Portraits of Vietnamese teachers of English: an inquiry into their language proficiency development

Abstract

For non-native English speaking (NNES) teachers, the most important professional duty beyond teaching their students is to develop their own foreign language proficiency (Medgyes, 2001). However, most in-service professional development activities tend to take NNES teachers’ English proficiency development for granted. The results of a nation- wide evaluation of the current teaching workforce in Vietnam during 2011-2012 identified in-service English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ low level of language proficiency as an inherent problem of English education in Vietnam. This thesis explores the perceptions of Vietnamese primary and secondary EFL teachers regarding their English proficiency and the level they consider as necessary for their teaching in comparison with the standard mandated by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). The thesis also investigates teachers’ attitudes towards English proficiency development, and the characteristics of their language practice. This research employed a mixed-methods design using a combination of a self-rated English language proficiency survey, semi-structured interviews, and narrative inquiry. The survey collected responses from 298 in-service EFL teachers participating in professional development courses in four provinces of Northern Vietnam. Forty-two teachers were then selected for the semi-structured interviews. Of these participants, five were chosen and then repeatedly interviewed using narrative-inquiry techniques over a ten-week period. The findings indicate that participants’ perceived English proficiency was significantly higher than both the level they perceived as required for their teaching practice and the English proficiency level mandated by MOET. Participants were found to have confidence to teach English mainly as a content-subject rather than as a means of communication, partly due to the powerful negative wash-back effects of high-stakes examinations. The study also documents how participants struggled to improve their English proficiency with limited and intermittent support. The research uncovers how participants’ English proficiency developments were shaped by their language learning history, personal circumstances, and various other institutional and socio-cultural factors. These factors are categorised into a model with three overlapping categories namely personal, institutional and socio-cultural challenges. The close interdependence of the three groups of challenges demands a holistic solution to the daunting task of improving EFL teachers’ English proficiency in Vietnam. Successful implementation of such an approach requires effort and collaboration between different forces at different levels, including the government, MOET, teacher training institutions, school administrators, and teachers themselves. The thesis concludes with some practical recommendations to help MOET and the educational reforms move in the right direction.