Nghiên cứu chiêm nghiệm về trải nghiệm học trực tuyến của sinh viên chuyên ngữ anh tại một trường đại học kỹ thuật

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH CƠNG TRÌNH NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC CỦA SINH VIÊN NGHIÊN CỨU CHIÊM NGHIỆM VỀ TRẢI NGHIỆM HỌC TRỰC TUYẾN CỦA SINH VIÊN CHUYÊN NGỮ ANH TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT MÃ SỐ: SV2022-80 CHỦ NHIỆM ĐỀ TÀI: PHẠM MINH NHẬT SKC 0 8 Tp Hồ Chí Minh, tháng 11/2022 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐH SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT TPHCM BÁO CÁO TỔNG KẾT ĐỀ TÀI NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC CỦA SINH VIÊN NGHIÊN CỨU CHIÊM NGHIỆM VỀ TRẢI NGHIỆM HỌC TRỰC TUYẾN CỦA SINH VIÊN CHUYÊN NGỮ ANH TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT SV2022 - 80 Thuộc nhóm ngành khoa học : Giáo dục Sinh viên thực : Phạm Minh Nhật (Nhóm trưởng) Nam, Nữ : Nam Dân tộc : Kinh Lớp, khoa : 161310B, Khoa Ngoại Ngữ Năm thứ : 4/Số năm đào tạo: Ngành học : Ngôn ngữ Anh Người hướng dẫn : TS Trần Thị Thuý Hằng TP Hồ Chí Minh, 11/ 2022 Mục lục Thơng tin kết nghiên cứu đề tài Tóm tắt đề tài Introduction Literature Review The Contexts of Online Learning Online Learning Under the Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic Virtual Education Around the World Online Training Education in Vietnam Research Methodology: Collaborative Autobiographical Narrative Inquiry Data Collection: Telling Stories of Being and Becoming Online Learners in Vietnam 10 Annals 10 Ngoc Diem: From Obsession to “Forced Adaptation” 11 Thuy Trang: Roller Coaster Feelings in “Online Study” Adventure, Was That True? 13 Nha Quynh: There Is a Dilemma inside Me 16 Minh Nhat: The Spiral - There Are Ups, and There Are Downs 18 Artifacts 20 Ngoc Diem: My Mechanical Pencil - A Special Companion 20 Thuy Trang: My Eye-care Products - Supportive Intimates for My Eyes During Online Courses 21 Nha Quynh: My Laptop - A Friend of Mine, and a Symbol of My Family’s Tradition 23 Minh Nhat: An Invisible Cage 24 Finding and Discussion: Retelling Our Stories, Learning from Our Resonant Threads 27 Thread One: The Students’ Experiences of Online Learning Have Not Been Fully Attended .27 Thread Two: The Students’ Online Learning Is Full of Negative Feelings but Lacks Support .29 Thread Three: Intimate Relationships with Family and “Learning Buddies” Could Help Students Overcome the Challenges of Online Learning 32 References 36 Minh chứng 39 Acknowledgement 40 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐH SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT TPHCM THÔNG TIN KẾT QUẢ NGHIÊN CỨU CỦA ĐỀ TÀI Thông tin chung: - Tên đề tài: Nghiên cứu chiêm nghiệm trải nghiệm học trực tuyến sinh viên chuyên ngữ Anh trường đại học kỹ thuật - Chủ nhiệm đề tài: Phạm Minh Nhật Mã số SV: 16131063 - Lớp: 161310B Khoa: Ngoại Ngữ - Thành viên đề tài: Stt Họ tên MSSV Lớp Khoa Lê Thị Ngọc Diễm 17131005 171310A Ngoại Ngữ Nguyễn Phi Thùy Trang 19131141 191311A Ngoại Ngữ Quách Ngọc Nhã Quỳnh 17116117 18131TI1 Ngoại Ngữ - Người hướng dẫn: TS Trần Thị Thúy Hằng Mục tiêu đề tài: Đề tài chúng tơi hướng đến tìm hiểu trải nghiệm sinh viên chuyên ngành tiếng Anh trường đại học kỹ thuật, nhằm hiểu rõ sâu thuận lợi khó khăn mà sinh viên trải qua Đề tài mong muốn truyền tải trải nghiệm đến sinh viên học trực tuyến trường đại học, để câu chuyện tương lai họ mang nhiều niềm vui khó khăn Bên cạnh đó, đề tài đưa kiến nghị cho giảng viên, nhà quản lý, đơn vị hữu quan việc tổ chức dạy học trực tuyến để người học quan tâm có hội phát triển q trình Tính sáng tạo: Trong nhiều nghiên cứu Việt Nam giới hướng vào việc khảo sát hài lịng khó khăn sinh viên học trực tuyến, có nghiên cứu sâu vào việc tìm hiểu trải nghiệm sinh viên góc nhìn thời gian, khơng gian, mối quan hệ Đặc biệt, chưa có nghiên cứu trải nghiệm sinh viên Việt Nam góc nhìn đa chiều Kết nghiên cứu: Đề tài sử dụng phương pháp nghiên cứu chiêm nghiệm (narrative inquiry), dựa câu chuyện mà đối tượng nghiên cứu sống (live), kể (tell), kể lại (retell), sống lại (relive) trải nghiệm thân việc học trực tuyến thời gian xảy đại dịch COVID_19 Đề tài thực 12 tháng với trải nghiệm thân đối tượng nghiên cứu Đóng góp mặt giáo dục đào tạo, kinh tế - xã hội, an ninh, quốc phòng khả áp dụng đề tài: Về mặt giáo dục đào tạo, đề tài mang đến góc nhìn chiêm nghiệm nhìn sâu vào trải nghiệm sinh viên học trực tuyến khoảng thời gian cách ly toàn xã hội COVID-19 Qua đó, hy vọng giáo viên, nhà giáo dục, người làm sách hiểu sâu tâm tư, nguyện vọng sinh viên nhằm sách dạy học, quản lý hỗ trợ cho người học cách hợp tình, hợp lý Từ việc học trực tuyến khơng cịn rào cản mà trở thành môi trường phát triển cho sinh viên mặt kiến thức nghề nghiệp mà kỹ sống nhằm phát triển toàn diện lâu dài Bên cạnh đó, đề tài chúng tơi cần nhấn mạnh thật vấn đề sức khỏe tinh thần người học thật cần quan tâm nhiều thiết thực môi trường đại học Công bố khoa học SV từ kết nghiên cứu đề tài (ghi rõ tên tạp chí có) nhận xét, đánh giá sở áp dụng kết nghiên cứu (nếu có): báo Pham, M N., Le, T N D., Nguyen, P T T., Quach, N N Q, & Tran, T T H (2022) The Experiences of Vietnamese Students Learning Online During COVID_19 Pandemic: A Collaborative Autobiographical Narrative Inquiry Paper presented at the international conference Engaging With Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City-Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam, October 26 - October 30, 2022 Le, T N D., Nguyen, P T T., Quach, N N Q., Pham, M N., & Tran, T T H (first review passed, second review progressed) Being and Becoming Online Learners During the COVID_19 Pandemic: Vietnamese Students’ Narratives International Journal of TESOL & Education, 5(1) Ngày 12 tháng 11 năm 2022 SV chịu trách nhiệm (kí, họ tên) Nhận xét người hướng dẫn đóng góp khoa học SV thực đề tài (phần người hướng dẫn ghi): Nhóm sinh viên nỗ lực trình thực đề tài, từ học hỏi phương pháp nghiên cứu thu thập liệu, phân tích kết cuối hồn chỉnh báo khoa học để trình bày hội thảo khoa học quốc tế xuất tạp chí khoa học thuộc ngành giáo dục đào tạo Trong thời gian năm với tổng thời gian làm việc giáo viên hướng dẫn từ xa 150 giờ, nhóm sinh viên vượt qua nhiều khó khăn hồn thành xuất sắc đề tài nghiên cứu khoa học, phát triển kỹ nghiên cứu xuất báo hướng dẫn giáo viên Ngày 13 tháng 11 năm 2022 Người hướng dẫn (kí, họ tên) TS Trần Thị Thuý Hằng Tóm tắt đề tài Từ đại dịch COVID-19 bùng nổ, việc học trực tuyến trở nên phổ biến nhiều thách thức bối cảnh giáo dục đại học Việt Nam Tuy nhiên, cịn nghiên cứu tập trung vào trải nghiệm người học trực tuyến, đặc biệt sinh viên chuyên ngành ngôn ngữ Anh trường đại học Việt Nam Bài báo kể lại q trình nhóm sinh viên Việt Nam thơng qua phương pháp nghiên cứu chiêm nghiệm để hiểu trải nghiệm học trực tuyến tác động đại dịch COVID_19 trường đại học công nghệ miền Nam Việt Nam Những băn khoăn nghiên cứu xuất phát từ hai câu hỏi: (1) Học trực tuyến gì?, (2) Sinh viên Việt Nam bối cảnh học trực tuyến ai? Đầu tiên, chúng tơi tìm hiểu nhận câu chuyện khởi đầu người giúp hình thành nên băn khoăn câu hỏi liên quan đến việc học trực tuyến Sau đó, chúng tơi sử dụng phương pháp nghiên cứu chiêm nghiệm (narrative inquiry) để hiểu rõ trải nghiệm buổi học trực tuyến mối quan hệ thân với nhà trường, gia đình, xã hội, văn hóa, câu