NAVIGATION TO OUR POsts

1.Personal information

“If knowledge is lost, nothing is lost;

If skill is lost, something is lost;

If professionalism is lost, everything is lost.” (Desai, M., 2017)

My name is Pham Thai Thanh. I have been working as a teacher of English for a couple of years at an English center where I have a great chance to practice my teaching with a variety of student types and levels.

I am open to opportunities and challenges. I always believe that the first time doing something may be difficult, but it’s always worth trying.

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes - then learn how to do it later!”

- Richard Branson -

Quote of wisdom

Since students’ obstacles can exist both inside and beyond the classroom, I always create a nurturing learning environment that helps them learn comfortably in class.

At the same time, I seek a better understanding of my students through building rapport with them and being open for out-of-class questions.

My name is Phung Hoang Yen. I graduated from USSH in 2021 with a Bachelor's Degree in English Linguistics and Literature.

Since then, I have been devoted to teaching English and simultaneously purchasing the Master's program in TESOL at USSH.

Being a postgraduate student provides me with chances to broaden my theoretical understanding of research and teaching approaches.

This allows me to develop captivating lesson plans, accommodate various learning styles, and establish an interactive environment for my students.

2.THE REVISED LESSON PLAN

3.THE TEACHING PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT

an invaluable opportunity to gain insightful yet salutary experience

PHẠM THÁI THANH

PHẠM THÁI THANH

Then, I asked students some questions to check their understanding and gave them a demonstration with one team.

Students sat in lines. After seeing the word, the last students of the team line (who sat at the bottom of the line) whispered the words to the next member in the team.

They took turns transmitting words quietly in speed and the first student (who was the closest to the teacher) of the team was expected to find the correct picture that matched with the word and say their team’s number to stop the turn.

Students were asked to repeat the words loudly, which made them familiar with the target language before they learned about them in depth and in sentences. The winning team would get points for the correct and fastest answer.

PHẠM THÁI THANH

Following the flow of the game to get students acquainted with the vocabulary, I continued to introduce the lesson topic and looked for students’ real-life contributions to the lesson by asking them to share their experiences with these problems. This was hoped to bring students closer to the lesson through their own feelings and experiences.

In terms of the sentence structure of the Past tenses, especially the Past Perfect, I tried to link the language in the game and the language from the students’ sharing with the topic of the reading passage (a story) where they could get versed with the target structure from the authentic source by answering a few general questions. This was also a supporting step preparing for the next part of practising comprehension reading.

ĐỖ THANH PHÚ

PHÙNG HOÀNG YẾN

Grammar instruction, namely the Past Perfect tense, was my responsibility. To raise students' awareness of the appearance of Past Perfect and the reasons to learn this tense, I worked with students to analyze sentences using the Past Perfect in their previous reading text.

Then, I used the timeline to illustrate the position of Past Perfect and Simple Past, which could help students identify when and how to use the Past Perfect appropriately. I mainly employed an inductive approach, where students were allowed to discover the functions and formulas of this tense on their own through the use of examples and timeline illustrations.

PHÙNG HOÀNG YẾN

Following the theoretical section, we engaged in practical exercises to reinforce the concepts we had covered. The first exercise involved reading a provided sentence and selecting the appropriate illustrated timeline. The subsequent exercise required reading a passage and determining whether the verb was in the Past Perfect or Past Simple tense.

After learning the structure and usage of the past simple and past perfect tenses, the activity that I conducted allowed students to practice and reinforce their understanding of those tenses.

In this activity, I asked the students to choose the Past Simple or Past Perfect tense to fill in the blanks. This required them to recall their knowledge of the form, the usage of those tenses, and distinguish them in order to complete the exercise. When checking students’ work, I asked the whole class to stand up if they chose the Past Perfect tense, and sit down if they chose the Past simple tense. The body movements included in this activity helped the students become more active and engaged them into the activity.

The next activity shared the same purpose, which was to let the students practice the use of past simple and past perfect tenses. Although there was not enough time to finish the exercise, I assigned it as homework so they could practice at home.

In the final stage of instruction, students were required to engage in a discussion with their peers and compose a brief piece of writing consisting of five sentences, recounting their vacation experiences. It was expected that students would willingly participate in both the conversation with their friends and the written task.

Although students were responsible for completing the tasks independently, the teacher also had the responsibility of monitoring their progress in utilizing appropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures.

VƯƠNG TÚ QUYÊN

Additionally, the teacher was required to offer assistance to students who encountered difficulties in fulfilling the assigned tasks.

