Fostering learner autonomy in language learning in tertiary education - an intervention study of university students in Hochiminh city, Vietnam

Le, Quynh X. (2013) Fostering learner autonomy in
language learning in tertiary education: an intervention
study of university students in Hochiminh City, Vietnam.
PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.
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FOSTERING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING IN TERTIARY
EDUCATION: AN INTERVENTION STUDY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN
HOCHIMINH CITY, VIETNAM

QUYNH XUAN LE, MA

Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
JUNE 2013


TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... iv
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... xi
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ xiv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................. xv
CHAPTER 1. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ................................................ 1
1.1

Introduction ................................................................................................. 1

1.2

Learner autonomy in Vietnamese education ............................................... 1

1.3 History of education and foreign language education policy in
Vietnam .................................................................................................................. 2
1.3.1

The Mandarin legacy ........................................................................... 3

1.3.2

The French colonial period .................................................................. 4

1.3.3

The French War (1945-1954) and the American War (1955-1975) .... 7

1.3.4

From Reunification to 1986 ................................................................. 9

1.3.5

From 1986 to present ......................................................................... 10

1.4 Confucian Heritage Culture and its influence on education and learner
autonomy in Vietnam ........................................................................................... 13
1.4.1

Power distance ................................................................................... 14

1.4.2

Individualism – Collectivism ............................................................. 16

1.4.3

Masculinity – Femininity ................................................................... 17

1.4.4

Uncertainty avoidance ....................................................................... 17

1.4.5

Long and short-term orientation ........................................................ 19

1.5

Research context ....................................................................................... 21

1.6

The role of the researcher in the research context ..................................... 22

1.7

Significance of the research ...................................................................... 25

1.8

Structure of the thesis ................................................................................ 25

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................. 27

iv

2.1

Introduction ............................................................................................... 27

2.2

What is autonomy and why is it important?.............................................. 27


2.2.1

The concept of autonomy................................................................... 27

2.2.2

Why is learner autonomy important? ................................................. 29

2.3

Definitions of learner autonomy in language education ........................... 30

2.3.1

Learner Autonomy as a capacity........................................................ 31

2.3.2

Willingness for Learner Autonomy ................................................... 35

2.3.3

Learner Autonomy as a complex construct........................................ 36

2.3.4

Learner Autonomy in this study......................................................... 38

2.4

Versions of learner autonomy ................................................................... 39

2.4.1

Technical ............................................................................................ 40

2.4.2

Psychological ..................................................................................... 42

2.4.3

Sociocultural ...................................................................................... 43

2.4.4

Political-critical .................................................................................. 44

2.5

Levels of autonomy ................................................................................... 45

2.6

Learner autonomy and motivation ............................................................ 47

2.7

Learner autonomy in context..................................................................... 49

2.7.1

The East-West dichotomy .................................................................. 49

2.7.2

Seeds of autonomy in the West and the East ..................................... 49

2.7.3

Cultural issues in learner autonomy ................................................... 50

2.7.4

Learner Autonomy in the EFL classroom .......................................... 54

2.8

Learner training ......................................................................................... 58

2.8.1

Learner training for the development of learner autonomy ............... 58

2.8.2

Learner development vs. learner training .......................................... 59

2.8.3

Learning strategies in learner training ............................................... 61

2.8.4

Previous studies on learner training for autonomy ............................ 64

2.9

Assessing learner autonomy in language learning .................................... 70

2.9.1

The need to assess learner autonomy and its difficulties ................... 70

2.9.2

Readiness for learner autonomy......................................................... 72

2.9.3

Assessing learners’ level of learner autonomy .................................. 76

2.10 My view of learner autonomy ................................................................... 80
2.11 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 83
CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ......................... 85
3.1

Introduction ............................................................................................... 85

3.2

Research questions .................................................................................... 85

3.3

Research and knowledge ........................................................................... 86
v


3.4

Paradigms and research traditions ............................................................. 88

3.5

My research position ................................................................................. 90

3.6

Research design: case study using mixed methods ................................... 93

3.6.1

Case study .......................................................................................... 93

3.6.2

Mixed methods................................................................................... 94

3.7

Scope and limitations of this study ........................................................... 98