chuyện cá nhân trước, sau hành trình học tập trực tuyến Thơng qua q trình kể, kể lại “sống lại” trải nghiệm mình, nhận thấy trải nghiệm học trực tuyến sinh viên chưa giáo viên nhà trường quan tâm cách tồn diện; hành trình học tập trực tuyến có nhiều cảm xúc tiêu cực lại thiếu hỗ trợ cho người học; và, mối quan hệ mật thiết với gia đình “những người bạn học” giúp người học trực tuyến vượt qua thử thách để học tập sống tốt Chúng hy vọng nghiên cứu hữu ích cho tất người trở thành người học trực tuyến, để bên liên quan hiểu rõ trải nghiệm người học nhằm hỗ trợ tốt cho người học người dạy môi trường học trực tuyến Việt Nam khu vực có giáo dục tương đồng Introduction Amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic, five of us came from different familial cultures, of different educational backgrounds, genders, and at different stages in life, to discuss and share our research interest in online learning in Vietnam and narrative inquiry research methodology at weekly meetings Even though our group includes a lecturer living in Canada and four English-major students living in Vietnam, we see the emergence of employing narrative inquiry to understand the experiences of Vietnamese students in online learning, especially under the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic Our journey has started since October 2021 with our weekly meetings, in which Dr Tran shared her teaching on narrative inquiry research methodology, and progressed throughout the year with telling, retelling, and reliving the students’ stories on online learning Together we co-composed our narrative inquiry and this paper is among our collaborative outcomes By sharing our stories and memories from our experiences of online learning at a higher education institution, we understand that this wisdom has shaped who we are and who we are becoming as English major undergraduates, and as human beings always in relation to the institutional and social world upon whom we are obligatorily dependent and to whose experience we contribute Through our collaborative stories, we attempt to make kin with our team members’ experiences and ourselves' experiences, and bring our diverse values to raise our voices for the communities we are from Together, our stories bump up and rub against the dominant narratives surrounding online learning We seek to expand understanding the lived experiences, the challenges, the pain, and the determination of online learners in a more holistic way, which explicitly and intentionally includes the unheard voice of our online learning experiences, the lack of institutional support, and how we overcome our troubles thanks to intimate supports from family and “learning buddies” Part of our goal is to bring voices from the margins of online learners into the existing conversations while acknowledging there is yet much for us to learn In this paper, we first start by presenting the framework of online learning in general and online learning in Vietnam under the COVID-19 pandemic Then we share about collaborative autobiographical narrative inquiry as our research methodology, which supports our understanding of who we are and are becoming as online learners with each other We also retell and relive our storied experiences, and pay attention to the resonances across our experiences Finally, we discuss our forward-looking thoughts and imagine how our experiences could support those online learning students whose education landscapes may also echo with ours Literature Review The Contexts of Online Learning Online learning is a familiar concept in developed countries, with nearly 70 per cent of higher education institutions stating that online education is an important aspect to their long-term strategies (Allen, 2013) According to the USA’s National Center for Education Statistics, in 2017, there were more than million people enrolled in online learning exclusively, with additional 3.3 million students enrolled in at least one online course (Ginder et al., 2018) Currently, there is a favorable opinion of the learning outcomes for online education as a majority of academic officers stated that online learning yielded “the same” quality as face-to-face learning (I Elaine Allen & Seaman, 2015) Since the 1980s, Vietnam has been engaged in distant learning The government is starting to increase investment in the industry as a result of the rising number of students and needs In 1993, Vietnam officially opened Ho Chi Minh City Open University and Hanoi University as the very first two distance-learning institutions in Vietnam However, the number of students who experienced online learning or distance learning before the COVID-19 pandemic hit was really modest In 2019, only 3.3 per cent of higher education students engaged in online learning according to reports (Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training, 2021) Moreover, the conservative belief that the most successful educational approach is the traditional face-to-face education, which involves interactions between instructors and students that have been familiar for many years Thus, making online education an unfamiliar concept to the majority (VietNamNet News, 2020) Online Learning Under the Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic Virtual Education Around the World The fatal COVID-19 pandemic has not only posed public health challenges, but it has also disrupted global education systems when 290 million students were out of school (UNESCO, 2020b) It is owing to the closure of schools and higher education that a switch to an entire online learning environment is the only solution to both continue the educational system and mitigate the spread of infectious disease However, prolonged virtual learning generated many drawbacks in various aspects Psychologically speaking, the rapid coronavirus transmission has provoked a sense of uncertainty about what will happen (Tiruneh, 2020) and a community fear of dying or their relatives dying (Sahu, 2020) Furthermore, Copeland et al (2021) also reported that students’ behavioral and emotional functioning, particularly attention and externalizing problems such as mood and wellness, was adversely influenced on account of isolation, economic along with health effects and uncertainties which were all caused by the pandemic Di Pietro et al (2020) and Woday et al (2020) agreed that the implementation of school closure and online learning caused students' lack of learning, anxiety, stress and even depression disorders Another concern is that teachers and students not have equal access to digital technology and educational materials (Tadesse, S., & Muluye, W., 2020) Notably, students’ pressure is to navigate and regulate their own learning while lecturers have also had to master digital tools they are unfamiliar with (Bozkurt et al., 2020) Online Training Education in Vietnam Initially, all educators and students had many difficulties in adapting to the new mode of education Regarding mental and emotional health, according to UNESCO (2021), Vietnamese young people also had a fear of themselves or their family catching the disease, and this fear would have put more restrictions on their movements, thus reducing physical exercise and interactions with others Additionally, they were anxious about missing