Xu hướng dạy tiếng Anh đáp ứng nhu cầu giao tiếp nơi công sở trên thế giới: Một số khuyến nghị cho Việt Nam

This article is intended to present findings from recent research concerning trends in teaching English skills to meet the needs of workplace communication, discuss the current situati[r]

1 INTRODUCTION

It is universally accepted that nowadays English serves as an important tool for people to enhance knowledge via huge sources of information; facilitate successful career; and satisfy the needs to travel and to explore different cultures in the world Thus, universities in Vietnam have placed strong emphasis on improving English proficiency for students to participate in global labor market To equip students with future job skills, Vietnamese curricula in English normally focus on formal presentation, email writing, negotiation skills, telephoning skills, etc However, recent

PHẠM THỊ TỐ LOAN*

*Đại học Thương Mại , ✉phamtoloan84@yahoo.com

Ngày nhận bài: 24/8/2017; ngày hoàn thiện: 12/10/2017; ngày duyệt đăng: 15/11/2017

XU HƯỚNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH ĐÁP ỨNG NHU CẦU GIAO TIẾP NƠI CÔNG SỞ TRÊN THẾ GIỚI: MỘT SỐ KHUYẾN NGHỊ

CHO VIỆT NAM

TÓM TẮT

Trong thời đại ngày nay, tiếng Anh công cụ đắc lực giúp người nâng cao trình độ, trao đổi hợp tác với đồng nghiệp phạm vi toàn cầu mang đến hội thành cơng nghiệp Vì vậy, trường đại học Việt Nam nỗ lực trọng nâng cao kỹ tiếng Anh cho sinh viên với mong muốn đáp ứng yêu cầu thị trường lao động thời kỳ hội nhập Tuy nhiên, chương trình phương pháp dạy tiếng Anh cịn nhiều bất cập Do đó, báo cung cấp thông tin từ nghiên cứu gần xu hướng dạy tiếng Anh đáp ứng nhu cầu giao tiếp công việc giới; trình bày thực trạng dạy học tiếng Anh Việt Nam, từ đưa khuyến nghị cho trường đại học Việt Nam nhằm nâng cao kỹ tiếng Anh giao tiếp nơi cơng sở cho sinh viên

Từ khóa: tiếng Anh cơng sở, tồn cầu hóa, nhu cầu, đại học, giao tiếp

they can communicate with those who not share their first language and culture As such, learning workplace English in an integrated world requires both teachers and students to make changes in response to international trends so that our students will confidently become global citizens and participate in the world’s labor market This article is intended to present the world’s latest trends in recent studies on teaching and learning English at workplace contexts, then some recommendations are put forth for Vietnamese context

2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 Needs analysis in English language teaching

Needs analysis is used to identify and evaluate the needs of a target group, thereby make the right decision in human services and education (Mc Killip, 1987) In this process, it highlights the relevance of the existing problems and the solutions to improve the situation Brown (1995) also states that need analysis can be used to collect and analyze necessary information to meet the language learning requirements of the students in a particular learning context Apparently, needs analysis in English language teaching plays a vital role since knowing about students’ needs is one of the best ways to help them improve their target language As a result, it is necessary to be aware of learners’ needs when designing courses and lesson objectives (Long, 2005) For instance, learners’ need vary greatly for students from various disciplines such as information technology, business, tourism, etc Obviously, each group requires English for different skills and lexicons When needs are identified, it is described in terms of goals and objectives which serve as the foundation to design teaching activities, materials and tests (Iwai, 1999) Thus, needs analysis helps students become engaged in the lesson as they will be motivated to learn the language that is relevant to their needs

2.2 English usages to meet the needs of communication at work

Apparently, globalization has brought about significant changes in business, industry and other professions in the 21st century The noticeable

changes include: interdependency of economies among different countries, international outsourcing, increased immigrant workers, worldwide collaboration in developing products and services According to Groddol (2006), to make successful collaboration at a world scale, people often use English as a lingua franca (a common language between speakers whose native languages are different) For this reason, many studies have been conducted to investigate the needs of using English at workplace and the necessary English skills in the 21st Century.

Regarding the needs of using English at work, employers are in favor of staff with high English proficiency as English is the common language used in international business Employees in multinational companies are expected to communicate in English with clients and colleagues from different countries in the world Pinon and Haydon (2010) state that high English level enables a nation’s labor force to participate successfully in the world market and attracts more foreign investment Grin (2010) affirms that employees proficient in English are inclined to have 12% higher income in comparison with those who are not

In addition, the rapid development of technology implies that apart from expertise, it is necessary for the workforce to equip themselves with skills and knowledge to solve various tasks in their jobs These skills include problem solving, effective communication, teamwork skills, technological skills, creativity, and critical thinking Due to the fact that English is the common language of communication worldwide, students are expected to apply the above-mentioned skills in English in their future job

era is not a separate subject at school and it is necessary to combine English with other skills in order to meet the needs of careers in the 21st

century Employees use English to communicate and collaborate with customers and colleagues; organize and analyze information; make decision; update new technology; explore cultures and develop themselves Recently, theory about the use of English at workplace communication has been added a new skill: intercultural communication Globalization trend has created opportunities to communicate and exchange information among different cultures; therefore, intercultural communication has become an indispensable part of contemporary society Cultural barriers from different places in the world will be eliminated and collaboration will be nurtured with the use of English and intercultural awareness

Moreover, researchers posit that English should be accompanied by technological skills It is important for people to combine these two skills in order to communicate in a world that the borders between the real and the virtual, and the distances in space are gradually blurred (Collier, 2007) In fact, apart from face-to-face communication, modern technology has made it possible to have meeting via Skype, video conferencing, blogs, etc Thus, with these new forms of communication, educators are required to update English curricula and teaching methods in response to the demand of future jobs