Following approximately five minutes of speaking and conversing with friends, students were randomly selected to share their group's narrative. However, due to time constraints, only one group was able to be invited.

4.WORKSHOP RESPONSIBILITY CHECKLIST

ABSTRACT

This research aims to give an overview of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and CEFR descriptors adapted for teaching contexts in Asian-Pacific and ASEAN countries. Moreover, the study focused on exploring the characteristics of VSTEP (Vietnamese Standardized Test of English Proficiency) and comparing the local test with Aptis in order to examine its context-specific peculiarities. Drawing on the findings collected from the related literature, adaptation of the CEFR in different contexts encounters different challenges. In addition, VSTEP was proven to possess six main characteristics, including validity, transparency, practicality, equity, and sustainability. The findings also unveiled the localized nature of VSTEP, which highlighted its preeminence.

Mission

Nha Trang University

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Education and training activities at Nha Trang University are aimed at students' development:

• Political courage, responsibility, ethics, aesthetics and health;
• Basic and in-depth knowledge about career;
• Soft skills and professional skills suitable for the career;
• Ability to do research and apply science - technology
• Entrepreneurial spirit, the ability to self-study, creativity and adaptation to the professional working environment.

Responsibility

Mission

Learning is fun.

Vision for 2020-2025

The strategic objectives of TBDU are to internationalize the training environment and to build a democratic, honest, and innovative teaching and learning environment.

The strategy seeks to provide students with an understandable interdisciplinary career structure, cutting-edge teaching and learning methods, up-to-date and useful training materials, and a perfected credit system based on the North American system.

This would assist students in choosing their own learning route and continuously advance their proficiency in English for teaching, working, and studying.

Workshop Presentations

On the initial day of the practicum, one of the most significant events we had the opportunity to participate in was the workshop which included two sections: the presentation and the poster. Throughout the two sections, a wide range of topics concerning innovative teaching methods and issues pertaining to TESOL or ELT were presented, offering us valuable insights into new educational knowledge.

Indeed, the presentation with an engaging topic titled “Students’ Perceptions of the Debate Activity in Grade 9 Intensive English Program'' can not only deepen our understanding of students' perspectives but also provide us practical guidance on leveraging debate activities to enhance students’ motivation and boost their language proficiency.

Workshop Presentations

Moreover, the topic “Integrating mindfulness in improving reading skills for students of translation and interpretation major at Nha Trang University” was captivating as it shed light on the advantages of incorporating mindfulness into teaching practices.

Undoubtedly, this research has broadened our knowledge as we consider mindfulness as a new teaching method. Besides, the researcher’s presentation provided us with a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively implement mindfulness in our teaching contexts and how to integrate this technique into syllabus design. As a result, we gained a clear picture on the practical application of mindfulness in our teaching context and curriculum development.

Beyond expanding our knowledge regarding those aforementioned topics, the workshop also equipped us with research skills and knowledge on choosing appropriate tools or methods in order to investigate the results. It is clear that the workshop proved invaluable in developing our teaching knowledge and research ability, which is advantageous for our professional development.

Aside from research related to teaching methods, issues related to world Englishes were also raised in the workshop.

The topic “Parents’ Perceptions Towards World Englishes: Does Nativeness Matter?”, offered us valuable awareness into the parents’ opinions about teachers’ English accents, prompting us to consider whether it is wise to hire English teachers who are not native.

It is clear that the workshop proved invaluable in developing our teaching knowledge and research ability, which is advantageous for our professional development.

Workshop Presentations

Regarding poster presentations, it can be said that the topics of this section were directly related to TESOL/ELT knowledge, with different topics such as: adapting CEFR to the VSTEP, selecting appropriate social network sites for EFL instruction, investigating learners’ attitudes towards speaking skills, exploring learners’ perceptions of utilizing transitional expressions in writing a paragraph, etc.

Besides, from our interest in ICT integration in language teaching, we had a keen awareness of how to select tools that are in line with instructional objectives, learner needs, and privacy settings, as well as other factors like multimedia capabilities.

Generally, the poster presentations not only demonstrated our knowledge and grasp of TESOL/ELT topics, but also underlined the significance of taking into account learners' perspectives and needs in our teaching practices.

By incorporating these insights into our instructional design, we can create more effective and engaging language learning experiences for our students.

Observation

Observation

In addition to the textbook, the students were provided with a note prepared by the teacher, which guided their conversation with their partners.

These activities lasted approximately 30 minutes, after which the teacher moved on to the reading task. Students received a text and answered true or false questions, followed by memorizing the main points of the reading to participate in the subsequent game.