their opportunities for learning and interaction, particularly those with looming exams (UNESCO, 2021) Having never been exposed to distance education, Vietnamese students face many obstacles in learning motivation (Tran & Tran, 2020), and students’ online learning attitudes were affected by objective factors such as parents complaining, friends dominating, social media, sleeplessness, etc (Phan et al., 2020) Concerning technology, online learning skills and Internet access were regarded as a major hindrance Both undergraduates and lecturers significantly struggled with using applications or software (Tran & Bui, 2020) or experienced many problems with the internet system and transmission line (Lu & Nguyen, 2020), and the issue of network information security was not guaranteed (Duong et al., 2020) Besides, the sudden transition to remote learning at higher education resulted in the prominent problem at first - the teaching method Tran & Tran (2020) explained lecturers could not create incentives for students because teaching approaches were too boring and traditional However, gradually, there are some remarkable improvements when lecturers are able to exploit many effective, invested online teaching methods (Phan et al., 2020) Therefore, information technology competencies of both teachers and undergraduates have been noticeably enhanced through COVID-19 outbreaks This is a promising signal for Vietnam's orientation and development of blended education where traditional classrooms and virtual ones can both be applied nationally Research Methodology: Collaborative Autobiographical Narrative Inquiry Of all our group, only one author (Dr Tran) had previous experience with narrative inquiry as both a research methodology and as a pedagogy The other four authors were undergraduate students and interested in autobiographical narrative inquiry and recognized that engaging in a collaborative autobiographical narrative inquiry process would pave the way for better understanding their experiences of online learning under the COVID-19 pandemic Our group began the journey by first learning about narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 1998; Clandinin, 2013; Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007; Huber et al., 2011) and the process of engaging in autobiographical narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Caine, 2013; Clandinin et al., 2015; Huber et al., 2013; Saleh et al., 2014) As we read together and unpacked the articles and book chapters, we worked to cocompose a shared understanding of our approach to our research We were also privileged to have Dr D Jean Clandinin, the co-founder of narrative inquiry in North America, join one of our virtual meetings to share more about this methodology and answer the questions from the undergraduate student authors We also learned from Cardinal (2010) and Saleh et al (2014) that autobiographical narrative inquiry emphasized telling and re-telling stories, which has later driven us to attend not only to our current online learning experiences but also to the stories we carried within as we entered into those online learning environments As we attend to living, telling, retelling, and reliving our storied experiences (Clandinin & Connelly, 1998; Connelly & Clandinin, 1999), our understanding is continuously informed by who we are as online English-major students, and by our personal views of curriculum and related facets of online learning and teaching at a Vietnamese technical university As guided by Clandinin and Connelly (2000), we attended to the “three-dimensional narrative inquiry space” (p 50) that opens up through narrative inquiry This space includes temporality (past, present and future), sociality (personal and social relationships), and place; and it supports us to the meaning making of our experiences We also learned from Clandinin and Rosiek (2007) that: The focus of narrative inquiry is not only a valorizing of individuals’ experience but also an exploration of the social, cultural, and institutional narratives within which individuals’ experiences were constituted, shaped, expressed, and enacted—but in a way that begins and ends that inquiry in the storied lives of the people involved Narrative inquirers study an individual’s experience in the world and, through the study, seek ways of enriching and transforming that experience for themselves and others (p 42) After we came to a shared understanding of autobiographical narrative inquiry, and how we would collaborate as a research collective, we continued the process of coming to know each other, and to know about the process of collecting data (field text) According to Clandinin & Huber (2010), “field texts can include transcripts of conversations, field notes, family stories, memory box artifacts, photographs, and other texts that are composed by narrative inquirers and participants to represent aspects of lived experience” (p 11) We chose to begin our data collection with annals (Clandinin, 2013), which drew into stories of our “early landscapes” (Greene, 1995, p 73) as online learners From the annals and our collaborative inquiry, we then moved forward to sharing and inquiring into memory box artifacts, which we used to evoke more stories of our experiences on online learning Finally, we co-composed our final research texts by employing the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space of sociality, temporality, and place; and attending to the resonant threads that “echo and reverberate with each other” (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000) across our lived stories Significantly, the resonant threads pave the way for our forward-looking thoughts which showcase our responses for the questions of “so what” and “who cares” in relation to online learning in Vietnam Data Collection: Telling Stories of Being and Becoming Online Learners in Vietnam In this telling, together the four undergraduate students share stories of being and becoming online learners in Vietnamese higher education under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic We embrace annals and artifacts as two windows which help unfold our experiences Annals I missed the life that revolved around my palms, especially since I’m a student and I was too young to feel this weight I’m tired of reaching out and waiting for another day wished to come Finding and Discussion: Retelling Our Stories, Learning from Our Resonant Threads Coming to this stage, we revisit our own stories as well as our members’ stories, and retell them again and again to better understand our experiences of being and becoming online learners amidst the contexts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam Through this process of retelling, we have understood our experiences more deeply under the three dimensions of narrative inquiry: our personal and social relationships, our past-present-future stories, and places we have been to Meaningfully, we have come to three resonant threads that echo across our experiences Thread One: The Students’ Experiences of Online Learning Have Not Been Fully Attended Ngoc Diem Our group had a discussion on April 17, 2022 Nhat believed that the university ignored our voices, but actually they were willing to listen to us through