ts and professional style for th ird y e a r stu d en ts. W hile the free style is the o p en discussion betw een th e tw o g ro u p s w ith o u t any specific tu m -ta k in g procedure, the professional d eb ate will give each m em ber of a g ro u p only one chance to speak. Thus he/she has to try to attack the oth er g ro u p 's view and arg u e for h is/h er g ro u p 's view effectively. A fter th e debate, teachers and g ro u p s m ay ask further q u estìo n s to clarify u nclear p o in ts a n d give feedback on the language p erform ance (accuracy and fluency), content, g ro u p s' o r in d iv id u als' contributions, etc, based on an agreed set of criteria for a d eb ate a n d vote for th e g ro u p they th in k is m o re persuasive. T h ro u g h this activity, stu d en ts could actively d ev elo p im p ro m p tu speaking skills, persuasive speaking, quick responses, analytical thin k in g a n d problem solving skills.
d) Role play
Each sem ester, fast-track teachers design role play activities to m atch w ith the targeted obifTtivos in term s of know ledge and skills. For exam ple, in sem ester 6, K36 stu d e n ts w ere involved in 3n em p lo y m en t project. T he topic w as preparing h u m an rcsou rcc for a soon-to-be-oponed L anguage S u p p o rt U nit (LSU) for stu d en ts w h o h av e difficuldes in learn in g in ULIS, VNU. T he class w as d iv id e d in to a g ro u p of university officials (recruiters), m anagers of the LSU (interview ees, recruiters), senior stu d en ts w h o w a n t to w o rk as m anagers or tutors for th e LSU (interview ees) and journalists w h o cared for the event. Recruiters h a d to design a leaflet adv ertisin g for m anagers, m anagers h ad to d esig n another leaflet ad v ertisin g for tu to rs, and senior stu d en ts n eed ed to w rite app licatio n letters to the university for the posts of m anagers or tutors and sit for a job interviiiw . Selections
N ^ u y e tì H o a . T r a n H o a i P h u o n g / V h ỉU lo u n ỉữ ì o f S c ie n c e , f o r e i g n L a n g u a g e s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 65-75 71
w ould be d iscu ssed am ong recruiters and an nounced lo applicants. U niversity officials, selected m anagers iind selected tutors w ere then interview ed by journalists. T he first w ork in g session w as also d o n e right in front of the class. T h o u g h this w as only a sim ulated au th en tic task, m o st stu d e n ts expressed that they really en jo y ed it. They explained that d u rin g the plav, Ihey acted their roles seriously, w an rin g to succeed a n d m aking efforts to be accepted bv others, so they h ad feelings that they w ere experiencing â real-life situation.
4.2. I n U w h i r i g ijMti VVrỉíin^V L i s t e t ĩ í ì i Ị Ị íV U Ỉ R e / 7 d i ỉ i ị ỉ
a) Portfolios
Portfolio is collections of stu d en ts' w riting, read in g passages o r listening m aterials d u rin g a given period of tim e. It is a ty p e of journals for stu d en ts to record their learning activities both in and o u tsid e the classroom . K eeping a portfolio helps s tu d e n ts form a good habit of listening, reading and w ritin g frequently and have a gcx>d record of rheir stu d y progress.
R equirem ents for portfolios vary from one acnnolui Uỉ ỉh c ỉKCKị, dcpcni.lii)g oit ãluđculd' level. For instance, tcachcrs of read in g could ask first year s tu d e n ts to collect reading p ap ers according to certain them es to find the new w ords, form n ew sentences w ith those w o rd s and su m m a riz e Ihe content of the papers. For their second year students, they w ould ask Ihem to collect read in g papers, list Ihc new w o rd s a n d m ake sentences w ith those w ords, sum m arize th e passages, p rovide a critical review, a n d d esig n exorcises to practice â certain read in g skill intro d u ced in the sem ester. Sim ilarly, in listening lessons, teachers w o u ld req u ire stu d e n ts to keep portfolios of w h a t they listened every week, w h at problem s th ey had, and h o w they solved their ow n problem s.
U sing portfolios in teaching writingr especially in g ro u p w riting, is also highly
effective. In K35 sem ester 5 w riting class for exam ple, all th e g ro u p m em bers w ould sit together to discuss h o w to w rite â paper, and the first person w ro te th e first version. O ther g ro u p m em bers w o u ld th en take tu rn s to w rite ỉhe second and the th ird versions.