In this game, the students read sentences provided by the teacher and determined whether they were true or false. The classroom atmosphere became livelier and more energetic as the game progressed, despite the presence of some reserved students who chose not to participate.

The teacher demonstrated great effort in managing the classroom, such as resolving disputes that arose during the first game when students disagreed on the correct written words. Additionally, the teacher provided support by circulating the classroom and assessing each student's comprehension of their tasks. Overall, the teacher did an excellent job in delivering the lesson.

Micro-teaching

The observed and micro-teaching classes were two different classes of non-major English students whose majors were mainly related to marine science and fisheries and laws. These sophomore students of natural science were mainly trained in their mother tongue - the Vietnamese language.

As young and friendly students, the students sent us a warm welcome. The micro-teaching class gathered a large number of students of different fields with different levels of English competence, interests, and concerns, which offered us both interesting and challenging tasks.

Micro-teaching

All those factors, in general, seem to significantly contribute to how they learn English, their attitudes in language learning, and their behaviors in class. The students were quite passive and shy at the beginning of the micro-teaching session when they had to work with unfamiliar teachers and teaching methods. Their average level of proficiency was quite low so they seemed to have difficulties understanding teachers' instructions in full English, which might spark certain concerns among the students and teachers.

Micro-teaching

To help students relieve the feelings of being bewildered by unfamiliar teachers and teaching methods, the Micro-teaching lesson included different activities for students to practice their language from the basic to advanced tasks. This aligns with Harmer’s (2015) suggestion for English teachers to offer students with a rich source of information and learning activities to have an effective lesson.

Besides, we believe that a language class should be a good environment for students to be the center of teaching and learning and to practice the language in different manners (Nunan, 2013). Hence, following what Nunan (1989) discussed the nature of a language class with Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), we made an effort in encouraging students to speak, individually or in groups, in most of the tasks.

The experience of teaching at NTU challenged our teaching skills, class management skills, and required us to be flexible in giving instructions.

It is important to understand the students' level of English proficiency and simplify our instructions to make sure our students can keep up with the lesson.

At this age, students are independent learners and grown-ups. We were aware that successful classroom management depends greatly on how we - the teachers behave in class (Harmer, 2015), which requires us flexibility, fine time control, and calmness to deal with classroom issues, including grouping students, disciplining, rewarding, etc. in an appropriate way by thorough observation, rapport, and understanding.

Micro-teaching

Micro-teaching

But it seemed that they were not very familiar with the use of full English in the language classroom, since they often got confused about the instructions. Even though teachers had tried to deliver examples and demos, they showed their hesitation. Moreover, the students were quite shy so it was hard to get them involved at the beginning of the lesson.

The management of the classroom had some difficulties since the arrangement of seats was fixed, the tables and chairs could not be adjusted to suit each classroom activity. Normally the teacher would assign group work and ask the students to move to sit near their friends. At the beginning of the lesson, some students come to class late. The teacher had to manage the groupings and explain the activity's rules, again and again, which might affect the lesson flow in an expected manner.

In general, the practicum was a great opportunity for us to get immersed in the real teaching environment of a university, which not many of us have experienced. Through the micro-teaching session, we learned some insights into both the process of planning lessons and implementing the lesson plan.

... I HAVE LEARNT FROM THE PRACTICUM

Vương Tú Quyên

The Practicum has afforded me numerous opportunities to immerse myself in diverse teaching environments. Through collaborating with various individuals and instructors, I have acquired a wealth of invaluable lessons and skills, leading to notable advancements in my professional growth as both a teacher and an MA student.

I learned the importance of reflecting on my teaching practices, analyzing successes and areas for improvement, and continuously refining my instructional approaches. Upon reflecting on my peer's lesson plan, I noticed their remarkable dedication to simplifying instructions and activities, taking into consideration the reserved and weaker students in the class. First, they effectively implemented the Present-Practice-Product method by providing vocabulary or grammatical structure inputs to the students, followed by controlled practice tasks before allowing them to independently produce their own writing or engage in conversation.

They prioritized both student comprehensibility and engagement throughout the activities. Second, the success of my peer's lesson plan can be attributed to their extensive knowledge and experience as teachers. They demonstrated the ability to adapt and respond swiftly when things did not go as planned, efficiently adjusting and skipping sections to ensure they stayed within the allotted time frame. One aspect that truly impressed me was their teamwork during the micro-teaching sessions. Despite conducting their individual lessons, they supported one another, with each member of the team looking out for the teacher at that particular moment. Therefore, this invaluable solidarity greatly contributed to their overall success.

