Group A would depart and return in October, and Group B and C in November and December respectively. In particularly, approximately 80% of the course participants (streamed into groups A, B and C) are sent abroad by DOET for three weeks for teacher development at three different timetables. While participating in this intensive course, many of them have to undertake another training program overseas, which seriously conflicts the TKT schedule. One critical issue with the aforementioned TKT trainees is attendance. All teachers can be easily reached via email. Sadly, such facilities are mainly active on the occasion of semester teaching demonstrations that evaluate teachers' performances. At the participants’ own teaching contexts, each school is equipped with at least one technology-enhanced classroom that has speakers, PCs and projectors. Not surprisingly, many own a decent smartphone. Beyond the training setting, all teachers have reliable home Internet connections on their PCs or laptops. Because Wi-Fi connection is not available, I have to bring my own laptop, using my smartphone as a hotspot hub via 3G connection when we need to access online resources or materials. The classroom offers limited technological tools, namely a speaker and a projector. Some teachers have to travel up to 60km by motorbike to reach the place. The training venue is located in one of the main streets of the province, about 40km from Ho Chi Minh City where I am currently based. Module 1 covers language and background to language learning and teaching, Module 2 lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching, and Module 3 managing the teaching and learning process. From the course instructors’ perspectives, we strictly follow the unit sequence listed the course main text book, The TKT Course Modules 1, 2 and 3 (2nd Edition) by Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, and Melanie Williams. The whole course lasts 13 weeks, from mid-September to mid-December, 2016, totaling 91 hours including practice test sessions. The course aims are originally drafted by DOET, expecting participants to achieve dual purposes: By the end of the course, participants will be ready to take the TKT exam with a passing grade of at least band 2 in all three modules, and in doing so, participants will pick up useful teaching strategies that can be immediately and appropriately applied to their teaching contexts.Ĭlasses meet once a week with 7 hours of face-to-face instruction. Many participants, especially the cohort who is working in primary schools, have problems with recognizing and understanding TKT terms. Even teachers who hold Master’s degrees in TESOL or Applied Linguistics have to attend training courses which are seemingly aimed at entry-level professionals.Īlthough they have been sitting through a large number of annual training sessions such as language proficiency development, teaching approaches, and technology in education, this is the first time the trainees have been involved in an intensive TKT preparation course. The practice is ubiquitous in all DOETs in Vietnam: teachers are required to participate in training programs regardless of their teaching experience or qualifications. It is important to note that participation in the training is made compulsory by the English Academic Division of the Department of Education and Training of the province (DOET). They are veteran in-service teachers, with years of teaching experience ranging from 5 to 26. Divided into in 2 classes, participants in the course are 71 core teachers from various primary and secondary schools in a province in the south of Vietnam. The action research is conducted on a Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) training course, in which the author is one of the 3 co-instructors.
His professional interests include CALL, Continuous Professional Development, and Intercultural Communication. He holds an M.A degree in Applied Linguistics. Email: Mai is a lecturer of English at Ho Chi Minh City Open University and a teacher trainer at Vietnam National University HCM International Education Institute.
Tien Mai is a lecturer of English at Ho Chi Minh City Open University and a teacher trainer at Vietnam National University HCM International Education Institute.