Finally, th e e n tire g ro u p agreed on one final version to subm it. All versions w ere then included in o rd e r in a portfolio. W hen m ark in g th e portfolio, leachers co u ld see both th e process and th e final product. They could therefore ev alu ate stu d e n ts' perform ance in each draft as w ell as in the final w riting. An a d a p ta tio n of this activity that w e used in sem ester 6 req u ired all g ro u p m em bers to w rite the first version, and Ihen they sat together to either select the best version to im p ro v e on o r chooso to com bine the strengths of all th e p ap ers inlo the second draft, and th en last draft. This m ethod seem ed to b e m ore effective in m aking sure all stu d en ts w ro te th eir original th o u g h ts dow n.
A fter coliccting all entries for th e 15 w eeks of a semester^ stu d e n ts w ere often required to w rite a final rep o rt to describe their w o rk and evaluate th e progress as w ell as the lessons they learned. This ty p e of reflection helped stu d en ts to be au to n o m o u s in their studying, rath er th an alw ays looking to teachers for com m ents.
b) Teaching listening and w riting using the m ulti-m edia o r co m p u ter lab
In listening lessons, w ith the h elp of the M ulti-m edia center, teachers could use the lab to teach listening a n d w riting. They can use CD, VCD, vid eo files and online w eb pages, such as those of C N N or BBC to teach.
Teachers w ere even p ro v id ed w ith five- m in u te original video files to use for their m aterial d ev elo p m en t and daily teaching.
D u rin g th e last tsu n am i in Asia^ teachers in ửie Fast-ưack prograiTi taught listening lessons live from http://w w w .cnn.com to check on the toll
72 N g u y e n H o a . T r a n H o a i P h u o n g ỉ v ^ u Ị o u r ĩ ìa l o f S c ừ n c e , F o r e ig n L ứ ĩĩỊỊU ứ ịỊe s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 65-75
n um ber updates, and b o th teachers and students w ere pleased w ith the real tim e feature of th e learning facilities.
In w riting lessons, stu d en ts could w o rk on com puters, and teachers could use the m aster com puter to observe how each of them w rote u n d er tím e p ressu re to offer h elp w henever necessary. A fter an in d iv id u al w ritin g activity^
stu d en ts could all save their p ap ers on a shared folder and view each o th er's papers.
The w hole class could view any p a p e r to com m ent and correct together. O rg an izin g the class like this m ade the w ritin g lessons m ore interesting, m ore real time, m o re visual and m ore effective.
c) Research project and tu to rin g project for fourth year stu d en ts
The aim of ứie research project and tutoring project is to develop language skills, research skills and m icroteaching skills (e.g.: questioning skill, grt>up-work, presentation skills, communication skills and facilitation skills).
In the research project; students conducted a research projcct in groups of four^^. They went ửưough all the steps of a research cycle from choosing the topic identifying the research question, writing Ihe liỉerature review, collecting real lứe d a ti, anolv/ing dilta and w nting the condusion and rocommendations. Reportbacks were held weekJy and support was offered limely io ensure the a'scarch progress of all the g ro u ^ .
R unning parallel, the tu to rin g project<^^
w as held w ith the particip atio n of io u rlh y ear fast-track stu d en ts a n d tw o g ro u p s of second year m ainstream stu d en ts for 12 weeks.
D uring the 12 weeks, fast*track stu d en ts w ere guided on how to co n d u ct tuto rin g activities,
The research componcni follows a m(xJcl of that in Ihe T;tlkhasc program at Asmn Insuiulc Technology. Center in Vicinam.
As Ihe project involved about 30 mainstream students, teachcrs soughl the .approval of the dean and vicc-deans of the English Dcpartmcni and the head 0Í the Language Skills fi before embarking on it.
from an aly zin g learn ers' needs to w orking out th e syllabus, m ak in g lesson plans, facilitating lessons in front of th e class and self-evaluating their tuto rin g perform ance. S tudents were su p erv ised a n d assisted th ro u g h o u t the process. After each tu to rin g session, feedback w as p ro v id ed to s tu d e n ts so thal they couid h elp m ain sỉream s tu d e n ts better in their follow ing session. P articip an ts' feedback a t the e n d of ihe sem ester revealed that this activit)' proved especially helpful to fast-track students in practicing m tcgrated language skills and in learning how to teach a n d handle a class. It was also beneficial to the m ainstream partid p an ts in receivmg uistm ctions a n d advice on areas they needed to ừnprove.