Working with diverse student populations has been instrumental in fostering my cultural sensitivity and awareness, thereby promoting a respectful and inclusive classroom environment. The opportunity to engage with students who were markedly different from those in Ho Chi Minh City left a lasting impression on me. Because I faced challenges in effectively engaging the students in the activities and adhering to the time constraints, I was unable to deliver a specific part of the lesson as intended. This experience caused me significant distress, and I consider it a personal challenge that I am determined to overcome. Teaching at NTU provided valuable insights, revealing the wide range of student proficiency levels and the potential for students to exhibit both reserved and active behaviors simultaneously. I learned that clear and comprehensive instructions are paramount in facilitating effective teaching, as students cannot actively participate in activities if they do not understand the instructions. Consequently, following the completion of the micro-teaching session, I gained a clearer understanding of my strengths as an educator and identified areas in which I need to enhance my teaching skills, enabling me to pursue a professional path with greater confidence.

This program provided numerous opportunities for engagement in activities alongside my classmates and groupmates. By actively collaborating with colleagues, mentors, and students throughout the Practicum program, I significantly improved my communication and collaboration skills, thereby fostering effective teamwork and establishing valuable professional relationships. Even before we departed for Nha Trang, we were already faced with a multitude of deadlines and personal obligations. However, during our time in the city, we learned the importance of effective communication, equal task distribution, and providing straightforward yet constructive feedback on our micro-teaching lesson plans. We functioned as a cohesive unit rather than separate individuals, which allowed us to provide immediate support to one another whenever someone faced challenges. I believe that during those days, we developed stronger bonds and connections than ever before.

In conclusion, the Practicum program has proven to be a transformative experience, offering valuable opportunities for self-reflection, professional development, and networking. Through introspection, I was able to identify my strengths and areas for improvement as an educator, paving the way for continuous growth. The program's emphasis on collaboration and mentorship allowed me to expand my professional network, establishing connections that will undoubtedly benefit my future career.

Overall, the Practicum has played a pivotal role in shaping me into a more confident and capable educator, equipping me with the necessary skills and knowledge to make a positive impact in the classroom and beyond.

Vũ Thị Tuyết Trinh

Field-teaching at a tertiary level English language classroom offers a great opportunity for the Master in TESOL learners to get immersed into the real classroom. The practicum program at NTU in 2023 was held to help the MA learners practice their teaching and learn from others through observations. This part provided the reflection of the whole practicum program, including professional development and other related aspects.

Our group (Group 4.2) and another small group delivered the micro-teachings in the same class, which allowed us to observe and learn from their class management skills, their ways of giving instructions, how to engage the students in the activities, and assess the students’ learning. The observed group (Group 4.1) employed different teaching activities to deliver the lesson content. They linked the lesson to students' real-life experiences, and asked them to reflect and report on their holiday story. The students were more engaged since they had a chance to talk about their own experiences.

The latter group adapted their language use and switched to Vietnamese more frequently. This can be an advantage since they have an hour to observe how our group dealt with the students, and know their students' level. The students were well-prepared for each activity since they were given clear instructions. Concept checking questions were asked by the teachers to make sure that their students understood the tasks' requirements.

In preparing for the field trip, we have contacted the lecturers at NTU to know more about the lesson that we are going to teach, the students' characteristics. The poster for the workshop, lesson plan and materials for the micro-teaching have been well-prepared. The collaboration between our group with the lecturers and among our group members helped us expand our relationship circle and also brought our group members closer. The teaching experience at NTU helped us become more aware of the geographical and cultural effects on students' learning. Since the students of NTU mostly come from the surrounding provinces, it is believed that they can attach their lives to the sea. The lecturers at NTU, especially those who teach non-English major students, may encounter difficulties in encouraging students in English classes. We learned that communication assisted us a lot in understanding the classroom settings, and the students’ characteristics so we could prepare for the actual teaching at NTU.

In terms of leadership skills, we managed the process of planning and conducting the practicum altogether. The tasks for each member were assigned suitably to their own strengths and characteristics. The shared tasks of every member contributed to the successful completion of the practicum at NTU. Through the practicum, we also got closer to other members of the class since we collaborated not only in microteaching, but also in preparing for the workshop, the gala night, and in other entertainment activities during the trip. I really appreciated that during the practicum, we received lots of helpful instructions from our lecturers. We were reminded of the factors that may affect our planned lesson, so we could make adjustments to conduct a smooth lesson. I really appreciated that during the practicum, I had the chance to offer help and receive help from other members of the class. The practicum program greatly enhanced the relationship between our class and the lecturers, and among our classmates.

