Global Approaches/Local Context: Exploring and Adapting Developments in TESOL for the Vietnamese Classroom
Ho Chi Minh city. 13 May 2023
Hanoi city. 13 May 2023
Da Nang city. 3 June 2023
Ngo Thanh Tam
Ms. Ngo Thanh Tam is an English Instructor at Hanoi FPT Polytechnic College. She has a CELTA teaching certificate and a BA with majors in English at National Economics University. Her research interests including Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Teaching English, Activity-based Learning, and Project-based Learning. She is a co-Founder and community lead of Community of ELT Practice (CEP) – Cong dong Thuc hanh Giang day Tieng Anh with more than 6000 members. She is a mentor at ClassIn Mentoring Program. She presented at VietTESOL 2022 and CamTESOL 2023
Three Mobile Tools to Improve Students’ Speaking and Pronunciation Outside the Classroom
Many Vietnamese adult students experience shyness and reluctance when speaking English in class. Finding the right tools to aid adult learners in boosting speaking abilities, pronunciation and confidence is therefore of great concern. This workshop will demonstrate how to incorporate three mobile tools to help learners improve their pronunciation and speaking outside class. First, I will demonstrate Chatterpix Kids, a free basic app for animating pictures that students have taken, to help learners improve their speaking skill. Next, I will show how to use ELSA Speak Study set function to help learners practice pronunciation of small units (words, phrases and sentences). Lastly, I will show participants how to use Cap Cut, a free all-in-one video editing app, to dub short clips easily for practicing pronunciation features. Participants will take away useful activities for these applications, as well as ideas of how they can incorporate the activities into their own teaching contexts.
Hanoi
Paul Stanton & Adam Walford
Paul Stanton is an English Language Educator with the School of English & University Pathways, RMIT University and Teacher trainer with over 15 years’ experience of teaching in Vietnam within academic institutions and private language centers. He holds an MA in TESOL and Second Language Acquisition, a Cambridge DELTA as well as a CELTA. He is also fluent in the Vietnamese language and has a deep interest in the mysteries of how languages are learnt.
Adam Walford has taught English in Hanoi, Vietnam for close to two decades. Currently, he works as an educator at the School of English & University Pathways, RMIT, where he has guided young adult learners through all levels of the English Programme, both as a teacher and as Study Success specialist. He also has extensive experience in corporate ESP program development and delivery. His academic interests include how best to advise learners and motivate them towards their learning goals.
Correcting and Mastering One’s Own Errors: How Cooperative Learning and Peer Reflection Help Students Overcome Common Grammatical Errors in Writing.
Repeated common grammatical errors can often be a problem for students, especially when learner errors can become fossilized, a state where repeated incorrect use of language items become part of the learner’s interlanguage and cannot be changed (Richards & Schmidt, 2010). Teachers can become frustrated as they may often find it difficult to focus on common errors given the number of other areas they must focus on while teaching. However, by allowing students to work together, investigate and reflect on their errors continuously throughout a course, these repeated errors could fade over time.
This workshop has evolved from observing how students have struggled with these common errors in class and challenging them with student-led approaches for self-correction underpinned with empirical research (Omrani, 2020).
This practical session will guide participants on how to continuously and successfully draw learners’ attention to their common errors during a writing course while still focusing on other areas of writing.
Participants will leave with practical ideas and strategies on how to help their learners with common grammatical errors in any teaching context.
Hanoi
Wilmie van Schalkwyk
Wilmie Van Schalkwyk is an Educator in the School of English & University Pathways at RMIT Vietnam. She completed her bachelor’s in language studies and followed it up with a PGCE in language teaching. After deciding to teach abroad she completed a TEFL-YL and later a CELTA in order to teach older students. She has been teaching for almost 10 years, 5 of which in Vietnam, to a wide variety of ages and levels of learners. Before coming to Vietnam, she taught in South Africa, Austria and the Maldives. Wilmie is interested in the development of teaching practices in an ever-changing world and in finding ways to engage with students that go beyond the classroom.
Paraphrasing – an overlooked, but fundamental language skill
Paraphrasing is something that native and proficient speakers of a language naturally, and easily, do. Although it deserves more attention and practice for those learning English, it is something that is rarely taught as a skill in its own right in the typical Vietnamese classroom. It is too often overlooked in classes in favour of vocabulary, grammar or skills practice. This can be harmful to students' academic performance and their ability to communicate naturally, for example rephrasing to check their understanding.
In this session we will look at practical ways to integrate paraphrasing practice into the classroom on a regular basis: for example, using in-class listening or reading texts, which require minimum preparation from teachers. Many of the activities can be adapted to mixed level groups, different numbers of students, and can be practiced with little to no extra resources apart from the textbook. Participants will be able to take away practical ideas to use in their classrooms and can reflect on how they would apply them within their own contexts.