The results of both the research and the tutoring project w ere exhibited in the O pen H ouse aỉ the end of sem ester 7 w here K35^ K36 and K37 fast-track stu d en ts welcomed visitors to see their research and tuto rin g outputs.
4.3. In conducting cxtra<utricular activities
Besides learn in g in class, fast-track stu d en ts also o rg an ize d som e extra-curricular activities such as p ro v id in g orientatíon for n ew 2»ludeiil5 (dl ih c b u ^ iitiu n ^ OÍ ev ery new a ca d e m ic y ear), tu to r in g m ainstream s tu d e n ts (as K37A1 s tu d e n ts h elp ed K38 m ainstream classes in 2005) a n d p articip a tin g in p rep arin g Bulletìn/ N ew sletters. T hese actìvities helped stu d en ts to im p ro v e th eir language and give them a chance to h e lp o th er stu d en ts in a co
operative learning en v iro n m en t.
5. R esults
To ev alu ate th e effectiveness of the change w e initiated a n d to research th e stu d en ts' perception of all the elem en ts of the four-year training program , w e conducted a com prehensive p ro g ra m ev aluation in m id- 2005 to su rv ey all th e fast*track stu d en ts of K35, 36, 37 a n d 38A1. Som e m ajor ftndings ab out the learn ers' needs, the course
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objectives, th e testin g a n d assessm ent m ethods, ử\e learn in g m aterials a n d the detailed aspects of th e teaching a n d learning process can b e su m m a riz e d below .
a) S tu d e n t's needs
R eg arding w h e th er the educational program m et their needs, s tu d e n ts of all the four courses had q u ite po sitiv e judgm ents.
From 80 to 90 % of the s tu d e n ts in each course found th e p ro g ram e ith e r g o o d o r very good.
O nly ab o u t 10 to 20% fo u n d it average. No stu d e n t rep o rted th at th e p ro g ra m d id not m eet ỉheir training needs.
b) C o u rse objectives
W hen asked how w oll the course m et the objectives, 8% found this veiy well, 50% well, 40% average, a n d only 2% said not very well.
Thus, 98% of all th e s tu d e n ts found lhat the course m et the ta rg ete d objectives^'^^ This re s u lt according lo B row n's view of program L'valuation [5], sh o w s th at th e fast-track program has been a successful one. H ow ever, the 2%, th o u g h negligible, m eans th at teachers w o u ld need to w ork h a rd e r to m ak e su re all the objectives could be met.
c ) T e s t i n g a n t i <33:>c3am cnt
W hen askod ab o u t Ihc fairness 0Í different evaluation m eth o d s ust'd in the course, stu d en ts highly v alu ed th e continuous .ìsscssm enỉ m eth o d s u se d in Ihe fast-track program . Som e of th em stated that 'Co?ifm«ow5 assessment methods help me see that Ì am evaluated throu<ihout the course, not only at the midiile or at the end o f tlie term when I take the m id'fenn or final All th e students ev aluated the testing a n d assessm en t m ethods we applied very positively. From 60 to over 90% of th e S tu d en ts in e a c h c o u rse fo u n d th em eith er good o r verỵ good. O n ly a ro u n d 5% of the
T h e c o u rs c o b je c tiv e s a s w e ll ÙS s e m e s te r a n d y e a r o b je c tiv e s w e re p r e s e n te d to s t u d e n t s a t th e b e g in n in g o f th e c o u rs e a n d r e m in d e d th r o u g h o u t th e fo u r y e a rs.
stu d en ts found th em not good. K35A1 students^ w h o h a d gone th ro u g h the four y ears of the p ro g ram a n d h a d a m osl com plete view of all th e m eth o d s used, ev aluated them m o st favorably w ith no one finding them not good. D espite t h a t Ihe 5% of students rep o rtm g dissatisfaction in K38A1 a n d K36A1 m eans that teachers w ould need to help students understand the assessment tools better and a t the sam e tim e adjust their m ethods to m ake them fairer and m ore effective.