In short, English language teaching in the new era not only focuses on language skills but it also requires sets of other skills to facilitate communication in future jobs Policy makers, curriculum and material designers, teachers, and administrators in Vietnam should take these needs into account to equip students with confidence and competences in their future jobs

3 THE CASE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH IN VIETNAM TO MEET THE NEED OF WORKPLACE

3.1 The current situation of English teaching in Vietnam

3.2 Graduate students’ English level in Vietnam

As there are many problems in teaching and learning English, graduate students’ English level are said to be substandard which makes Vietnamese workers less competitive in the international market (Duong, 2013)

In the first place, the most common complaint of employers is concerned with limited English capability in understanding and expressing their ideas in English in job interviews As stated by employers, many students have good knowledge of their profession; however, due to low English proficiency, they miss the chance to get accepted to the company In fact, what employers seek from applicants are professional knowledge, English language, IT and other soft skills (Duong, 2013)

Furthermore, once accepted to a company, a number of students are unable to approach international high-quality training due to their low English proficiency These training sessions are usually conducted in English with the aims of updating new trends, knowledge and expertise Those who are bad at English deprive themselves of the possibilities to go abroad, broaden their mind, and develop professionally (Nguyen, 2010)

Finally, as university syllabuses rarely offer opportunities for students to communicate in English involving different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, graduate students lack confidence in expressing themselves with overseas clients and foreign colleagues In the globalization era where people use English as a common language for communication with the outside world, people with English incompetence will be left behind (Hoang, 2008)

In short, the quality of teaching and learning English at Vietnamese universities and the substandard English proficiency of graduate students indicate that there is a gap between the real needs of the market and university training programs Thus, policy makers, curriculum developers, administrators, and teachers should

pay adequate attention to the quality of English teaching to meet the demand of workplace communication

4 SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR UNIVERSITIES IN VIETNAM

From the trends of the English usages at workplace communication in the globalization era, and the status quo of teaching English at Vietnamese universities, the article will propose some suggestions to design curricula, teaching materials and methodologies to meet the

requirements of 21st century careers.

In the first place, English curricula should take job skills into account After graduation, it is likely that many students will work for national or multinational companies in Vietnam Students will be required to use English in accordance with their majors from different aspects such as law, economics, tourism and hospitality, etc Thus, instead of merely focusing on vocabulary, grammar, reading and translation skills, it is necessary to teach English skills which meet the needs of students’ future jobs To this end, universities should apply English medium instruction (EMI) programs to teach courses like law, economics, tourism, etc in English to enhance students’ language ability and their expertise at the same time Besides, project-based learning is an effective approach which assists students to practice English and job skills in the real workplace situations For example, in Business English, project-based tasks like exchanging e-mails in English to respond to business partners’ requests, team meeting via Skype or video conferencing with colleagues from different countries to discuss business strategies, etc will strengthen students’ confidence in using English in their later working lives

In addition, intercultural communication is a

knowledge alone are no longer sufficient for successful communication However, it is likely that few English teachers have rich knowledge and experience of the diversity of multicultural workplace situations (Hoang, 2008) Therefore, teachers should take advantage of the Internet, YouTube, newspapers, and magazines as authentic materials to get students familiarized with real-world situations Besides, another practical method employed by America and European countries is the exchange programs in which domestic students have internships abroad with a view to gaining real experience in different cultures Students spend three to twelve months in another country to improve English and enhance knowledge about economics, society and culture of the nation

Moreover, as previously mentioned, teamwork

and collaboration skills play a vital role in today’s workplace; however, there are few chances for students to practice in pair work and group work due to big class size It is therefore worth maximizing communication by reducing the number of students in English class and changing the class setting Small class size gives all students the opportunities to perform in front of class and receive detailed feedback from teachers In addition, class seating arrangement like U-shape and cluster seating (students seat in groups) should replace traditional rows to facilitate interaction among members in class

Besides, it is also noticeable that the omission

of oral test in mid-term and end-of-term test of non-English major students leads to their demotivation in improving speaking skill Thus, university administrators should incorporate speaking skill in these two tests When students frequently practice speaking for the test, they can enhance their English competence which in turn helps them gain confidence at workplace communication

Finally, it is apparent that teachers are the

agents of changes in English curricula to respond to the needs of teaching and learning English at workplace communication Therefore, special

training programs as well as in-service teacher professional development Both programs should necessarily update current trends in learning and teaching English for job skills

5 CONCLUSION

There is a tendency that English for communication at workplace nowadays no longer focuses on how to write a formal email, make a formal presentation or conduct a successful negotiation A global citizen is expected to use English effectively in informal situations and apply different skills such as teamwork skills, technological skills, intercultural communication, etc to establish and maintain relationships with colleagues and clients globally Hence, universities in Vietnam should keep up with this trend to develop courses and syllabuses in response to the rigorous demand of today’s international labor market By doing so, Vietnamese students will definitely have English competence and expertise to work on a global scale./

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GLOBAL TRENDS IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO MEET THE NEEDS OF WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION: RECOMMENDATIONS

FOR VIETNAMESE CONTEXT

PHAM THI TO LOAN Abstract: Nowadays, English serves as an important tool for people to enhance their knowledge, communicate with colleagues worldwide, and achieve success in their career Thus, Vietnamese universities have made a lot of efforts to increase students’ English proficiency with the purpose of meeting the needs of labor market on a global scale However, curricula and methods in teaching English are still unsatisfactory and many changes should be made This article is intended to present findings from recent research concerning trends in teaching English skills to meet the needs of workplace communication, discuss the current situation of teaching English in Vietnam, then put forward some recommendations for Vietnamese universities to improve student’s English communication at work