This paper will investigate the advantages and difficulties of teaching International Studies in English from a Vietnamese teacher’s perspective. To do so, the paper will firstly present an overview on International Studies, then point out the factors that have impacts on teaching this major course in English, and then move on to the major advantages of teaching IS in English.
Trang 1ĐÀO TẠO QUỐC TẾ HỌC BẰNG TIẾNG ANH:
QUAN ĐIỂM CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN
Lê Hi
Trường Đại học Hà Nội
tiếng Anh là một xu hướng mới tại các trường ñại học ở
Việt Nam trong thời gian gần ñây Trong xu thế ñó,
Quốc tế học, một môn học ña ngành, ñã ñược giảng
dạy bằng tiếng Anh tại một số trường ñại học tại Việt
Nam trong thập niên vừa qua Tuy nhiên, ở Việt Nam
hiện nay, chưa có nhiều công trình nghiên cứu ñánh
giá về thuận lợi và khó khăn của việc giảng dạy chuyên
ngành bằng tiếng Anh nói chung và giảng dạy Quốc tế
học bằng tiếng Anh nói riêng Bài viết là nỗ lực bước
ñầu của một giảng viên trực tiếp giảng dạy các môn
thuộc chuyên ngành Quốc tế bằng tiếng Anh nhằm
ñánh giá những thuận lợi và khó khăn của việc giảng
dạy chuyên ngành này bằng tiếng Anh so với phương
pháp giảng dạy truyền thống bằng tiếng Việt Bài viết
bắt ñầu bằng việc cung cấp cái nhìn tổng quan về
chuyên ngành Quốc tế học là gì, thường bao gồm
những môn học nào, quan niệm của các nước như Anh,
Mỹ, Úc, Singapore về chuyên ngành này, xu thế của
việc giảng dạy và học tập chuyên ngành này trên thế
giới Trước khi phân tích những thuận lợi và khó khăn
của việc giảng dạy chuyên ngành Quốc tế học bằng
tiếng Anh, bài viết nêu ra những nhân tố cơ bản có ảnh
hưởng tới việc giảng dạy các môn chuyên ngành bằng
tiếng Anh nói chung Bài viết chỉ ra các thuận lợi chính
của việc giảng dạy chuyên ngành Quốc tế học bằng
tiếng Anh bao gồm: Có nhiều tài liệu tham khảo hơn
cho cả giáo viên và sinh viên; Giúp khơi dậy và phát
huy sự suy nghĩ ñộc lập và tư duy phản biện cho sinh
viên; Nâng cao năng lực tiếng Anh cho cả giáo viên và
sinh viên; Khả năng cập nhật kiến thức nhanh chóng,
hiệu quả và dễ dàng hơn; Tạo ñiều kiện thuận lợi cho
các chương trình hợp tác quốc tế Sau ñó, bài viết cũng
chỉ ra những khó khăn chính trong việc giảng dạy
chuyên ngành Quốc tế học bằng tiếng Anh bao gồm:
Việc giảng dạy bằng tiếng Anh ñòi hỏi khả năng sử
dụng tiếng Anh rất tốt của cả giáo viên và sinh viên;
Khả năng tiếp cận các nguồn tài liệu, giáo trình bằng tiếng Anh ñôi khi còn hạn chế do ñiều kiện về cơ sở vật chất và thư viện; Đòi hỏi sinh viên phải nỗ lực nhiều hơn ñể hiểu sâu, hiểu kỹ bài học Trên cơ sở ñó, bài viết ñưa ra các ñề xuất nhằm nâng cao hiệu quả giảng dạy và học tập Quốc tế học bằng tiếng Anh tại Việt Nam, cụ thể bao gồm: Chuẩn bị tốt kỹ năng tiếng Anh cho sinh viên trước khi bước vào học chuyên ngành; Thường xuyên nâng cao năng lực tiếng Anh cho giáo viên; Cải thiện hệ thống thư viện, tài liệu, cơ sở vật chất cho sinh viên và giáo viên; Chuẩn bị cho sinh viên các kỹ năng ñể làm quen với hình thức học tập và giảng dạy mới (khác với cách học bằng tiếng Việt); và Đẩy mạnh hợp tác quốc tế, giúp giáo viên và sinh viên
có ñiều kiện giao lưu, cập nhật và bổ sung kiến thức chuyên môn và trình ñộ tiếng Anh, theo kịp với tiêu chuẩn quốc tế và khu vực
Abstract: Teaching major courses in English is a
new trend in Vietnamese universities and this has many advantages as well as difficulties over the traditional way of teaching and learning in Vietnamese mother tongue International Studies (IS), an inter-disciplinary major course, has been delivered in English at some universities in Vietnam over the last decade, but there is still lack of research to evaluate the program of teaching this major course in English This paper will investigate the advantages and difficulties of teaching International Studies in English from a Vietnamese teacher’s perspective To do so, the paper will firstly present an overview on International Studies, then point out the factors that have impacts on teaching this major course in English, and then move
on to the major advantages of teaching IS in English The paper also discusses the difficulties that teachers may encounter when delivering the subjects of IS in
recommendations to improve the quality of teaching major courses in English in Vietnamese universities
Trang 2TEACHING INTERNATIONAL STUDIES IN ENGLISH:
A TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE
1 Overview on International Studies
The term “International Studies” can be
considered as “the contemporary and historical
understanding of global societies, cultures,
languages and systems of government and of the
complex relationships between them that shape
the world we live in’1 International Studies also
refers to the specific university degrees and
courses which relates to the study of the major
political, economic, social, and cultural issues in
international arena? International Studies, as a
field of studies, is closely related to International
Relations (IR); however, International Relations
focus more directly on the relationship between
and among countries, whereas International
Studies can encompass “all phenomena which are
globally oriented” The discipline of International
Studies shares its history with the discipline of
International Relations, which enjoy its surge after