collecting our feedback after a few weeks of online learning However, they used our comments and complaints to criticize the lecturers and blame the inefficiency of teaching and learning on teachers rather than find solutions to facilitate our teaching and learning Our voices were exploited inappropriately Also, I wondered why the university surveyed students’ feedback about online learning rather than students’ online learning experiences and difficulties Did they also carry out any studies to discover teachers’ obstacles or restrictions? Vietnam first applied online learning for all school levels, so every individual would find it challenging to manipulate it Thus, all of us should stand together rather than blame each other Thuy Trang After discussing and listening to other members, I found ourselves struggling seeking support and help from our university That was the very first time that Vietnam in general and my university decided to apply such novelty study methods as compulsory due to the dramatic spread of covid-19 without any helpful and supportive solutions for not only students but also lecturers To illustrate, our university was there and eager to hear complaints and feedback from us, but instead of providing appropriate solutions for particular problems, they tended to blame faults on lecturers for ineffective and unattractive lessons or not being up-to-date to catch up with the situations Plus, they required students to be more sincere and genuine during classes without any observation or survey to recognise our difficulties before Hence, we thought that our complaints and feedback were invisible and not to be taken into account seriously Nha Quynh By revisiting the stories that the four of us wrote, I quickly realized that online learning is a multifaceted issue that requires careful consideration It first arrived in Vietnam in early 2020 and quickly became a strange way of learning—not everyone in our country knows exactly what and how to learn when teachers and students are unable to meet together to talk and discuss Our school was in the same state as ours, and we were too busy criticizing them at the start of this journey We were in trouble, but once things seemed to be going "smoothly," they began to send us various forms to collect feedback related to learning, such as asking about the internet connection and whether or not the teacher's e-lessons satisfied us There was no form that asked about our mental health No one asked the students if they were okay or if they needed assistance We were waving and asking for help, but no one decided to respond Minh Nhat After having told my story and listening to my peers’ stories as well, I was struck by a harsh reality that we were alone amidst the whole lockdown thing, and the university was not there to support us Our university only gave out some “shallow assistance” such as giving out a small portion of instant noodles and some eggs to a handful of students At one point, there was a survey asking our opinions regarding online learning experiences However, it became quite clear that there would be no direct assistance delivered, and there have been no improvements The university constantly gave out announcements and adjustments, which made students fall even deeper into the fit of confusion Among these announcements, I felt that the university was trying to shift the blame toward other directions instead of themselves It was either the lectures’ fault, or students’ fault Thuy Hang As a lecturer supporting these four students in their journey of understanding their experiences of online learning under the impacts of the pandemic, I have been feeling privileged for our relationship based on trust and care, which meaningfully paves the door for our sharing and learning with/from each other I could sense their tiredness when their lived experiences of struggling with online learning received little attention Here my thought comes to a question of how much lived curriculum or curriculum of lives has been attended in Vietnam higher education, in integration with the dominant school curriculum If an instructor tells me about a student and says that “he is a student at my university”, I will respond back that “yes, you are right; but that’s not truly enough about him” I will then expand to this instructor that her student is not solely a student coming to campus for learning, but he comes as a human being with his identity, his dignity, and his so many relationships with institutional, familial, economic, social, and educational landscapes If we as instructors could better know who our students are, we could better support their holistic and long-term development in relation to their online learning In addition, I also put myself into the online instructors’ shoes and I wonder if they also wish to support their online learners, but their wish is not possible due to the time constraint as well as the current dominance of school curriculum Thread Two: The Students’ Online Learning Is Full of Negative Feelings but Lacks Support Ngoc Diem Facing technological issues, I practically received no support from any parties Online learning was a vague term to my parents; they could not imagine what I was going through and suffering during the virtual curriculum, not to mention their help My learning friends, who did not confront the same problem, could not grasp my case As long as they did not have any challenges, others’ difficulties were not their business, and they did not have any responsibility to get involved If I had been them, I might have behaved the same as it was hard to understand someone’s contexts and obstacles remotely Vietnamese teachers are truly not very tech-savvy, and they not want to admit it, lest students undermine their technical abilities Concerning mental support, Dr Tran pondered that the Vietnamese curriculum had not necessitated students’ mental support while they should be taken care of both physically and mentally In fact, my university often provided students with free instant noodles and vegetables during the lockdown However, under the complicated developments of the disease, our spirits were also adversely influenced and needed soothing, but we almost received no mental support from the educational institutions The university should have been conscious that students not only hoped for food to be full but also mental support to be healed in order to overcome the pandemic healthily Interestingly, Vietnamese people are not truly open about their personal stories or private lives to strangers like psychiatrists If one is caught seeking mental help in a psychological clinic, he or she will be immediately labeled as a weak or crazy person Thus, we are shy to go to such places, so this will be a challenge for MOET to solve this dilemma Furthermore, obvious guidelines from institutional resources are a hot potato On the university’s assumption that we would go back to physical school soon, there were no customized syllabuses for online learning performance and assessment – the evaluations used for conventional classrooms were applied for online curriculum This did not actually make sense Adjustments were just made when there was something wrong in the curriculum, and students were forced to follow In Vietnamese culture, older