Enhancing the Employability of Students Undertaking English Language and Linguistics Programs in Vietnam

Abstract

This study addresses the development of employability skills among English-major graduates to facilitate their transition from university to the workplace. Contemporary research has pinpointed that universities fail to sufficiently prepare their students in terms of professional knowledge and work-related skills. There is also a mismatch between the focus of academic programs and the demands and requirements from potential employers regarding graduates’ performance. Drawing on the document analysis and simple descriptive statistics of the undergraduate English language/linguistics program descriptions of six distinct universities located across Vietnam, this study aims to explore the extent to which English-major students are empowered with employability skills and provide recommendations for promoting these skills. Findings show that there is a substantial shift in reconsidering the imbalance between theoretical and practical components in the program design. The programs also exhibit certain degrees of preparation for students’ employability through the curricular integration of generic skills such as critical thinking, public speaking, presentation skills, communication skills and research skills. This study reiterates the significance of promoting work-related skills and strengthening university-industry partnerships in designing academic programs and providing English-major students with hands-on experience.

Perceptions of Students Towards the Influence of Peer Assessment on Their Communication and Critical Thinking Skills

“…Similarly, Chang et al (2020) believed that higher scores in open-ended questions of students learning with the peer assessment approach were evidence of their better high-level thinking ability and creativity. In comparison, from statistical results, it was found that students learning via a peer-assessment approach had considerably higher critical thinking skills than those who did not (Chien et al, 2020;Hogg, 2018;Pham, 2021;Planas-Lladó et al, 2018;Wanner & Palmer, 2018;Yu, 2019). In these studies, although critical thinking skills are supposed to be essential employability skills, their improvement after applying peer assessment in classrooms seems to be just the "by-product" as the main purpose of the research was to enhance students' knowledge or language skills.…”

An Investigation of Reading Anxiety among Vietnamese English Major Students

“…In 2008, the Minister of Education and Training (MOET) signed the approval for the big plan to boost foreign language teaching and training for the period of 2008-2020. This brings about a high demand for English teachers and university students majoring in English and linguistics (Pham, 2021).…”