the World War I, when academics around the
world, fed up with fighting, tried to look for way
to promote peace in international arena However,
in 20th century when the world became
increasingly complex and globalization got its
momentum, International Studies gradually
emerged as a separate entity A big development
of the study of International Studies is the
establishment of the International Studies
Association in 1959 by a group of academics and
practitioners’ with the aim of ‘seeking to pursue
mutual interests in world affairs through the
organization of a professional association’2
In the United States, there exist a number of
1 Flinders University (2010) Bachelor of International
http://www.flinders.edu.au/courses/undergrad/bis/
2 International Studies Association.(2010) History and
http://www.isanet.org/history_purpose/2007/12/history-of-isa.html
institutions which promote International Studies The Centre for Strategic & International Studies is
a foreign policy think tank founded in 1962, which “has become one of the world’s preeminent international policy institutions focused on defense and security; regional stability; and transnational challenges ranging from energy and climate to global development and economic integration”3 The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University “is a university-wide research and education institution
at Stanford devoted to understanding the problems, policies, and processes that cross international borders and affect lives around the world”4
In the United Kingdom, International Studies is often related to or attached to the study in International Relations At the University of Oxford, the Centre for International Studies
"exists to promote and advance research in International Relations"5 In Australia, the study
of the International Studies discipline occurs mostly within universities and generally approaches the subject as a holistic study of international affairs and phenomena The two most popular units offered in International Studies are ‘Global issues and conflicts’ and ‘International Relations’ In Singapore, The S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nangyang Technological University states clearly its mission: i) Provide a rigorous professional graduate education with a strong practical emphasis; ii) Conduct policy-relevant research in
3 Centre for Strategic and International Studies, viewed at 22/10/2014 http://csis.org/about-us
4 Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies,
http://fsi.stanford.edu/
5 Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford
http://cis.politics.ox.ac.uk/about/index.asp
Trang 3defence, national security, international relations,
strategic studies and diplomacy; iii) Foster a
global network of like-minded professional
schools6
In Vietnam, the Faculty of International
Studies, Hanoi University has four main
specializations: International Economics;
International Relations; Development Studies and
Public Management At the University of Social
Sciences & Humanities, Faculty of International
Studies offered three specializations: International
Relations, European Studies, and American
Studies with such subjects as Theory and History
of International Relations; Area studies;
International laws; International Economics…
Recently, many education institutions
worldwide developed International Studies
degrees both undergraduate and postgraduate as
these institutions understand that the discipline is
becoming increasingly relevant and necessary in
the context of the 21st century Justification for
the popularity of the degree in international
studies is the increasing demand for understanding
of international phenomena and issues in the
employment market Under the degree of
International Studies, a very broad range of
subjects are offered However, some areas of
study which are regularly offered include: the
political, social, economic and cultural
relationships within the international system;
foreign policy, diplomacy and other modes of
interaction between the countries of the world; the
significance of foreign societies, cultures and
systems of government; the international
movement of people as immigrants, refugees,
workers, students, tourists and investors; the role
of international organizations; the globalization of
the world economy; foreign languages; history
6 S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS),
Nangyang Technological University, viewed 22/10/2014
http://www.rsis.edu.sg/about-rsis/introduction/#.VEe85_nF_Ls
2 The advantage and difficulties of teaching International Studies in English over the traditional way of teaching and learning this major in Vietnamese
2.1 Factors that influence on teaching major courses in English
In Vietnam, at the beginning of 21st century, after nearly 20 years of renovation, Vietnamese foreign relations were highly promoted and Vietnam is integrated more comprehensively in the region as well as the world In that context, education has been one of the most prominent areas of international cooperation Each year, the number of Vietnamese students goes to study abroad is increasing At the same time, more and more foreign universities and education institutions come into Vietnam to seek opportunities for cooperation and investment Realising the potential of international cooperation and integration, many universities in Vietnam launched programs to teach major courses in English and Hanoi University is one of them Now this becomes a popular trend in Vietnamese education and more and more universities implement these programs of teaching major courses in English However, there are still lack of research on the advantages and difficulties