people or people in higher positions are more powerful, and younger ones or the inferiors have to follow “the superiors' words” Hence, that is the reason why we, without any rights to contribute to syllabus modifications, had to catch up with the changes from the university and faculty The university and teachers should have had meetings to modify syllabuses from traditional forms to online ones so as to facilitate students’ learning process and also simplify the teachers' assessment at the beginning of online learning rather than adjustments only when problems arise Finally, “online teaching and learning” was radically a strange term to Vietnamese teachers and students, so we lacked trust in each other; teachers did not try to explore students’ obstacles in technology and always thought they had excuses, and students supposed that teachers were better at computers and should have provided support Both just assumed the others’ situations without any cares It could be said that teachers’ lack of training in online teaching and the students’ shortage of knowledge of computer usage resulted in tension doubling tension Both did not put themselves in the others’ contexts to understand and sympathize the others’ difficulties Remember that 2020 was the first time when virtual learning was implemented in Vietnam, teachers and students should have stood together and supported each other If we still not try to understand others, who will help both teachers and students during online learning? Thuy Trang When I mentioned online study to my parents, as I was approaching a new term, their first reaction was surprise and concern They were concerned that I could not gain any knowledge via a small screen and virtual lessons They were concerned that I could not manage my schedule and assignments wisely as I studied in my bedroom, and they were concerned that I might suffer from problems which could negatively influence my academic performances I considered myself as a low-tech person, so when it comes to technical problems during the whole online learning semester, I attempted to furnish myself with suitable solutions, and obviously, it was not as easy as I expected My classmates were also in the same case with me at that time but not completely, and they just could only help me distantly, but it did not seem really convenient for me at that time If my university offered clear plans and syllabus to support students to overcome such unfamiliar studying and teaching approaches, both teachers and students would have had better and faster solutions for particular problems Actually, my university did not expect that we had to take online lessons as compulsory that long but owing to the sophisticated situations of COVID-19 Hence, they did not furnish themselves and students with a logical and coherent syllabus and online studying platforms, which caused confusion, concern and worry for me and other students Lastly, we always needed to catch up with new announcements continuously as we miscalculate unsettled prior schedules I was able to understand that our curriculum extremely tight and stressful, which prevented students from physical activities and exercises I had to passively sit in front of my laptop for hours to attentively listen and jot down my lessons Actually, the majority of universities and schools not care much about students’ mental health as there are numerous students that are unable to manage everything well However, I wish there had been some online campaigns or talk shows to encourage students to study or guide us how to effectively unwind and refresh ourselves as mental nourishment for us in such atrocious situations As this was the very first time that both teachers and students approached advanced technological platforms obligatorily for months, very few of us found applicable solutions without any help from the institutional system Teachers did not ponder students' faith during tests and exams They were suggested by my university to require students to download an application called “SEB” to avoid us from cheating In my personal perspective, that action is acceptable as they sought fairness However, whenever a student suffered from technical problems, he or she was required to record the whole process of the problem to prove the practical trouble and honesty Until that moment, I felt stuffy and irritated, and when it came to exams, I felt not only because of my original exams, but also due to the issues which could possibly suddenly appear and ruin my effort Nha Quynh I received very little assistance when I encountered technical difficulties while learning online Online learning was a strange concept to my parents; they couldn't imagine what I was going through and struggling with during the virtual experience My classmates couldn't comprehend my situation because they hadn't experienced anything comparable However, because several of them were experiencing the same issues as I was, we formed a group and assisted each other when a technical problem arose before and during classes If you've ever wondered why we didn't ask our teachers for assistance, the answer is that they were unfamiliar with technology in general Teachers and students have been perplexed by the use of technology for online teaching and learning, but no one could help us unless we discovered and assisted ourselves I agree with Diem that the Vietnamese curriculum did not support students' mental health during the pandemic, based on my online learning experiences during the pandemic As a person with mental health issues, I must adjust to a learning environment that requires learning I couldn't see my teachers or friends face to face My mental health was more adversely influenced by pandemic stress as well as online learning issues due to the disease's complicated progression It required comfort, but the academic system provided very little assistance and support I was fortunate to be heard and seen by seeking help from a psychologist, but what about my friends who were experiencing the same issues as me? Talking about guidelines from institution resources, I believe this is the most pressing issue I have faced since being required to attend online classes There was no specially designed syllabus for online learning—all we had to was follow the adjustments, which were made quickly throughout the classes if something went wrong We had to run back and forth to keep up with the changing pace of the syllabus, and if we were too slow, we would be left behind Furthermore, during online learning, both teachers and students struggled The former is new to technology and is learning how to use it, whereas the latter is used to using it for a variety of tasks They share one feature: they both have technical issues and frequently seek understanding from the other Most teachers, however, believe that only their technical issues are worthy of discussion Most of the teachers, in my opinion, lacked sympathy for understanding students' "excuses." Students, on the other hand, assumed that teachers, not them, should be skilled in using technology We were constantly contradicting each other, despite the fact that if we put ourselves in each other's shoes, the situation would improve Minh Nhat Being a student with high technology proficiency, I