Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ms. To Minh Thanh spoke at the 3rd VIETNAM INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, held from August 2-4, 2017 with the topic “English sentences starting with “there” and equivalent expressions in Vietnamese. “. The 3rd International Conference on Vietnamese Studies is scheduled to be held in Binh Chau, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Vietnam, under the chairmanship of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies, in collaboration with the Department of Science and Project Management, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.

Presentation summary:

English sentences that start with there, also known as their structures, are not just existing sentences; The most important of all other uses of English sentences that start with there is an introductory sentence that begins with there. It is almost indistinguishable from existing sentences that begin with Empty there �?which, as the name suggests, is meaningless and is not pronounced with stress, with introductory sentences beginning with adverbs of place. the place there (Locative there) means “there�?or “in that place,�?�?which is pronounced with an accent and is the opposite of the adverb here, which means “here�?or “in this place.�?Therefore, language users must pay attention to other sentence-forming elements, both imperative and optional – that follow there in the type of sentence under consideration. Comparing English sentences starting with there with their equivalent expressions in Vietnamese helps to identify the appropriate translation for each type of English sentence starting with there, with sufficient attention to semantics and pragmatic, even though Vietnamese does not have the empty subject, which is easy to observe in a Subject-prominent language like English.

Some more pictures from the conference:

On the morning of July 1, Australia’s National Education Assessment System – NEAS awarded the certificate of accreditation for the International Communication English program of Hoa Sen University. HSU is the first and only university honored to achieve this prestigious certification.

The program was attended by Mr. Patrick Pheasant – CEO of Australia’s National Education Assessment System – NEAS, representatives of units, high schools in Ho Chi Minh City, the Board of Directors and the faculty and students of Hoa Sen University.

HSU’s English for International Communication program is divided into 6 levels, training using 100% English, including lectures and exercises for 4 skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing. The goal of the program is to equip students with a solid foundation of knowledge and skills in English to serve as a complementary foundation for knowledge improvement, hone in specialized skills, and confidently communicate in the domestic and international working environment. This program is mandatory for all students of the school.

Australia’s National English Language Teaching Accreditation Scheme (NEAS) is a leading independent organization for assessing the quality of English teaching worldwide with more than 200 members in Australia, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

TS. Phan Thi Vietnam – Vice Rector of HSU said: “Hoa Sen University determines its responsibility in improving the quality of education, bringing to society individuals who are fully equipped with wisdom and ethics, abundant life experience, clear career orientation and great ambitions. For that reason, our students are trained to be creative, think disruptive and unique, overcome any barriers without fear; respect and be open to the ideas of others, embrace differences and, above all, become global citizens with excellent English skills. As a pioneering university that receives the “powerful” NEAS tick for all levels of non-professional English, Hoa Sen University is confident to meet the world’s leading standards, ensuring students have access to the best lecturers, the best facilities and the best courses.

Previously, Hoa Sen University held an online reception of external assessors from NEAS. Through the process of self-assessment and providing documents and evidence, on April 22, 2022, HSU had an online meeting with experts of the NEAS Organization. The assessment content includes interview sessions with the School’s Board of Directors, lecturers of the International Communication English Program, students of various majors and related units with exchanges on: teaching – learning activities, learning environment, training management, student support services, enrollment activities… After a rigorous assessment process, Hoa Sen University’s international communication English program has officially achieved educational quality accreditation according to NEAS standards.

TS. Patrick Pheasant – CEO of Australia’s National Education Assessment System – NEAS said: “Hoa Sen University is the first university in Vietnam to achieve the accreditation certificate of NEAS -Australia. NEAS has been providing certification for all English language teaching programmes in Australia for over 30 years and abroad for over 10 years. One of the things that we focus on and always aim for is our dedication in ensuring quality in teaching English to learners. We are very happy to see a place with great facilities, teachers and human resources like Hoa Sen University. ‘I would like to thank you and look forward to continuing to cooperate with Hoa Sen University in the future.”’

Along with the specialized knowledge and skills that students have, English language ability, understanding of intercultural communication will be a strength to help Hoa Sen students have internship opportunities and work in leading organizations and businesses in many fields. The fact that HSU is the first university to achieve NEAS accreditation has proven the quality of English training of the University, and at the same time affirms the position of an international standard university for Vietnamese and regional students.

In addition to the NEAS assessment for the English International Communication program, Hoa Sen University has 3 majors that are implementing AUN-QA accreditation (the assessment organization of the Southeast Asian university network) including: Software Engineering, Graphic Design, Tourism and Travel Service Management; and 3 majors that are carrying out the FIBAA (Swiss Government’s Quality Assurance Organization) accreditation assessment, including: English Language, International Business, Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Previously, in 2021, HSU successfully completed the National Education Quality Accreditations; 5 majors are recognized as meeting AUN-QA standards, being the first university in Vietnam to be accredited by ACBSP with 5 majors. ‘HSU also made a breakthrough and was honored to receive the international standard QS – STARS 4 STAR certification at the first assessment, in which, 2 standards ”Jobs for students” and ”Culture – Art” achieved 5 stars.’

Abstract:

As second language teachers, we often think teaching grammar is necessary and we tend to overlook the crucial need for meaningful exposure in language learning. With the help of one particular study (Hong, 2005), I will show that even the best type of explicit grammar instruction to teach the use of articles in English did not result in the desired effect at all. In fact, there is very little to no empirical evidence that teaching grammar leads to effective use of a particular item. On the other hand, we do know that the amount of exposure to and meaningful use of the target language is the most  important factor in learning the language.  For example, Nguyen (2013) showed that an approach with a great deal of authentic exposure was highly effective in improving the learners�?general proficiency.

I will explain how language and language acquisition should be viewed from a dynamic usage based (DUB) approach (we need to focus on the language as a whole and repeat often) and what that entails  in teaching (we need real meaningful content to work with). I will argue that if the goal is to teach learners to be able to communicate in the target language, we need to expose the learners to the language and ask them to use it meaningfully. What better way is there than to eavesdrop on real target language speakers in an exciting and engaging context? The talk will end with practical ideas that can be implemented for any foreign language at different levels of proficiency.  

Huong, N. T. (2005). Vietnamese learners mastering English articles. Unpublished dissertation. University of Groningen.
Nguyen, T. P. H. (2013). A dynamic usage-based approach to second language teaching, Unpublished dissertation. University of Groningen.

Colloquium No.5, held on Dec 17, 2015

Topic: “Phenomenography: A Qualitative research approach to investigating different understandings of reality�?/strong>