In conclusion, the experience at NTU was precious. We have learned a lot in the process of preparing, conducting, and reflecting after the practicum. This experience has honed my communication and presentation skills, as well as my ability to adapt and respond to the diverse needs of students.

Overall, the micro-teaching practicum has provided me with a solid foundation to embark on my teaching career with confidence and enthusiasm.

Phùng Hoàng Yến

The practicum in Nha Trang this year brought me practical experience in teaching practices and prompted me to utilize theories and knowledge learned during the MA in TESOL course. The following are five major points on which I have reflected since returning from the trip, which are assessment skills, planning skills, communication skills, cultural competency skills, and leadership skills.

Firstly, my assessment skills have been improved through the observation of my peers' microteaching presentations. Their straightforward instruction and adaptability in switching between Vietnamese and English ensured effective understanding and collaboration with students. Besides, my peers have done an excellent job in providing context through pictures and lead-in questions to help learners understand the purpose and relevance of the lesson. Additionally, by employing listening strategies that gradually move from general to specific details, they successfully helped students achieve active engagement, contextual understanding, and critical thinking. Furthermore, incorporating interactive activities, such as gamified practice, guided conversations, and role plays proved to be an effective way to encourage active participation and build the confidence of students in making requests about tourism information. Overall, the demonstration of my peers gave me lessons on the importance of creating a student-centered environment that fosters practical language skills and empowers learners to confidently seek information while traveling.

Secondly, effective planning skills were crucial in microteaching lessons and workshops. Planning microteaching lessons highlighted the need for clear objectives, engaging activities, and appropriate teaching methods to facilitate effective learning. Planning workshops emphasized the importance of identifying the need for the topic presented, structuring content, employing ICT to design the poster, and incorporating interactive elements to create an engaging poster presentation.

Thirdly, I discovered how critical effective communication is in all kinds of work interactions. Communicating with the supervisor emphasized the need for reporting progress, requesting assistance, and taking constructive feedback to improve the lesson plan and the content of the poster presentation. Also, interacting with my peers taught me the importance of active listening, problem-solving, and teamwork in establishing a friendly and productive team atmosphere. Especially when dealing with students, it is crucial to adjust communication techniques, use suitable language (flexible between English and Vietnamese), and exhibit clear guidance and instruction to establish rapport and foster a positive learning environment.

Finally, the practicum experience enhanced both my intercultural awareness and leadership skills. I am aware that my lesson should incorporate the images or cultures of Nha Trang in order to foster a sense of relevance and connection for the students. Nevertheless, I did not perform this well in my teaching practice. This is undoubtedly a lesson I should remember when I get the opportunity to teach students from different cultural backgrounds. Additionally, this lesson entails the significance of adaptability as a leadership skill, as I had to be adaptable and open-minded in changing my teaching strategies to meet the specific needs and preferences of the students in Nha Trang.

In conclusion, the practicum in Nha Trang provided me with valuable experience, improving my teaching skills and reinforcing the significance of effective assessment, planning, communication, cultural competency, and leadership.

These lessons will shape my future teaching endeavors, enabling me to create engaging and culturally relevant learning environments while empowering learners to thrive in their language-learning journey.

From my perspective, the opportunity to participate in the practicum was advantageous in broadening my views and gaining valuable knowledge as well as skills. This practicum was a comprehensive experience since it offered me chances to be a part of the workshop, observation sessions, micro-teaching, and a wonderful Gala dinner. Throughout this immersive journey, not only my passion for teaching was reignited, but also my analytical, planning, communication, and intercultural awareness were reinforced and developed.

Phạm Nguyễn Uyên Phương

Regarding the micro-teaching session, I acquired valuable experiences from observing my peers’ performance. To clarify, Ms. Tran Thi Thuy’ teaching session provided me with a wealth of knowledge on how to motivate and arouse students' interest. Indeed, before starting the lesson, she established rapport with students by asking them about their current feelings. Additionally, she incorporated the use of visual aids such as pictures to facilitate group discussions centred around lesson-related questions. This approach not only activated students’ prior knowledge related to the lesson topic but also built some background knowledge for students to be ready for the following activities. In terms of Mr. Do Phan Tuan’s performance, similar to the previous teacher, he utilized pictures as a tool to engage students. Moreover, despite being in charge of teaching listening skills, he did not immediately play the audio for the students to listen. Instead, he encouraged them to share their ideas by asking “Imagine you are going to visit the Tarxien Temple, can you guess what information you need?”. From my perspective, this act allowed students to mentally prepare for the listening task and make some guesses about the content they might encounter in the audio. Ultimately, this strategy likely contributed to improved listening performance and reduced students’ anxiety about listening.