found little to no problems adapting to applications and platforms used during this time Yet I could remember how my friends struggled back then as they faced various problems, yet the teachers were not properly equipped with technological knowledge to solve complex problems There were times I had to volunteer to be the technician and use TeamView to fix my friends’ problems, and I made several Facebook posts and videos to guide my friends to adjust their settings so that the program would run smoothly However, errors were unavoidable At times like these, instead of receiving empathy or support from teachers, we’ve been harshly reminded that whatever errors we encountered, it was our fault and we could nothing but re-take the course again in the next semester It is universally acknowledged that mental support is something of a rare sight in my university, but I believe things could have been better if there had been some kind of student wellbeing support or professional consultation I think that our university should be more understanding and acknowledge that everyone is not the same and everyone’s situation is unique In addition, I feel like it was clear from the very beginning of online learning that the teachers did not trust us For example, there was a time that a student doing a final test suddenly disconnected, and the teacher failed him immediately Later on, he explained that it was a technical error and begged for another chance, yet the teacher firmly believed that he did that on purpose to cheat One thing that comes to my mind immediately is how the syllabuses were outdated I not know why but the content in the syllabus and what was actually taught were miles off The deadlines, the content, the assignments were all wrong and outdated Some were completely off the track, making it harder for us to complete assignments and deadlines on time While it was understandable that our faculty did not have enough time to fully have a customized syllabus for online teaching, I expected them to at least inform us beforehand instead of continuously giving out vague announcements Thuy Hang As I “travel” back and forth in these students’ stories of online learning across the time, place, and relationship, I could see the big gap between the online learners’ needs and the online teachers and administrators’ support I learn from the students’ stories that this gap includes support in technological skills needed for learning online, learning resources, and also mental health Especially under the corona virus spreading, while everyone is suffered from its negative impacts, the online learners are facing the double challenge for their mental health: they have to take care of themselves and they have to take care of their online learning But they are even shy to share about their mental health with the others due to social narratives of seeing learners with mental issues as deficit I believe online learners’ mental health should be considered among the priority concerns to support their flourishing in learning during and after the pandemic Thread Three: Intimate Relationships with Family and “Learning Buddies” Could Help Students Overcome the Challenges of Online Learning Ngoc Diem As I was revisiting my stories, I came to learn that I was very lucky that despite the lack of knowledge about online learning, my parents always tried to understand what I was undergoing They would never call me or ask me for help if they knew I was taking classes Furthermore, worrying I would probably be hungry during long classes, they often provided me with light meals, resulting in my uncontrollable weight gain Being aware of health risks, I also started doing exercise every day and realized my physical health and spirit were substantially enhanced; I was frequently full of energy for studying In addition to family, friendship was also an indispensable factor making us strong; we shared necessary knowledge and information about the pandemic and encouraged others as well as ourselves to stay strong and safe Moreover, I was cognizant of the importance of some belongings that were taken for granted; I felt my special companion - the mechanical pencil became more attached and deserved to be more cherished In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic time, we still took care of each other, ourselves, family, relatives and friends while following “Protecting yourself by conducting 5K is protecting others.” Care was the only solace we could take and give at the time Thuy Trang At first, online study to my parents is a brand-new definition and such unfamiliar studying and teaching methods They worried about how students would be able to understand lectures via a small screen and unstable Internet connection Even though the term “online study” was new to my parents, they still supported me not only with school fees but also daily routines Some classes in my schedule did not fit my family’s daily basis meals and activities, but my mother always tried to cook and keep my dish warm until I finished my class Or whenever I asked her to help me prepare my meal before my class, she was always willing to it Additionally, my father sometimes asked me to exercise with him at home due to the seriousness of the pandemic that time in order to avoid headache and passiveness by sitting hours in front of my screen and dealing with stressful deadlines I found myself ineffable joy by virtue of allocating time with my beloved family members Nha Quynh I'm happy because my family always tries to understand my feelings, despite the fact that I can be strange at times My mom would always turn down the TV volume or even turn it off when I started studying online because she didn't want to disturb me At the time, my surroundings were mostly quiet and suitable for doing online learning activities Furthermore, the amount of time I sat was excessive; I was aware to stand up, walk around, and stretch my body whenever I had a break from the lesson, and my family constantly reminded me to so We've taken better care of each other because the world was outraged by the increasing number of COVID cases Yes, we were terrified But at the very least, we have each other Minh Nhat After having heard my friends' stories and their learning experiences during COVID-19, I cannot help but feel a little envy when it comes to assistance and support from family and learning buddies My family has very skewed opinions regarding using computers, even during lockdowns, they still doubted that I used the computer for educational purposes but for playing games instead Compared to my peers, I did not have a really suitable studyenvironment when I was at home As for my friends, they all graduated one or two years ago Therefore, I was left alone I struggled to fit in classes filled with students younger than me I tried to make friends with my classmates but still felt so hard to connect to my classmates through online classes I recalled when I was with my offline class, I often hosted study sessions for my classmates to share tips and tricks to get a higher score or to study better Through these sessions, we enhanced our bonds stronger than ever I miss these days dearly, it was so hard to socialize during lockdown Thuy Hang The more I experienced these online learners’ sharing of so many ups and downs in their experiences, the more I could sense their determination in tirelessly overcoming their hardship of online learning Finding themselves in the lack of authentic communication with classmates and instructors amidst virtual learning platforms, they did feel lonely, but they did not give up Rather, they sought for other support channels in relation to their everyday life-making Whether that is their father, mother, auntie, or other family members, the students find this relationality their intimate support mentally and spiritually Besides, with the eye of seeing things as “all in relation”, these online learners respected and felt grateful to their “learning buddies”: their pens, pencils, laptop, and eyecare products It is meaningful that the learners have not treated their learning materials as resources, but as partners in their learning experiences I believe this partnership has given the online learners strong encouragement so that they could be more grounded in their online learning journey Conclusion: Reliving Our Stories and Forward-Looking Thoughts Together with retelling stories, four authors of us who are also online learners experienced reliving our retold stories This reliving significantly contributes to helping us better understand who we are amidst the online learning contexts, and to shaping our imagination of the forward-looking stories that we hope for ourselves and for the other online learners in Vietnam higher education As online learners, we observed that this is the first time online learning was entirely employed across Vietnam, and educators appeared bewildered to manage the dilemma of moving forward or waiting rather than taking action to control the situation First of all, the administrators seemingly believed that they would play it by ear, giving way to constant changes which required students to always be alert with updated information, which made us exhausted We think that the curriculum and syllabuses for online courses should not remain unchanged with those of conventional classrooms; and proper adjustments of online courses should be applied because online learning was really immensely rough to those first approaching it We also found that our instructors have either not had many impactful ideas or have been too afraid of the negative consequences to speak their true selves Looking backward, we learned that we were under such tight control, and all we wanted was a chance to comment, to tell the truth about how difficult the online learning phase has been for us Looking forward, we wish the curriculum for online learning to bring a more flexible, adaptive, and supportive learning environment, in which the dominant school curriculum is well combined with the lived curriculum to best support learners as not only the ones doing study but also the ones living amidst the social and institutional relationships We also hope that more technology training workshops will be organized before and during the online semesters to help online learners ease their tension in online learning, and online teachers ease their challenge in online teaching We dream of a practical IT Support office on campus and online, where any students and instructors can walk-in with their questions of using technology in online platforms It makes a strong sense for us that technology should be a supporter rather than a hindrance in online learning and teaching As we revisit our earlier experiences, we also recognize the university did not pay much attention about students' mental health substantially impacting their academic performance Facing a strange context, university students become vulnerable community because we cannot show how we are worried and scared by crying like children; and we are not strong and capable enough as experienced individuals to manage psychological hindrances on our own We not want to be labeled as a weak person, so we try to hide our concerns and this even makes us more stressed By sharing these mental health challenges, we hope that the universities could recognize the importance of our mental life alongside our academic life We can’t flourish in online learning when we are suffering stress, lacking confidence, worrying about surviving the pandemic, feeling scared of failing the courses, feeling lonely, and facing the pain and sorrow that the pandemic has brought to our families, relatives, and friends We seek to see the students’ mental health aspect importantly available in online courses design, online testing and assessment, graduation, and institutional policies We seek to see also the teachers’ mental health is recognized and supported Within the mental health aspect, we are also more aware of the extraordinary power of our intimate relationships with not only our family members but also our learning materials Under the social distancing due to the pandemic, some of us were doing online learning from home and we found talking with our family could help ease our tension in learning Family conversations also brought to us the intergenerational knowledge and wisdom to make us feel less lonely and more grounded Additional support resource is our pens or our laptops, which we usually tend to take for granted and forget their significant value in regular learning contexts However, when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred and turned the world up-side-down, we as online learners learned to slow down our fast living-style and we started to recognize how powerful our “learning buddies”-our pens, pencils, laptops, eyedrops- mean to us They have become our mental supporters, our close friends who share happiness and sorrow during our online learning We want to multiply the recognition of physical and mental values of our “learning buddies” to the fellow online learners Finally, we are hopeful that online learners’ voice will be heard more often by the teachers, university administrators, and other stakeholders Our stories have shown us that our voice has received so little attention that our online learning experiences have not been understood and supported Previously we had been struggling in finding the way to share our stories of how online learning challenged us until we came to learn narrative inquiry We are grateful that taking narrative inquiry has paved the door for us to retell and relive our storied experiences in a meaningful and ethical way We are hopeful about a safe, nonjudgmental, confidential, and caring space where university (online) learners’ stories are to be told, respectfully listened and made sense for informing future changes We know that there is the so-called “dialogue with students” at faculty and university levels, but honestly speaking, that happens once per semester within two or three hours and went not as deeply as students wish for Rather, we seek to see a flourishing conversation space where online learners can meet and talk with online teachers so that each party can better understand and support the other in reciprocal and relational ways We know that people are living in the Anthropocene so we are facing more pandemics and online learning are becoming more popular and challenging But with much care and trust building for online teaching and learning, online learners will