Pronunciation is an essential factor in English learning. It affects intelligibility, communicative competence, and confidence, which are the primary factors in English language learning and pronunciation. However, the teaching of pronunciation has consistently been given less priority, especially in EFL contexts where it gets overshadowed by grammar and vocabulary. The current study explores the relationship between the attitudes of English majors towards pronunciation learning at a Vietnamese university, including both internal (learner-related) factors and external (contextual and instructional) factors. Using a quantitative method, information was gathered from 371 university students via a specifically designed questionnaire. Based on the results, most participants positively viewed pronunciation learning. Internal factors, like motivation, self-efficacy, and attitudes of learners, exhibited stronger predictive power compared to external factors, such as quality of instruction and support from the institution. In addition, gender and English proficiency were observed to affect the attitudes, with female students and students of higher proficiency having more positive views. Importantly, both internal and external factors were identified as strong predictors of the pronunciation learning attitudes, thus highlighting the combined effect of psychological and methodological influences. This study enhances the comprehension of the continuous interaction between the psychological and instructional factors, calling attention to the necessity of rethinking the curriculum design, teaching practices, and learner support in the context of EFL pronunciation instruction
This study applies a first-order Markov chain to analyze and model the academic progression of 317 students from the Faculty of Education at Thu Dau Mot University, utilizing their semester Grade Point Averages (GPA) as the core data. Students' GPAs were methodologically classified into four distinct academic performance states: Weak (0–4.99), Average (5.0–6.99), Good (7.0–7.99), and Excellent (8.0–10.0). Transition matrices were constructed to capture the movements between these performance states across consecutive semesters. Descriptive analysis reveals a positive performance trend, specifically a frequent transition from the Average to the Good group, and a high level of stability observed within the Excellent group, particularly in the later stages of the program. A crucial Chi-square test for homogeneity revealed statistically significant differences, indicating that the learning process is non-homogeneous over time, reflecting fluctuations in student learning behavior. However, to fulfill the objective of forecasting the expected distribution of student performance in the subsequent semester, a weighted average transition matrix was computed, giving greater emphasis to the influence of more recent academic data. Forecasting results suggest that approximately 90% of students are expected to concentrate within the Good and Excellent categories, confirming a high standard of academic performance and providing valuable empirical evidence for targeted student support and curriculum management within the Faculty of Education.
Digital transformation in education is an inevitable trend and has been increasingly promoted in Vietnam over the past few years. The application of digital games in mathematics instruction not only alleviates students’ stress and pressure but also fosters engagement and motivation in the learning process. This paper clarifies key concepts related to digital games as well as presents a set of principles and a design process for digital games using the web-based application Pink Cat Games. Based on a proposed four-step process, the paper illustrates the design of a digital game integrated with the mathematics curriculum for second grade. The findings of this research are to provide practical guidance for teachers in designing digital educational games, thereby augmenting the effectiveness of their pedagogical practices.
Athletes often need to have good English skills to communicate with foreigners for different purposes. As known, many athletes are not able to speak English fluently. To enhance the national athletes’ English proficiency, the governmental institutions arrange various English courses for them. This study reflects the long-term (over seven years) teaching process of English to the athletes in terms of the English course content, namely General English and Sports English, topics, local teacher vs foreign teacher, teaching methods, evaluation criteria, implementation of visual means and AI. The study results are based on the teachers’ observational method and students’ feedback.
Most students liked the English course because they could speak English through discussions and conversations and learn new vocabulary, including General English and Sports English (ESP). The students liked the lessons’ topics (e.g. hotel/restaurant reservation, shopping, ordering food, and sports injuries) which were usually taught using PPTs, handouts, Youtube, and Kahoot. AI as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grammarly, Alexa, etc. was recently implemented in the teaching of athletes as well, facilitating the teaching and learning process and making it more effective and fun. Most athlete students were satisfied to have both a local and foreign teacher for the former could provide explanations in Chinese and the latter could help them to overcome the language barrier and gain confidence in speaking English. Most of the athlete students were motivated to improve their English to communicate internationally.
The study aims to explore factors influencing middle school students' motivation to learn. Instead of assuming a general decline in motivation, it objectively examines the issue through research, identifying key influences such as curriculum difficulty, teaching methods, and external pressures. By analyzing survey data from eighth-grade students at Chu Van An Middle School, the study provides evidence-based insights into the challenges affecting student engagement in learning. This research aims to identify the factors affecting the learning motivation of middle school students to help them become more engaged in their studies. In this study, the author designed a survey questionnaire of 8 questions combined with a quantitative method to identify the factors causing a lack of interest in learning among middle school students. The survey was conducted at Chu Van An Middle School in Binh Duong Province. The survey participants were 375 eighth-grade students in the 2024-2025 academic year. According to the survey, 184 male students felt uninterested in learning due to various factors, accounting for 49.07%; 157 female students, accounting for 41.87%; and 34 students of other genders, accounting for 9.07%. Given this situation, it is urgent to propose feasible solutions to help students regain interest in learning.
International integration not only brings opportunities but also challenges for teaching and learning English. Like other universities, Thu Dau Mot University focuses on teaching English for non-majored students of different faculties to meet the curriculum as well as provide knowledge for them to be confident when communicating. However, teaching English to non-majors still faces a lot of difficulties due to a number of factors. This study aims to understand the attitudes of non-English major students toward learning English at TDMU. Quantitative methods are used through survey questionnaires related to students' attitudes toward learning English and factors affecting students' attitudes toward learning English, and also finding out their wishes when participating in English learning activities in class. The questionnaire was sent to 190 students of different levels (levels 3-5). The results of the study show that most students are aware of the importance of learning English but they are not highly motivated to learn. According to the analysis results, students do not have a positive attitude towards learning English for the following reasons: They haven't spent time studying because they have to work part-time job for paying tuition fee; The purpose of using this language after graduation has not been determined, and they haven’t found a suitable learning method. From these findings, some solutions have been discussed to improve students' English learning attitudes, help lecturers make appropriate adjustments to improve students' learning outcomes and meet the standards school output as well as meet the needs of society.