Furthermore, new vocabulary was also taught in the form of a matching exercise in order to help students become well-prepared. In my view, the highlight of his teaching session was his approach of allowing students to listen to the audio twice. During the first listening, students were instructed to listen without referring to the book, while during the second try, they were prompted to look at the task in the book. This practice clearly aimed at familiarizing students with the audio content and providing them with an opportunity to listen more attentively to successfully complete the task.

Ms. Pham Thi My Phung, in her role as the following teacher, also utilized matching and discussion activities to pique the students' interest while teaching them how to make requests or suggestions regarding tourist information. Furthermore, for each example of a request or suggestion sentence, she provided students with opportunities to construct their own sentences, which helped to reinforce their comprehension. The most valuable aspect I derived from her performance was her interaction with the students. While she was lecturing, the classroom atmosphere felt dynamic as students actively engaged in her teaching session and displayed a willingness to answer questions. Her ability to arouse students' interest not only facilitated their understanding of the lesson but also benefited the subsequent teacher, who was tasked with a gamified activity that demanded considerable student energy and engagement.

Next, in order to strengthen what students have learned in a relaxing and engaging way, a game was applied and conducted by Ms. Bui Thi Thao Trang. As this is an activity that requires a high extent of students’ involvement and enthusiasm, Ms. Trang made commendable efforts to enhance their motivation and pique their interest. She employed a loud and clear voice, and incorporated small jokes, and laughter, all of which contributed to creating a positive classroom atmosphere. Following Ms. Trang is Mr. Vo Van Tri who is responsible for teaching pronunciation. One notable aspect of his teaching session is his commitment to ensuring the authenticity and accuracy of pronunciation. To clarify, rather than relying on his own voice, he utilized audio to demonstrate the correct pronunciation of the /dʒə/ sound. Additionally, to help students grasp the correct pronunciation, the teacher adjusted the audio to slow it down multiple times until the students were able to reproduce the sound accurately. Moreover, instead of employing traditional methods like whole-class repetition for practicing the sound, he applied a fun activity that not only allowed students to practice the sound but also enhanced their motivation and fostered positive feelings.

Concluding the group teaching session, Ms. Ngo Tran Thao Vy was in charge of the post-teaching stage which aimed at reviewing all the knowledge that students have learned. However, instead of repeating all the things by herself, she offered students a role-play activity in order to help students practice communication in an authentic context. Additionally, since the teachers were conducting their lessons at Nha Trang University, the role-play activity incorporated a context related to Vinwonder Nha Trang, which likely enhanced student motivation as they were practicing in a familiar context. Moreover, the decision to select Nha Trang as the context for student practice demonstrates the teacher's thoughtful consideration for their students.

In addition to acquiring practical skills, I also gained valuable insights into the characteristics of students from the central region of Vietnam through my observations. Building relationships with students in this region proved to be relatively easy, as they were friendly and displayed respect towards teachers. However, their learning style differed from that of students in Ho Chi Minh City. Students in Ho Chi Minh City tend to be more actively engaged in their learning. Specifically, it was easier to involve students in class activities there due to their greater autonomy. On the other hand, students studying in Nha Trang exhibited a tendency to avoid participating in class activities or sharing their opinions, making it challenging to enhance their motivation and engagement. From my perspective, the lifestyle in Nha Trang may contribute to this difference. To elaborate, the region's reliance on agriculture and fishing means that citizens can still earn a living and meet their basic needs without significant emphasis on education. As a result, students may not fully grasp the importance of learning, leading to a lack of learner autonomy. Therefore, teachers working in Nha Trang must go beyond traditional teaching methods. They need to design activities that specifically target enhancing student motivation and apply varied approaches, such as building rapport and demonstrating consideration for students' lives, in order to foster motivation in their learning journey.

To sum up, the practicum has been an invaluable experience for me, providing opportunities to acquire new knowledge and develop essential skills relevant to my career. Additionally, it served as a platform for self-reflection, allowing me to identify my strengths and weaknesses in teaching and gain valuable insights from observing my peers' performances. Beyond the acquisition of knowledge and skills, the practicum has also helped me to create treasured memories with friends and instructors, making the entire journey truly unforgettable.

Phạm Thái Thanh

Building good relationships with students, especially when it comes to the very first day of school, helps narrow the gap between teachers and students. This would support the teachers in feeling confident to teach and encourage students to contribute to their learning themselves. Ms. Trần Thị Thủy did a great job to build up rapport with students, which was a good example of how a friendly and energetic teacher could arouse the classroom atmosphere with a simple but joyful talk and game. It was easy to see that when her students felt comfortable with a new teacher, their classroom involvement was remarkable.