3.7.1

Generalisability .................................................................................. 98

3.7.2

Researcher bias .................................................................................. 99

3.8

Research participants................................................................................. 99

3.8.1

Students .............................................................................................. 99

3.8.2

Teachers ........................................................................................... 101

3.9

Ethical considerations ............................................................................. 101

3.10 Data collection instruments ..................................................................... 102
3.10.1 “Readiness for autonomy” questionnaire......................................... 104
3.10.2 “Perspectives on learner autonomy” questionnaire ......................... 111
3.10.3 Focus groups .................................................................................... 116
3.10.4 Semi-structured interviews .............................................................. 118
3.10.5 Learning contract and learning diaries ............................................. 120
3.11 Research procedures and data collection process ................................... 122

3.11.1 Instrument piloting ........................................................................... 122
3.11.2 Trust worthiness and authenticity .................................................... 125
3.11.3 Data collection plan ......................................................................... 127
3.11.4 Instrument administration ................................................................ 129
3.11.5 Summary of collected data............................................................... 133
3.12 Conclusion............................................................................................... 134
CHAPTER 4. FOSTERING LEARNER AUTONOMY - AN INTEGRATED
LEARNER TRAINING PROGRAMME .............................................................. 136
4.1

Introduction ............................................................................................. 136

4.2

Approaches to Learner Training ............................................................. 136

4.3

Models of learner training ....................................................................... 139

4.3.1

Dickinson and Carver (1980) ........................................................... 139

4.3.2

Ellis and Sinclair (1989) .................................................................. 140

4.3.3

Knowles (1986) ................................................................................ 142

4.4
vi

Implementing Learner Training at the University................................... 144


4.4.1

Overview .......................................................................................... 144

4.4.2

The main language course: Listening and Speaking 3 ..................... 145

4.4.3

The Integrated Learner Training Programme .................................. 146

4.5

Components of the Integrated Learner Training Programme ................. 149

4.5.1

Learner Awareness ........................................................................... 149

4.5.2

Plans and contracts ........................................................................... 149

4.5.3

Skill support groups ......................................................................... 151

4.5.4

Counselling ...................................................................................... 151

4.5.5

Record keeping and evaluation ........................................................ 152

4.6

Principles for learner training for learner autonomy ............................... 152

4.6.1

Explicitness ...................................................................................... 153

4.6.2

Reflection ......................................................................................... 154

4.6.3

Empowerment .................................................................................. 155

4.6.4

Contextualisation ............................................................................. 156

4.7

Conclusion ............................................................................................... 157

CHAPTER 5. PHASE ONE - QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS .............. 159
5.1

Introduction ............................................................................................. 159

5.2

Data management and coding ................................................................. 159

5.3

Descriptive demographic information ..................................................... 161

5.3.1

RFAQ ............................................................................................... 161

5.3.2

PLAQ ............................................................................................... 163

5.4

Reliability ................................................................................................ 164

5.4.1

All items ........................................................................................... 164

5.4.2

Teachers’ responsibility (TR) .......................................................... 165

5.4.3

Acceptance and Desire for Responsibility (ADR) ........................... 165

5.4.4

Metacognitive knowledge (MKKS and MKLP) .............................. 167

5.4.5

Metacognitive knowledge (MKLA and MKLC) ............................. 167

5.5

Findings from RFAQ............................................................................... 168

5.5.1

Students’ learning habits .................................................................. 168

5.5.2

Teacher’s responsibility ................................................................... 172

5.5.3

Acceptance and desire for responsibility ......................................... 178

5.5.4

Metacognitive knowledge (self and learning process) ..................... 182

5.5.5 Metacognitive knowledge (learning context and language
awareness) ...................................................................................................... 187
vii


5.5.6
5.6

Statistical tests.................................................................................. 188

Findings from PLAQ............................................................................... 193

5.6.1

Teachers’ responsibility ................................................................... 194

5.6.2

Students’ responsibility.................................................................... 195

5.6.3

Students’ ability ............................................................................... 198

5.6.4

Statistical tests.................................................................................. 199

5.6.5

Teachers’ perspectives on promoting learner autonomy ................. 205

5.7

Conclusion............................................................................................... 212