holistically flourish References Allen, I E (2013) Changing Course: Ten years of tracking online education in the United States Bozkurt, A., Jung, I., Xiao, J., Vladimirschi, V., Schuwer, R., Egorov, … & Paskevicius, M (2020) A global outlook to the interruption of education due to COVID-19 pandemic: Navigating in a time of uncertainty and crisis Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 1-126 Retrieved from http://www.asianjde.org/ojs/index.php/AsianJDE/article/view/462 Cardinal, T (2010) For all my relations: An autobiographical narrative inquiry into the lived experiences of one Aboriginal graduate student Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Clandinin, D J (2013) Engaging in narrative inquiry Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press Clandinin, D J., & Caine, V (2013) Narrative inquiry In Reviewing qualitative research in the social sciences (pp 166-179) Routledge Clandinin, D J., & Connelly, F M (1998) Stories to Live By: Narrative Understandings of School Reform Curriculum Inquiry, 28(2), 149-164, DOI: 10.1111/0362-6784.00082 Clandinin, D J., & Connelly, F M (2000) Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Clandinin, D J., & Rosiek, J (2007) Mapping a landscape of narrative inquiry: Borderland spaces and tensions In D J Clandinin (Ed.), Handbook of narrative inquiry: Mapping a methodology (pp 35–76) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Clandinin, D J., Steeves, P., Li, Y., Mickelson, J R., Buck, G., Pearce, M., & Huber, M (2010) Composing lives: A narrative account into the experiences of youth who left school early Retrieved April 12, 2010 Clandinin, J., Caine, V., Estefan, A., Huber, J., Murphy, M., & Steeves, P (2015) Places of practice: Learning to think narratively Narrative Works, 5(1), 22-39 Connelly, F M., & Clandinin, D J (1999) Shaping a professional identity: Stories of educational practice New York: Teachers College Press Copeland, W E., McGinnis, E., Bai, Y., Adams, Z., Nardone, H., Devadanam, V., & Hudziak, J J (2021) Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on college student mental health and wellness Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 60 (1), 134-141 Di Pietro, G B., Biagi, F., Dinis Mota Da Costa, P., Karpinski, Z., & Mazza, J (2020) The Likely Impact of COVID-19 on Education Reflections Based on the Existing Literature and Recent International Datasets Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union Duong, H T., Nguyen, D H., & Vu, T Q (2020) Advantages and disadvantages of online homework software: The case of “life” in Vietnam TNU Journal of Science and Technology, 225(12), 3-9 https://doi.org/10.34238/tnu-jst.2844 Ginder, S.A., Kelly-Reid, J.E., and Mann, F.B (2018) Enrollment and Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2017; and Financial Statistics and Academic Libraries, Fiscal Year 2017: First Look (Provisional Data) (NCES 2019- 021rev) U.S Department of Education Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics Retrieved [date] from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch Greene, M (1995) Releasing the imagination: Essays on education, the arts, and social change San Francisco: Jossey-Bass https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2020.810011 Huber, J., Caine, V., Huber, M., & Steeves, P (2013) Narrative inquiry as pedagogy in education: The extraordinary potential of living, telling, retelling, and reliving stories of experience Review of research in education, 37(1), 212-242 Huber, J., Murphy, M S., & Clandinin, D J (2011) Places of curriculum making: Narrative inquiries into children’s lives in motion London: Emerald I Elaine Allen, & Seaman, J (2015) Grade Level: Tracking Online Education in the United States Lu, T M O., & Nguyen, T N T (2020) Assessing the effectiveness of students' online learning amid the COVID-19 VNU Journal of Science: Education Research, 37(1), 1-10 https://doi.org/10.25073/2588-1159/vnuer.4445 Phan, T N T., Nguyen, N T., & Nguyen, T P T (2020) Perception of undergraduate students when experiencing completely online learning during COVID-19 epidemic prevention Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science - Social science, 15(2), 1-12 DOI: 10.46223/HCMCOUJS.proc.vi.15.3.1828.2020 Sahu, P (2020) Closure of Universities Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Impact on Education and Mental Health of Students and Academic Staff Cureus, 12, e7541 https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.7541 Saleh, M., Menon, J., & Clandinin, D J (2014) Autobiographical narrative inquiry: Tellings and retellings Learning Landscapes, 7(2), 271-282 Tadesse, S., & Muluye, W (2020) The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Education System in Developing Countries: A Review Open Journal of Social Sciences, 8, 159-170 Tiruneh, D (2020) COVID-19 School Closures May Further Widen the Inequality Gaps between the Advantaged and the Disadvantaged in Ethiopia The Education and Development Form Tran, K D., & Tran, T T (2020) Motivation, satisfaction, and intention to continue learning online: applying the theory of use and satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic Asian Journal of Economic and Business Studies, 31(1), 5-28 Tran, Q T., & Bui, V H (2020) Management of online teaching in technical universities in Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science - Social science, 15(1), 1-15 DOI:10.46223/HCMCOUJS.proc.vi.15.1.1838.2020 UNESCO (2020b) 290 million students out of school due to COVID-19: UNESCO releases first global numbers and mobilizes response https://bit.ly/3jWDsR5 UNESCO (2021) Viet Nam Case Study: Situation Analysis on the Effects of and Responses to COVID-19 on the Education Sector in Asia Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (2021, June 28) Statistics of Vietnam Higher Education and Training Ministry of Education and Training https://moet.gov.vn/thongke/Pages/thong-ko-giao-duc-dai-hoc.aspx?ItemID=7389 VietNamNet News (2020, March 3) Online education remains unfamiliar in Vietnam VietNamNet News https://vietnamnet.vn/en/online-education-remains-unfamiliar-in- vietnam-620964.html Woday, A et al (2020) Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 among College Students in Dessie Town, Amhara Region, Ethiopia; Cross-Sectional Study (pp 1-16) Women’s Health during the COVID-19 Lockdown Minh chứng 1, Bài báo trình bày hội thảo khoa học quốc tế: Pham, M N., Le, T N D., Nguyen, P T T., Quach, N N Q, & Tran, T T H (2022) The Experiences of Vietnamese Students Learning Online During COVID_19 Pandemic: A Collaborative Autobiographical Narrative Inquiry Paper presented at the international conference Engaging With Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City-Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam, October 26 - October 30, 2022 2, Bài báo đăng tạp chí khoa học quốc tế: Le, T N D., Nguyen, P T T., Quach, N N Q., Pham, M N., & Tran, T T H (first review passed, second review progressed) Being and Becoming Online Learners During the COVID_19 Pandemic: Vietnamese Students’ Narratives International Journal of TESOL & Education, 5(1) Acknowledgement Authors acknowledge the support of the Students’ Research Funding from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, Vietnam