Tran Thi Lan Anh, PhD, vice head of the Faculty of English Language and Culture at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University Hanoi, said the biggest challenge today is the change in learners’ behavior and motivation.

Learners can now access foreign languages through many channels, from online learning platforms to lessons provided by AI. This expands learning opportunities but also brings risks of distraction, reduced deep learning, and declining intrinsic motivation.

In this context, according to Anh, teachers have to adjust their approaches, methods, and teaching techniques to suit new learners.

“The role of teachers is no longer simply to transmit knowledge, but to become supporters, guides, and companions in learners’ foreign language learning journeys,” Anh emphasized.

Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, PhD, a lecturer at the Faculty of English Language and Culture, said foreign language teachers today are expected to meet multiple requirements at once, such as high language proficiency, mastery of modern teaching methods, technology application, outcome-based assessment design, and even integrated content teaching.

However, not every educational environment has sufficient conditions for teachers to realize these expectations.

Many teachers want to reform the teaching method in the new era, but they have to spend time to prepare students for exams with heavy grammar knowledge. 

Experts generally agree that in recent years, both language proficiency and pedagogical competence of Vietnamese teachers have made clear progress. 

Language proficiency has improved thanks to standardized tests and long-term professional development programs. Teachers have also shifted from knowledge transmission to competency-based approaches, increased learning activities, and applied technology, and have conducted more frequent assessment.

However, amid a context where foreign language education is changing rapidly with requirements for integrated teaching, personalization, AI application, and linking language to real-life communication, the bigger “bottleneck” lies in pedagogical adaptation.

“Teachers understand that innovation is necessary, but how to innovate, to what extent, and how to apply it effectively in conditions of large classes, mixed students with different proficiency levels, and heavy exam pressure is not something everyone can answer immediately,” Thu Hang said.

Teachers also need to be taught

To address these difficulties, according to Thu Hang, training and professional development based on a competency framework designed for Vietnamese foreign language teachers is needed.

This framework would not only help guide the design of professional development programs and avoid general training, but also allow the creation of clear professional development pathways at different levels. 

More importantly, it would serve as a reference standard to evaluate the effectiveness of training, rather than merely recording the number of training hours teachers have attended.

Duong Thu Mai, PhD, from the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University Hanoi, said that among the competencies of foreign language teachers, assessment competence has not received sufficient attention, even though in practice, teachers spend most of their time on this work, from formative and summative assessment to test design and feedback.

Foreign language assessment in Vietnam is developing rapidly with many new trends and requirements, leaving many teachers confused. 

“Many do not know where to start, so they use a test found on the Internet without carefully considering its suitability. In addition, they face difficulties due to the dual goal of assessing taught content while preparing students for important graduation exams,” Mai said.

Assessing students’ foreign language communicative competence needs to be conducted professionally and systematically.

For example, when conducting periodic assessment for grade 9 students, teachers need to base their work on output standards under the general education curriculum, textbooks, and class characteristics to clearly identify specific listening, speaking, reading, and writing objectives for each stage. 

This allows them to design questions aligned with objectives, gradually collect evidence, and draw conclusions about students’ foreign language communicative competence.

Anh said one of the key competencies for foreign language teachers is flexible formative assessment. In reality, with large classes, teachers find it difficult to closely monitor every student. Therefore, teachers need to know how to conduct flexible assessment to quickly identify students’ levels of understanding.

This includes specific competencies such as observation, asking direct questions, designing quick quizzes to group students and adjust pacing, creating simple rubrics, and keeping records to closely track student progress.

Thanh Hung