Besides, ử\e su rv ey also show s that stu d en ts found th e assessm ent m ethods very helpful in o rien tatin g and assisting them to leam . T he m eth o d s w ere ev aluated m ost favorably a m o n g first year and fourth year stu d en ts w ith 65% a n d 47% saying very good respectively. T he second year and third year stu d en ts (K36A1 and K37A1) ev aluated the sup p o rtiv en css of assessm ent tools as good, and only one th ird y ear stu d e n t in K36A1 considered it not ịỊooii. This result was very encouraging to the teaching learn as all these m ethods took both stu d en ts and teachers a g reat am o u n ỉ of Hme.
d ) L v ^ r n i i ì ị ^ i n a l c i i a l : )
As m entioned in a previous section, the learning m aterials u sed in the fasN rack p ro g ram included a core set of m aterials for students' self-study and a set of supplem entary materials designed a n d com piled by the teaching team to b e used in class. Instructions and su p p o rt from teachers w ere provided w h en ev er stu d e n ts h ad problem s with learning th e corc m aterials.
The su rv ey results indicate alm ost no negative feedback for learning materials.
Generally, stu d en ts enjoyed w h at we used in class. O ne of th em said: '7 like the writing and speaking materials. Theỵ are very good". A nother said: '‘The supplernentarỵ materials are even better than the core ones". H ow ever, o ne second year stu d e n t stated ''Some exercises are rather
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difficult", and one fourth y e a r stu d e n t said
"Wt* need more materials". These com m ents are indeed quite sharp, b ringing to life a fact that to a fasK rack class w ith specific characterisHcs, specific objectives a n d specific needs, the reliance on any one course book will not satisfy all students. It also reveals that the flexible self*designed o r self-com piled m aterials, though tim e-consum ing, are in fact m ore suitable and therefore m o re useful. The com m ent th at som e p arts of th e m aterials w ere difficult is u n d e rsta n d a b le because u p to ihe point of the survey, materials^ especially those for o u r first load of stu d en ts, h a d n ot gone th ro u g h any p rior pilot,
e) Teaching âiìd learning
A part from the four above elem ents of a training program , the effectiveness of teaching and learning activities w as also surveyed.
Students' feedback w as on the w hole affirm ative w ith th e converted average scores ranging from 60 to 95 o u t of 100 for each learning actìvity. T he activities for w riting skills w ere ev alu ated m ost highly w ith scores from 75 to 95. N ext com e activities for bpedking ỉ»kilb will) (rum 70 to 90. ữoUi actívities for listening a n d read in g received scores ranging from 60 Ì0 90. This resu lt show s that o u r w riting and sp eak in g p ro g ram s were very well-received by th e stu d en ts, a n d that the listening and read in g w ere seen as íairỉy good. H ow ever, detailed statistics still show s that opinions varied am ong m em bers of the sam e class and am ong classes. This is reasonable because each stu d e n t has h is o r her ow n perception of ap p ro ach to different learning activities. H ow ever, it is obvious th at the teaching team n eed s to review all the teaching activitìes, p ro m o tin g good ones and im proving or rem oving w eak ones to satisfy students better.
In addition, w h en asked ab o u t how satisfactory all learning activities w ere ừi
term s of th e level of effectiveness felt, level of m otivation crcated and level of lc?arner autonom y d ev elo p ed , 95% of the stu d en ts stated th at the activities w ere effective, 80%
found them m otivating, a n d 100% said they helped them be m ore au to n o m o u s in learning.
So far in this section, w e hav e presented the m ost im p o rtan t results gained from o u r p rogram ev aluation survey. As can been seen, the p ro g ram has received highly positive evaluation 0Í alm o st all the stu d en ts o n its five elem ents. This m ark s its initial succcss in n sm g u p to o u r expectation of a special training p ro g ra m th a t b ro u g h t a b o u t a truly leam er-centered learning en v iro n m e n t and m ore im portantly an im proved education quality. T he lELTS scores o f the 16 students^'^' w h o took th e test a t the e n d of the four-year p rogram in 2005 (5 stu d e n ts got 7.5, 9 g ot 7.0 and 2 g o t 6.5) h a v e p ro v ed that o u r goal 0Í yielding a g ro u p of stu d e n ts w ith an equivalence of level four of th e ALTERS or C am b rid g e's CAE after a b o u t 900 h ours of English teaching an d learning has been met.
These days, it is enco u rag in g to see our K35 a n d K3(> grddualeb á y u u n ^ ^enerdUuiỉ of ed u cato rs in the English d e p a rtm e n t and o th e r d e p a rtm en ts of o u r university, sharing th e w o rk w ith u s and receiving positive com m ents from th eir em ployers. It is also h eart-w arm in g to h e a r th at o u r stu d e n ts who received scholarships to various M aster program s in America, Singapore and Thailand shortly after the course are doing very well, loo.