of teaching and learning major course sin English for Vietnamese lecturers and students One of the researches is of Professor Nguyen Van Toan, from
Hue University on “The capability and measures
to teaching major courses in foreign languages”.
In his research, professor Nguyen Van Toan points out the factors that influence the teaching and learning major course in English To understand about the advantages and disadvantages of teaching International Studies in English, we should first put it in context of teaching major courses in English and understand the factors that influence on this new way of teaching and learning in Vietnam
Trang 4According to Nguyen Van Toan’s research, the
English ability of teachers, the English ability of
learners, the education programs, the textbooks
and other reading materials, and the education
environments are the main factors that influence
teaching and learning major courses in English
While the general of context of politics, legal
mechanism, education regulations and the ability
to adaptation of learners are less important7 So
that, the research draws conclusions that
universities specifically and education institutions
generally should focus on preparation of English
capability for teachers and more importantly for
learners Besides, the program developments,
preparation of textbooks and reading materials and
facilities to teach are also very important to the
quality of teaching and learning in foreign
languages At the same time, students should also
be prepared for the adaptation to new way of
learning and encouraged to participate in learning
major courses in foreign languages
2.2 The advantages of teaching IS in English
* Teaching IS in English have more sources of
reference/reading materials
One of the most prominent advantages of
teaching major course in English generally and
teaching IS in English specifically is that it has
more sources of reference than traditional way of
teaching in mother tongue In any subject, reading
materials play extremely important role in the
quality of teaching and learning One cannot say
that he or she can teach well without reading
materials With various sources of references in
English, teacher can have more information, thus
he or she can make the lecture more interesting
Nowadays, a large percentage of human
7 Vietnam Institute of Education Science (2014) The
capability and measures to teaching major courses in
http://vnies.edu.vn/detail-thread-view-1-25-281_kha-
nang-va-bien-phap-thuc-hien-giang-day-chuyen-mon-bang-ngoai-ngu.html
knowledge is stored in English, so having access
to English sources of reference means that access
to a large storage of human knowledge
One can argue that teaching major courses in Vietnamese we can still access to English reading materials as long as teacher have high level of English Yes, that is true However, in classes teaching in Vietnamese, the motivation for reference in English is usually low Teachers may assign reading materials in English, but students generally prefer to read in their mother tongue more Not to mention that in class taught in Vietnamese, English level of student is usually not enough to read and understand in English
Not only the reading materials in English are more abundant, but also the slides and other audio-visual materials in English are also more widely available than in Vietnamese Nowadays, using slides in teaching and learning at university level is very popular In internet, there are sites that slides of famous lecturers all over the world are shared They are good sources for lecturers to refer to while preparing their lectures Also, using audio-visual method in teaching makes lectures more interesting Teaching international studies is teaching about global phenomena and issues In the internet, there are documentaries, short movie clips about issues in the world and of course, these documentaries are widely in English So if we teach in English, we can make use of these great sources of slides shares and audio-visual materials
in English which are not often available in Vietnamese
More sources of references are important to a multi-disciplinary subject such as International Studies International Studies relates to other fields of studies such as history, philosophy, laws, culture studies…To have good lecture in International Studies, lecturers need to prepare well by reading wide range of literature At the same time, for a student in IS to understand well,
Trang 5he or she also needs to read more widely So
widely available sources of references and reading
materials are important to the quality of teaching
and learning IS at university
* Teaching IS in English encourages students’
critical thinking
Critical thinking is very important to any
student and it needs to be nurtured and encouraged
At high school level, the most important objective
