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This paper investigates the learning needs of students enrolled in an ESP course at the People’s Police University. A qualitative case study research design was employed through in-depth interviews with 20 undergraduate students. The findings show that the students perceived reading and writing as critical English skills needed for their future profession. The need to thoroughly understand the specialized subject matter in both English and Vietnamese was also reported. Also, the students wished to gain access to extra resources to assist their studying of ESP courses. The students experienced difficulties in mastering technical terms and specialization and comprehending online resources in English. Implications are made based on the findings. The study results would serve as a reference for language program managers, course designers, and English language instructors to enhance ESP courses’ quality in Vietnamese universities.

This study examined the impact of the use of cartoons on the speaking and listening skills of students in a primary school in a rural area in Vietnam and their attitudes towards the use of cartoons as a learning tool in their English classes. The study employed an experimental research design to collect data. Participants included 70 fifth-graders divided into two groups, the control group and the experiment group. The control group was taught regular English lessons. The experiment group learned similar lessons but cartoons were added to the English lesson to practice speaking and listening skills for six weeks. Before and after the experiment, the speaking and listening skills of the two groups were measured by a pretest and a posttest. In addition, the students in the experiment group were surveyed using a questionnaire to examine their attitudes towards watching cartoons for learning purposes. The findings show the English speaking and listening skills of the students in the experimental group improved more significantly than those of the students in the control group. Besides, the students in the experiment group expressed positive attitudes towards watching cartoons in English classes. The findings had implications for English language teachers at primary schools in Vietnam and in other non-dominant English speaking countries to include visual materials in their English lessons to enhance young learners’ English proficiency.

Peer observation (PO) is considered as a useful tool to enhance teachers’ professional development. Limited research on how PO is carried out in Vietnamese higher institutions and how teachers experience PO in their educational contexts. This study investigates the experiences of PO among Vietnamese EFL teachers and their perceptions of benefits and challenges of PO. The study employed qualitative research method to collect data. Survey questionnaires were completed online by 22 EFL teachers working in different universities and colleges in Ho Chi Minh. The findings show that teachers’ perceptions and experiences of PO varied among academic institutions. The purposes of PO were different among different educational settings. PO sessions tend to focus more on evaluation purposes than on professional development purposes which aim to improve teaching performance of EFL teachers. Also, the procedures of implementing PO were not unanimous among institutions. The findings have several implications for stakeholders to reflect on the current practices of PO in their respective academic institutions with a view to improve the quality of this professional development tool.

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