Danang
Jack Crean
Jack Patrick Crean (MA Education, BA History and English, CELTA) is an Educator for SEUP for RMIT Danang. He has over 4 years of teaching experience teaching IELTS English, corporate English, physical education, independent learning skills, social science, and public speaking. His areas of interest for language teaching and learning include Active learning strategies, collaborative learning, inquiry-based learning, teaching critical thinking, pronunciation strategies.
Teaching pronunciation: An Educator’s Journey in Developing skills to teach Pronunciation Effectively to Vietnamese Learners
Teaching pronunciation can be a difficult aspect of ESL teaching and one that many teachers feel uncomfortable with. Between the phonemic chart, learning stress patterns, using intonation, and trying to get a grasp of connected speech, teaching pronunciation can be overwhelming. I was no different in this regard. This workshop will chart my progress over the course of months of research on the topic, learning strategies to make pronunciation easier to explain, and identifying activities that are engaging and can be used to teach effective pronunciation to Vietnamese students. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how to highlight pronunciation errors and patterns of speech that learners have, as well as ideas for games and activities which can be used to teach and reinforce correct pronunciation, how to use connected speech effectively, and how to add intonation and stress to words and sentences.
Danang
Wilmie van Schalkwyk
Wilmie Van Schalkwyk is an Educator in the School of English & University Pathways at RMIT Vietnam. She completed her bachelor’s in language studies and followed it up with a PGCE in language teaching. After deciding to teach abroad she completed a TEFL-YL and later a CELTA in order to teach older students. She has been teaching for almost 10 years, 5 of which in Vietnam, to a wide variety of ages and levels of learners. Before coming to Vietnam, she taught in South Africa, Austria and the Maldives. Wilmie is interested in the development of teaching practices in an ever-changing world and in finding ways to engage with students that go beyond the classroom.
Paraphrasing – an overlooked, but fundamental language skill
Paraphrasing is something that native and proficient speakers of a language naturally, and easily, do. Although it deserves more attention and practice for those learning English, it is something that is rarely taught as a skill in its own right in the typical Vietnamese classroom. It is too often overlooked in classes in favour of vocabulary, grammar or skills practice. This can be harmful to students' academic performance and their ability to communicate naturally, for example rephrasing to check their understanding.
In this session we will look at practical ways to integrate paraphrasing practice into the classroom on a regular basis: for example, using in-class listening or reading texts, which require minimum preparation from teachers. Many of the activities can be adapted to mixed level groups, different numbers of students, and can be practiced with little to no extra resources apart from the textbook. Participants will be able to take away practical ideas to use in their classrooms and can reflect on how they would apply them within their own contexts.
Danang
Ha Luong & Trang Truong
Truong Thi Thu Trang is a lecturer at Pacific Ocean University, Nha Trang. She holds an M.Ed. TESOL from Edith Cowan University, Australia. She has 13 years' experience in teaching English and training novice teachers, majoring in effective teaching strategies and creative classroom activities. Her interests include teaching methods, teaching language skills, building a community of practice, and professional development. She is a Twinkl Ambassador, ClassIn Senior Mentor and a co-founder and leader of a community group which frequently organizes teacher training workshops throughout Vietnam.
Luong Thi Thuy Ha is an educator who specializes in teaching teenagers and adults. She acquired a Bachelor of English from University of Foreign Language Studies (UFLS) - The University of Danang in 2014. She is currently teaching different programs, specifically TOEIC and communicative English in Danang. Moreover, she was the best Mentee in the ClassIn Mentoring Program season 1 in 2022. She is passionate about improving students’ pronunciation and supporting them to overcome the fear of speaking English. Her area of interest lies mainly in promoting deep learning and developing professional development.
Utilizing Pop-up Crafts to Enhance Speaking Activities to Teenagers
Despite applying advanced technology and widely sharing teaching tips, many teachers still struggle with dealing with students’ silence during speaking activities in class. To provide students with opportunities to communicate, incorporating practical teaching aids into lessons is worth considering (Mayer, 2005; Ur, 2018). By utilizing pop-up crafts, teachers can cater to different learning styles and needs, making language learning accessible and enjoyable for all students. Pop-up teaching aids can also provide a contextualized and meaningful approach through role-play activities, allowing them to practice speaking in different scenarios and in different roles. In this workshop, participants will learn how to utilize simple but practical pop-up teaching aids to enhance the learning experience for teenage students. The workshop will consist of applying teaching aids for two purposes: generating ideas on different topics and applying vocabulary and structures.
HCMC
Chris Morgan
Chris Morgan is a DELTA qualified teacher and trainer with 15 years of experience teaching across Asia with a degree in Creative & Professional Writing are. He
has worked as a Dip TESOL and TYLEC tutor. Chris currently works as an Educator at RMIT SGS. He is particularly interested in writing, critical thinking and listening skills.