6.
C o n clu sio nand lessons learned
The project has been acclaimed as a successful experim ent and our mother organizatioa Vietnam National University, has continued the project and m oved forward with
Oứter students did n d lake ihc lest because they went on other training programs right after ỬỈC course.
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trtìrLsícmn^ the expertise and experience ìo the mainstream. Every year w e receive m ore funding and invesừnent. Looking hack, w e understand that there are som e good le&sons w e have learned every step of the project was. It is critical to:
(a) do the con cep tu alizatio n and planning well and thoroughly.
(b) m ake su re th at w e are blessed with m anagem ent backing, a n d d ed icated and can- do teachers, those w h o can w alk the walk.
(c) be aw are of constraints and anticipate possible im plem en tatio n problem s.
(d) given o u r culture, we m ust look into some social factors such as staffs envy or ill- wishing.
(e) start sm all and be realistic b ut think big and kcx?p a low profile to avoid unnecessary publicity.
(f) have an o p en and participatory system . (g) have strong belief in w hat you are domg.
C hange sh o u ld b e seen as a w ay of life rather than som ething forced upon us. This is a proactive attitude. However, it is also true that
the most change-resistant institutions or people often turn out to be those once the most unique and m ost distinctive. Thus, running this process is a challenge w e leam boửi io m anage and to enjoy.
References
[1| LJ. Raldiff, is a a i r r i c x d u m a n d ỉ h ũ u l d rỉ
be‘ì, in: GJ- Gaff and J.L. Ratcliff (eds,), Handba)k OÍ ứie Undergraduate CuTTiniJunx jossc*y-Bass Publishers, Saji Frandsco, 1997-
|2] B.s. Fuhrmana Phiìosoịihừs m d aims., in: GJ. Gaff and J.L Ratcliff { o d s .ị Handbook of the Undc?rgraduatL* Cuniculunv Jossey-Bass PubUshtTS, San Frandsoo, 1997.
[3] B. Bloom ot aJ. Taxonomy of Educational C^Djectives: Handbook 1, Cognitive Domaiiv New York: McVay; 1956.
|4] Nguyen Hoa, Nguyen Thu Le Hang, Tran H<«i Phuong, Dang Kim AnK Vu Thuv Q u y n h , Fcist- iTíìck course reỊVrt. U npublised nvihu itio n ntui research rrpoH, CFL, VhJU. 2005.
(5| J.D. BzrHvu V ie E hĩieĩư s o f Im g ư o g i Otrricidion MasachLisetts, HdnJeajxl Hdnk' Publisluj^ USA, 1995-
Đổi mói trong đào tạo: thách thức và cơ hội
N g u y ễ n H o à , T r ầ n H o à i P h ư ơ n g
! ' n t ờ n ^ D ạ i lìọ c N ^ o ạ i D ạ i h ọ c Q u o c •ịia H à N ộ i Ĩ 4 4 X u ẵ ỉ ỉ T l ĩ ù y , C ã u C i à y , H à N ô i V i ệ t N a m
Bài viẽt nàv chia sè các bư ớ c th ự c hiện D ự án dào tạo C ử nhân Châ't lưc^ng cao chuyên ngành giang dạy liéhg A n h tại trư ờ ng Đại học N goại ngử, Đại học Q uốc gia H à N ội Kr năm 2001. Bài báo nôu rõ n h ũ n g Ihay đ ổi tro n g d ạy học m à chúng tôi á p d ụ n g và cách ch ủ n g tỏi q u àn lý n h ư n g sự Ihtiy đổi dó d ê k h ô n g bị ch oáng ngợ p khi quy trìn h d ạ y học đ ư ợ c đ ư a vào hoạt động. C hương trinh này có thê đ ư ợ c coi là m ộ t s ự thay đổi lớn lao tro n g bôi cảnh cụ th ể ch ú n g tôi làm việc mà thành q uá là n h ù n g ý tư õ n g sản g tạo tro n g cách tố chức khỏa học^ các h o ạt d ộ n g học và các hình í hức kiêm tra đ á n h giá. Vói n h ữ n g nỏ lực đán g trân trọng của tất cả các bên liên quan, chương trình d ẵ thu đ u ọ c th àn h công d á n g kể, cài thiện chất lư ọng d ạ y học và đ à o tạo đư ợ c các C ử nhân Châ't
!ượng cao.
