Higher education in South-East Asia as elsewhere in the world has been under transformations as it aims to meet increasing demands for quality workforce to fuel the economic growth and global integration. Higher education institutions are striving for quality of student learning and measures have been taken, be they quality assurance initiatives or responsible educational practices, to ultimately demonstrate their accountability towards their educational outputs – the achievement of their student learning outcomes. This paper presents an approach to measuring the attainment of student learning outcomes for a pre-service teacher education programme at a university in Vietnam. It shows attempts being made to an assessment plan to determine whether the intended learning outcomes have been achieved and to what extent. The process involves establishing a set of performance indicators (PIs) which well correspond to the set learning outcomes and identifying various types of direct student achievement data being collected and benchmarked against the set targets The findings allow some generalisations to be drawn on the overall performance of student learning with certain aspects being reported to outperform their counterparts in the programme, especially in the outcomes towards lifelong learning, personal and professional development. The paper also suggests the use of indirect evidence collected via surveys to stakeholders to allow a more comprehensive picture of the performance of student learning from which better-informed decisions could be made on changes in curricular design and delivery.

This research investigates the effectiveness of extra speaking activities (ESAs) in improving students’ English speaking skills at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted in Danang, Vietnam (LQDHS). The study seeks to examine the perceptions on, and attitudes toward, the implementation of ESAs amongst a group of math-majored students at LQDHS. In the research, a quantitative approach with a Classroom Action Research design was used. The population consists of 26 Grade 10 math-majored students which consists of 24 male students and 02 female students. Data were collected through observation, speaking tests, and questionnaires. The speaking tests were carried out in three stages: pre-test, treatment, and post-tests with two cycles. Different speaking teaching techniques were adopted, including group discussion, public presentation, debating, and role-play. After each activity, constructive feedback and corrections from the teacher and peers were provided. The results show that the implementation of ESAs significantly improved the students’ speaking in terms of accuracy and fluency. In addition, many students engaged more actively in class activities after joining ESAs. Most students showed positive perceptions and attitudes toward ESAs.