5.7.1 General perceptions of the responsibilities of teachers and
students in English language teaching and learning ...................................... 212
5.7.2

Students’ characteristics in relation to learner autonomy ................ 214

5.7.3

Students’ learning habits .................................................................. 215

5.7.4

Teachers’ perceptions of promoting learner autonomy ................... 216

CHAPTER 6. PHASE TWO: QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS ................. 217
6.1

Introduction ............................................................................................. 217

6.2

Students’ perceptions .............................................................................. 217

6.2.1

Data management and coding .......................................................... 218

6.2.2

Data analysis .................................................................................... 219

6.2.3

Overview of emerging themes ......................................................... 220

6.2.4

Discussion and Comments ............................................................... 221

6.2.5 Conclusions on students’ perception of their roles in promoting
learner autonomy ........................................................................................... 251

6.3

Teachers’ perceptions .............................................................................. 252

6.3.1

Data management and coding .......................................................... 253

6.3.2

Data analysis .................................................................................... 254

6.3.3

Overview of emerging themes ......................................................... 254

6.3.4

Discussion and Comments ............................................................... 255

6.3.5 Conclusions on teachers’ perception of their roles in promoting
learner autonomy ........................................................................................... 274
6.4

Conclusion............................................................................................... 274

6.4.1 Students’ motivation and expectations vs. teachers’ perceptions
of their own roles in language teaching ......................................................... 275
6.4.2 Students’ and teachers’ awareness of learner autonomy and their
perceptions of promoting learner autonomy .................................................. 277

6.4.3 Challenges to promoting learner autonomy in a Vietnamese
university ....................................................................................................... 278
viii


CHAPTER 7. PHASE THREE - QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS ............ 281
7.1

Introduction ............................................................................................. 281

7.2

Learning contracts and learning diaries................................................... 281

7.2.1

Data management and coding .......................................................... 282

7.2.2

Data analysis .................................................................................... 282

7.2.3

Discussion and Comments ............................................................... 284

7.3

Students’ interviews ................................................................................ 294

7.3.1

Data management and coding .......................................................... 295

7.3.2

Data analysis .................................................................................... 295

7.3.3

Overview of emerging themes ......................................................... 296

7.3.4

Discussion and Comments ............................................................... 297

7.4

Evaluation of the ILTP ............................................................................ 322

7.4.1

Benefits of using learning contract and learning diary .................... 323

7.4.2

Learning strategies ........................................................................... 324

7.4.3

Language improvement.................................................................... 325

7.4.4

Challenges and future use of learning contract and learning diary .. 325

7.5

Conclusion ............................................................................................... 325

CHAPTER 8. SUMMARY OF RESULTS FROM THE STUDY ..................... 329
8.1

Introduction ............................................................................................. 329

8.2 Question 1 - How ready are students of the University for autonomous
learning? ............................................................................................................. 329
8.2.1 Q1a: What are the learning preferences of the University’s
students with regard to learner autonomy? .................................................... 329
8.2.2 Q1b: What do the University’s students perceive of their ability
and confidence in learning? ........................................................................... 330
8.2.3

Conclusion ....................................................................................... 332

8.3 Question 2 - How motivated are the University’s students to learn
English? .............................................................................................................. 333
8.3.1

Q2a: What kind of motivation do the students have? ...................... 334

8.3.2 Q2b: What is the role of autonomy and self-efficacy in
motivating the students? ................................................................................ 334
8.3.3

Conclusion ....................................................................................... 335

8.4 Question 3 - How is learner autonomy perceived and practised by
teachers and students in the context of tertiary education in Vietnam? ............. 336
8.4.1 Q3a: What roles do the students perceive that they play as
learners (in relation with the teacher)? ........................................................... 336
ix


8.4.2 Q3b. What roles do teachers perceive that they play in relation
with the students?........................................................................................... 337
8.4.3 Q3c. What autonomous learning strategies do students use in
English language learning? ............................................................................ 339
8.4.4 Q3d. What do English language teachers do to promote
autonomous learning? .................................................................................... 340
8.4.5 Q3e. What difficulties do teachers and students perceive of when
promoting autonomous learning? .................................................................. 341
8.4.6