Targeted Feedback: Strategies for Giving Valuable Feedback and Promoting Learner Autonomy
One of the largest challenges we face as language teachers is giving our students valuable feedback on their writing. We’re often faced with a dilemma of sacrificing class time to review errors or diligently correcting our students’ work only for them to look it at once, put it in their bag, and immediately forget about it. Both are time-consuming, and neither is a guarantee of success.
In this workshop we will explore alternative strategies for giving students meaningful feedback that they can take away and keep forever through, as well as tools we as teachers can use to give our learners targeted feedback. Participants will take away practical strategies for giving feedback in their own teaching contexts.
Targeted Feedback | Targeted Writing Feedback | Handout | Slide deck
HCMC
Jack Patrick Crean
Jack Patrick Crean (MA Education, BA History and English, CELTA) is an Educator for SEUP for RMIT Danang. He has over 4 years of teaching experience teaching IELTS English, corporate English, physical education, independent learning skills, social science, and public speaking. His areas of interest for language teaching and learning include Active learning strategies, collaborative learning, inquiry-based learning, teaching critical thinking, pronunciation strategies.
Teaching pronunciation: An Educator’s Journey in Developing skills to teach Pronunciation Effectively to Vietnamese Learners
Teaching pronunciation can be a difficult aspect of ESL teaching and one that many teachers feel uncomfortable with. Between the phonemic chart, learning stress patterns, using intonation, and trying to get a grasp of connected speech, teaching pronunciation can be overwhelming. I was no different in this regard. This workshop will chart my progress over the course of months of research on the topic, learning strategies to make pronunciation easier to explain, and identifying activities that are engaging and can be used to teach effective pronunciation to Vietnamese students. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how to highlight pronunciation errors and patterns of speech that learners have, as well as ideas for games and activities which can be used to teach and reinforce correct pronunciation, how to use connected speech effectively, and how to add intonation and stress to words and sentences.
HCMC
Nguyen Mai Dieu Huyen
Huyen Nguyen is a visiting lecturer at Van Lang University, and an academic manager, co-founder of E.C.H.O organisation. With five years of experience teaching English to children and teenagers, she has coached novice teachers and delivered professional development workshops at Yola English Center and E.C.H.O. Huyen launched a successful teacher training program called Teacher for Change, training over 30 novice teachers. She has a degree in teaching English as a Second Language and presented at the VietTESOL International Convention. Huyen is enthusiastic about creativity in English teaching, continuing professional development, and computer-assisted language teaching.
Engaging Teenagers with Creative Writing: Fun Activities for Productive Outcomes
Writing is an essential language skill, yet many language teachers find it challenging to teach. Vietnamese students perceive writing as a “burden” due to its difficulty and lack of reward (Tran, 2001). Creative writing can address these issues by promoting inspiration, motivation, and individuality (Avramenco, Davydova, & Burikova, 2018). This workshop will explore common
challenges in teaching writing. Through engaging discussions and interactive activities, participants will discover effective strategies for overcoming these challenges using creative writing techniques.
These techniques will include using prompts, brainstorming, storytelling, and visualisation that have been successfully implemented in my pre-intermediate class of teenagers. By the end of the workshop, teachers will have gained practical and effective strategies for incorporating creative writing techniques into their lessons, inspiring and motivating their students to become confident
and skilled writers.
HCMC
Tran Thanh Tan
Tran Thanh Tan is presently serving as a visiting English lecturer at two universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He is a master’s student of TESOL at HCMC Open University. His teaching experience ranges from young to adult learners and he has been involved in teaching EFL learners English as a second language and standardized test preparation courses.
He is passionate about creating a friendly and interactive learning environment in his class. His learning interests include but are not limited to teaching methodologies, technology-infused learning, and teaching language skills embedded in standardized tests.
Promoting Cooperative Learning through a Modified Version of the Jigsaw Model
Cooperative learning is an instructional strategy that focuses on student-centered and instructorfacilitated learning (Johnson and Johnson, 1989 and Johnson et al. 2014). It involves small groups of students with varying levels of knowledge working together to achieve a common goal or enhance their understanding of a subject. The cooperative learning approach has been found to be effective in generating numerous advantages in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom, particularly in terms of learner-centered instruction. As one of cooperative learning techniques, the jigsaw method has been widely applied by teachers for classroom learning. This workshop will focus on another version of jigsaw reading technique, which can be used to facilitate students’ cooperation and target language use synchronously. Workshop participants will gain understanding of the theory behind this model. and will be given the opportunity to try out this model through a demonstration activity. Finally, some further suggestions for applying this model into other skillbased
lessons will be discussed.