Their lesson structure clearly shaped the application of the Pre-While-Post model in teaching Speaking. With this procedure, they successfully led their students through a rich source of tasks to gather useful language knowledge and skills for the final speaking performance.Mr. Đỗ Phan Tuấn was accomplished to help student recall their prior knowledge and specifically learn the new vocabulary, using visual effects, imagination and listening to authentic source of information. To learn and practice necessary structures, Ms. Phạm Thị Mỹ Phụng successfully introduced to pairs of students the target expressions of requests and suggestions in a natural and gentle manner through a matching activity and follow-up discussions. For further practice, Ms. Bùi Thị Thao Trang was stunned to apply another colorful gamification to arouse the students’ attention and effective practice. By asking students to collaborate and choose the correct color for each correct option, the students were immersed in an active learning environment.

Mr. Võ Văn Trí was able to help students equip themselves with /dʒə/ for natural and fluent pronunciation. His performance was attractive and comprehensible, which encouraged all of the students to confidently practice in teams using a minigame of listening and repeating secret sentences. The lesson came to an end with Ms. Ngô Trần Thảo Vy’s role-play activity to get students involved in communicating in an authentic context. Before conducting the performance, the students were given brief instructions and language review, which boosted their confidence to express themselves. The practice in pairs made the activity meaningful and attractive for students to practice the authentic language.

They chose the best model to teach Speaking skills and in each step they strictly followed small but important requirements to ensure the effectiveness of the task, such as using straightforward instructions, asking instruction checking questions, giving understandable demonstrations. They also understood who their students were to fit the lesson plan with the students' learning habits using group and individual work, starting mini talks related to their favors, exploiting competitive, enjoyable but easy-for-understanding games.

All of these factors kept their classroom atmosphere engaging, interactive and dynamic in all of the tasks and activities. Moreover, although this was a class of a foreign language, the use of L1 was carefully considered and used in an appropriate manner to best support students’ understanding.

One noticeable strength was their very good time management skills. They did show their good flexibility in controlling time for each task to ensure the amount of knowledge was transmitted and practiced nicely within a class session. As a result, the group proved themselves as an united and professional teaching team who could balance both students’ understanding quality and engagement in their class.

Nothing is perfect. My fellow teachers have already found minor areas for improvement. With the constructive feedback of the instructor, they could find it important to deliver their instructions in a more fluent pronunciation, consider the L1 amount, or choose better positions in class.

To go a long distance, we need to go together. After harmonious working time for all of the missions, I now can feel more ready to share my ideas and listen to others to reach our common goals. This is the core aspect that helps me connect with other people in a happy manner. I also realized interesting speaking styles that suit certain people in certain situations, including supervisors, colleagues, students, and other parties. The use of direct or indirect speech, or technology for communication encourages me to continue to take part in teamwork-oriented tasks to be more professional. Although there is still a long way to go, I am grateful for having the opportunity to learn from the community surrounding me to have effective communication.

I was really surprised with the warmest welcome that teachers and students at Nha Trang University sent to us. In spite of coming from different backgrounds and geological areas, they impressed me with their carefulness and respect in introducing their local culture and listening to our culture as well. However, differences are unavoidable. Learning styles of students here could be said to be distinguished from those I have accustomed to. This was still a very good experience for me, although I could not play my best performance. This reminds me of the significance of understanding my students’ English competence and culture to raise any task in the lesson plan. Sometimes, less is more. Whoever my students are, simple and accessible language instructions always work better than a jungle of words.

Besides, cultural awareness learned from the locals and friends is paramount. It would help me to make right decisions in selecting language and topics that do not accidentally attack the students’ culture and learning styles to shorten the gap between strangers.

During the practicum, every one of us was once a leader of a certain task. When it came to our own preferred area, we shared our knowledge and practiced leadership skills. Challenges are inevitable. When something unexpected happened at the last minute, we were ready to review the plan and make adaptability such as when preparing a hardcopy of the poster, when practicing teaching a full lesson, when members had mental problems. Difficulty but worthy.

In conclusion, no words can express my grateful feeling for what I have gained from the practicum. It offered me precious knowledge in teaching and organizing events, beloved relationships, and unforgettable memories of a good time. I would consider what I have learned to have better performance in my teaching career, study, and life.

