Speaker
Description
How to prepare English speakers to be able to effectively communicate in an authentic environment where people from different lingual-cultural background speak English as a lingua franca (ELF) is a crucial concern in ELT. While ELF and ELF-informed pedapogy have been widely researched and practiced in several parts of the world, especially Europe, the topic remains under researched in Vietnam. This small-scale study employed a mixed methods approach in which a questionnaire and interviews were used. The questionnaire, which involved 70 in-service and pre-service Vietnamese teachers of English taking MA programs in English language and TESOL at two universities in Ho Chi Minh City, deals with participants’ backgrounds, their awareness of the current English-speaking environment, ELF, and how it has been treated in their English study and professional training. This was further illuminated by qualitative data from in-depth interviews with 10 volunteers out of the 70 participants. It was found that while the majority of the participants aware of the diverse English speaking environment where non-native speakers greatly outnumber native speakers of English and revealed their substantial understanding of ELF, the term are not highlighted in their professional training in general and in the current MA courses in particular. This is also the case with their English teaching curricula and syllabi, as reported, where ELF has not been given sufficient attention as English learners are expected to be able to communicate with native speakers of English only. The study suggests some recommendations for an ELF-aware pre-service teacher education in Vietnam.