for Vietnamese students arguably is to be able to
get in to university Due to this way of thinking,
students at high school focus most of their time
and resources to learn what they are assigned and
there is little room for questioning, for critical
thinking At university level, students should be
encouraged to develop critical thinking, which
enable students to think and act independently in
their real life Teaching major courses in English
is very good way to inspire student’s critical
thinking Students, learning in English, will be
required to read the writings of many authors with
different perspectives As reading materials in
English are more widely available, students can
access to more reading resources When reading
materials from various perspectives, students
expose themselves to various arguments on one
issue At first they would find it is difficult to
ascertain whose arguments are “right” and
“wrong” But then gradually, their critical thinking
skills are developed, they can think independently
and then put forward their own arguments Thus,
students can learn the arguments of different
authors and find whose is more persuasive
* Teaching IS in English helps to improve the
English skills of learners as well as lecturers
Learning IS in English would help students to
master both their general English and their
English for specialization They can improve all
four skills of listening, reading, writing and
speaking Especially, right after the period of
learning general English, students have their
chance to learn their specialized major in English,
so they will think in English, learn and understand all the new concepts of their majors in English This will make their English more natural, just like native English speakers And also it will be easier for students to communicate, discuss and make arguments about their specialized major in English When the students, having learnt their specialized major courses in English, go to study abroad, it will be easier for them to get used to the new environments For example, there are many students from Faculty of International Studies, Hanoi University participating in exchange programs with foreign university partners, where they learn just one semester there, but the students can adapt
to the new academic environment very quickly
* Teaching IS in English would help to update knowledge quicker and easier
International studies involves the study about global issues and phenomena, thus the knowledge
on this subject needs to be updated constantly Everyday, event stakes place all over the world, these events can be the subject of study for the course of international study A majority of information about these developments is in English With a huge amount of knowledge in English, lecturers and students can update their knowledge more easily It is easier to find information in English than in any other languages Moreover, when teaching and learning IS in English, both students and lecturers need to have a substantial level of English And with their constant exposure to English, they are used to getting information in English So with their ability to understand global issues and phenomena
in English languages, it would help them to update their knowledge constantly
* Teaching IS in English creates favourable condition for international cooperation
English is the most popular language in the world nowadays Not only universities in English
Trang 6speaking countries teach in English, but also
universities from countries where English is not
the mother tongue teach major courses in English
as well In the circle of academics now, it is hard
to imagine that a lecturer at university level in any
country does not know English All the subjects of
the major international studies are delivered in
English at Faculty of International Studies, Hanoi
University The Faculty has syllabus of all the
subjects in English This is very helpful in
promoting international cooperation program of
the faculty A foreign university partner can look
at the faculty’s curriculum and they will
understand what subjects are taught and generally
how it is taught at the faculty
2.3 The difficulties of teaching International
Studies in English
* Teaching IS in English requires high level of
English from both teachers and learners
International Studies is an inter-disciplinary
course It needs wide range of knowledge in such
fields as history, laws, economic, culture… Thus
it is a difficult specialization even if it is taught in
Vietnamese To teach and learn IS in English, it
requires a high proficiency of English The
teachers must be able to explain complex terms,
concept, and new ideas to students in English In
the field of international studies there are many
abstract theoretical concepts, and it is a hard job to
explain to students these concepts in English This
not only requires good knowledge but also good
English skills as teachers have to explain a
completely new concept to Vietnamese students,
whose mother tongue is not English On the other
hand, to learn International Studies in English,
students need to have a good level of English
Students need to equip themselves with English
language skills and also a good background of
general knowledge The English ability of both