Đỗ Thanh Phú

Phạm Thái Thanh

Travel broadens the mind. After the practicum, I have realized many crucial things that would change my belief in my teaching career and my life forever. During the trip, I have learned a lot from my supervisors, colleagues, and students to always remind myself of the importance of ‘being careful to make assumptions before the class starts’ and ‘being calm’. They happened to me as being related to the main causes of my confusion and surprise during my teaching practice. Assumptions are either a good guide that leads us to the place we wish or an untrustworthy driver pushing us to a jungle where we are attacked by the unexpected.

My positive attitudes and assessments based on the data collected from the observation class told me to assume that if this student spoke to you, the other student would not be silent. I brought my optimism without any plan B to my micro-teaching class and soon realized that the students did not understand what I was talking about in full English. Most of them were quiet and completely confused to follow my instructions. At that time, I knew that I needed to do something. I tried to ask concept checking questions, giving demos and examples, but they did not work as I believed.

I did everything but forgot about their low language proficiency. I failed to assess my students in the right way and I especially lost my calmness to think in the right way at that time.

Teaching the English language does not mean the teacher always accepts English and rejects the mother tongue. While I was in a rush of time, I was not calm enough to figure out what the cause of the problem was and insisted on avoiding using Vietnamese in checking students’ understanding and making rapport with them which is a good tool to connect the teachers with the students and to encourage them to voice. This was what my colleagues did to cope with the same problem at ease.

They are valuable experiences teach me of a better teacher in the future. Since then, I often study about my new students and their learning styles which have been established with other teachers before my first lesson to think carefully of my lesson plans. I would also practice dealing with classroom issues with serenity which can help me find out what I should do in a wiser way. Thanks to this memory and feedback from the supervisors and friends, I have learned an ivaluable lesson.

Phạm Nguyễn Uyên Phương

Undoubtedly, travel serves as a valuable source of learning. Throughout the practicum, I have gained a wealth of knowledge and experienced a shift in my perception. Prior to the practicum, I held the belief that geographical and cultural factors had minimal influence on students' behavior. However, after conducting the micro-teaching session, I have come to realize that students from different regions may exhibit distinct attitudes toward learning. Specifically, as I previously mentioned when discussing the development of professional skills, there are noticeable differences in learners' autonomy and engagement between students from the middle region of Vietnam and those from Ho Chi Minh City.

During the micro-teaching sessions, I observed the challenges teachers faced in engaging students, despite their diligent preparation of various activities aimed at capturing students' interest. Additionally, students displayed a tendency to avoid answering questions or participating in activities. Initially, I attributed this issue to students' anxiety about making mistakes, the rapport between students and new teachers, and the potential language barrier caused by their lower level of English proficiency and teachers' use of English. However, I had not considered the potential impact of geographical and cultural factors on their learning style.

Đỗ Thanh Phú

The micro-teaching activity at Nha Trang University changed my perception of the Grammar-Translation method. Initially, I restricted the use of Vietnamese in class, but in a new environment with non-English major students, adaptability was necessary. When teaching the Past Perfect grammar, my attempts to use visuals and an inductive approach didn't work effectively. To engage the students and improve their understanding, I decided to use Grammar-Translation, despite its limitations in promoting meaningful communication and improving listening and speaking skills. This decision resulted in increased student engagement and a better grasp of the lesson, as they demonstrated a better understanding of the lesson and confidently participated by raising their hands to respond to questions in Vietnamese.

To conclude, this is not only a story about the effectiveness of the grammar-translation method, but also an experience that has challenged my previous beliefs and underlined the significance of selecting appropriate teaching methods based on the learners' specific needs and settings.

During the Practicum, I have gained a valuable insight that emphasizes the importance of seeking support from peers rather than relying solely on oneself in order to foster personal growth. The program has provided us with a wide range of activities that necessitate collaborative participation among students.

This opportunity has allowed me to immerse myself in diverse working environments and engage with individuals from various cultural backgrounds. While occasional conflicts did arise, we managed to navigate through them as a cohesive group, striving to uphold a harmonious atmosphere. Following the conclusion of the trip, I acquired the ability to suppress my self-centered tendencies and prioritize the collective welfare of the group.

Vương Tú Quyên

REFERENCES

Harmer, J. (2015). The Practice of English Language Teaching (5th ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson

Education Limited

Maftoon, P., & Sarem, S. N. (2015). A critical look at the presentation, practice, production

(ppp) approach: challenges and promises for ELT. BRAIN: Broad Research in Artificial

Intelligence and Neuroscience, 3(4), 31-36. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297702625_A_Critical_Look_at_the_Presentation_Practice_Production_PPP_Approach_Challenges_and_Promises_for_ELT

Nunan, D. (1989). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Nunan, D. (2013). Learner-centered English language education: The selected works of David Nunan.

New York: Routledge.