Effective English communication remains a significant challenge for non-English major students at many Vietnamese universities, often hindering their academic and professional development. This study explores the key difficulties faced by non-English majors at Thu Dau Mot University in English communication and their engagement in classroom speaking activities. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study collected data from 100 students through questionnaires and interviews. The findings reveal four primary challenges: limited vocabulary, pronunciation difficulties, overreliance on the native language, and lack of confidence. These issues not only affect students’ ability to express themselves in English but also reduce their participation in classroom activities. Despite these obstacles, the study found that active engagement in speaking activities positively impacts students’ learning outcomes, highlighting the importance of supportive and interactive teaching methods. Engagement varied, with students demonstrating greater participation in structured activities than in spontaneous speaking tasks. Based on the findings, the study provides recommendations for fostering a more engaging and effective learning environment.

English language proficiency is crucial for academic and professional success, with effective communication skills playing a pivotal role. Collaborative teaching methods, particularly group work, can significantly enhance students' creativity, evaluation, synthesis, analysis, and comparison, as well as problem-solving, essential for developing collaborative abilities. Furthermore, non-English major students often struggle to develop their speaking skills due to limited practice opportunities. This study addresses this challenge by implementing group-work activities in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. A mixed-methods approach was used to gather data including quantitative data collected through a questionnaire administered to 71 non-major students at Dong Nai Technology University and qualitative data came from semi-structured interviews. The results showed that group work significantly improved students' fluency, coherence, and confidence. Students reported increased motivation and engagement in speaking activities. These findings suggest that group-work activities effectively enhance speaking skills for non-English major students.

This research examines the scholarly literature on technology-based language learning published in the Computer Assisted Language Learning journal-one of the key journals in the field from 1990 to 2019. The researcher randomly selected 30 articles from 257 articles found in this journal during a thirty-year period (one article each year) to analyze the research method trends and the learner types focused in those studies. Results showed that mixed-method research has been more popular in recent years, and this may help academics better understand the connections between classroom environments and technology-enhanced language acquisition. For quantitative analysis, tests and Liker-scale questionnaires are the most used instruments, whereas interviews are the most common approach for qualitative analysis in mixed-method publications. Additionally, when it came to learning levels, researchers focused their attention on college and university students, but they paid no attention to pre-schoolers.