teachers and learners are critical to learning and
teaching international studies in English And
these two conditions go hand in hand with each other, if lacking either of them, the job of teaching and learning major courses in English cannot be completed Moreover, lacking competent English from either teachers or learners would make the lecture less interesting When a teacher cannot explain to his or her students a new concept or students cannot understand what their teacher say, the lecture will be very boring In this situation, there cannot be a productive lecture
* Lack of textbook, reading materials and other facilities
Although International Studies literature in English is abundant, however, it does not mean that we can have access to any sources Many sources are barred by copy right, we can only have access to them if we are authorized by authors There are many interesting journals, but we cannot have access to them if we do not have authorization Even though the materials we can have access to, it does not mean that we can use it
in whatever way we want We must use the materials according to the regulation of copy right
If we are not aware of the issue of copy right, when facing with huge amount of literature in English, we might risk to violate copy right
In many Vietnamese universities, there are still not enough books, journals in English for students
in the major of International Studies to refer to Students usually get their textbooks copied by teachers to read as books in library are not enough
in number Also the facilities to access various sources of International Studies are not properly The ratio of computer per students is still low
* Students need more effort to understand lecture
In comparison with the traditional way of teaching and learning major courses in Vietnamese, teaching IS in English requires more effort from students to understand It is easier forstudents to understand lecture in Vietnamese,
so with lecture in English, students must make
Trang 7more effort to understand clearly Students need to
prepare their reading before going to class so that
theyknow what they will be delivered at the class,
this would help them to understand the lecture
better Students are also required more time to
read the literature, to learn about new words and
familiarize themselves with the new concepts If
students are not hard working, the lecture will not
be productive The quality of the lecture thus is
low So, to implement the teaching IS in English,
students need to be prepared for their attitude of
learning, they must work harder
3 Recommendations
- Prepare English skills for students before
entering the major courses English skills of
students play a critical role in generating
productive learning and teaching of major courses
in English If they are lack of English capability,
they cannot understand lectures well Thus, there
should be a strategy to prepare students with
English capability before they enter the major
courses The test of English for students should
not only focus on general English but also on
preparation of English for specialization Before
going into major courses, students must have
sufficient level of English to learn major courses
in English
- Teachers should continuously improve their
English skills To teach IS in English, teachers not
only need to update their knowledge of
international studies, but also need to continuously
improve their English skills Students need to have
good English to read the materials and understand
the lectures Teachers need to have good English
to teach, make the lectures easier to understand for
students If lacking English capability, teachers
cannot transfer their knowledge to their students Thus, to improve the quality of teaching and learning major courses in English, teachers first need to improve their English
- Improve library, make more books, journals, reading materials and other facilities available for students As I mention before, having access to rich sources of reference are very important for teaching and learning IS in English and improving student’s critical thinking There is huge literature
of International Studies on Internet, but students cannot access whatever they want, many sources are barred by copy right Thus, education institutions should provide their students with amore variety of sources, so that they can develop their arguments betters Also, to access the sources in English, students need better facilities
as well
- Get students used to new ways of learning Students should be prepared to learn in new ways, not like the traditional way of teaching and learning in Vietnamese To learn major courses in English, students should be more active so that they can find the needed sources of information themselves Students should understand new ways
of learning to make full use of the wide resources
of references in English to enhance the quality of their learning
- Promote international cooperation so that teachers have more chance to meet with colleagues/students overseas Participating in exchange programs benefit teachers a lot Teachers will have chance to meet, talk, share and update their knowledge with scholars all over the world This not only improves teachers’ knowledge but also improve their English skills./