Conclusion ....................................................................................... 342

8.5 Question 4 - What are the perceived effects of the learner training
programme on the intervention students? .......................................................... 343
8.5.1 Q4a. What are the perceived effects of the programme on the
intervention students’ motivation and use of strategies, especially

metacognitive and cognitive strategies? ........................................................ 343
8.5.2 Q4b. What are the perceived effects of the programme on the
intervention students’ beliefs, attitudes and performance? ............................ 345
8.5.3

Conclusion ....................................................................................... 346

8.6 Question 5 - To what extent is culture perceived to play a role in the
development and manifestations of learner autonomy in Vietnam? .................. 347
8.7

Conclusion............................................................................................... 349

CHAPTER 9. CONCLUSION ............................................................................ 352
9.1

Introduction ............................................................................................. 352

9.2

Significance ............................................................................................. 352

9.2.1

Theoretical contributions ................................................................. 352

9.2.2

Methodological contributions .......................................................... 357

9.2.3 Pedagogical contributions and implications for the future of
TESOL in Vietnam ........................................................................................ 358
9.3

Limitations of the study........................................................................... 359

9.4

Suggestions for further research .............................................................. 360

REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 362
APPENDICES ...................................................................................................... 377

x


LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1: Number of B.A. in English students ...................................................... 100
Table 3.2: Research questions and instruments ...................................................... 103
Table 3.3: Items excluded from the shortened RFAQ ............................................ 108
Table 3.4: Mapping the PLAQ against the RFAQ .................................................. 114
Table 3.5: Changes to the RFAQ as a result of feedbacks from pilot teachers ...... 123
Table 3.6: Data collection plan ............................................................................... 129
Table 3.7 Summary of collected data...................................................................... 134
Table 5.1: Coding table for questionnaire sheets .................................................... 160
Table 5.3: Summary of Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ........................................... 167
Table 5.4: Students’ learning habits across 3 groups .............................................. 168
Figure 5.1: Students’ learning habits ...................................................................... 171
................................................................................................................................. 171
Table 5.5: TR scale (Non-intervention cohort vs. intervention group) ................... 172

Table 5.6: TR scale (Pre-intervention vs. Post-intervention).................................. 176
Table 5.7: ADR scale (Non-intervention cohort vs. intervention group) ............... 178
Table 5.8: ADR scale (Pre-intervention vs. Post-intervention) .............................. 180
Table 5.10: MKKS and MKLP scales (Pre-intervention vs. Post-intervention)..... 185
Table 5.11: MKLA and MKLC scales (Pre-intervention vs. Post-intervention) .... 187
Table 5.12: Mann-Whitney U significance test (cohort vs. pre-intervention) ........ 189
Table 5.13: Mann-Whitney U significance test (cohort vs. post-intervention) ...... 190
Table 5.14: Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test (pre vs. post intervention) .................... 192
Table 5.15: Teachers’ responsibility ....................................................................... 194
Table 5.16: Students’ responsibility........................................................................ 196

xi


Table 5.17: Students’ ability ................................................................................... 198
Table 5.18: Group Statistics .................................................................................... 200
Table 5.19: Students’ perspective on the allocation of responsibility .................... 202
Table 5.20: Teachers’ perspective on the allocation of responsibility.................... 203
Table 5.21: Responsibility as allocated by students ............................................... 204
Table 5.22: Responsibility as allocated by teachers ............................................... 204
Table 5.23: Teachers’ view on promoting learner autonomy ................................. 206
Table 5.24: Teaching activities for autonomous learning (N=55) .......................... 207
Table 5.24: Teaching activities for autonomous learning (Cont.) .......................... 208
Table 5.25: Learning activities for autonomous learning (N=44) .......................... 210
Table 5.25: Learning activities for autonomous learning (Cont.) ........................... 211
Table 6.1: Emerging themes from student focus groups (N=18)............................ 220
Table 6.2: Motivation for learning English (N=18) ................................................ 221
Table 6.3: Motivating learning experiences (N=14) ............................................... 224
Table 6.4: Teachers’ control (N=18) ...................................................................... 226
Table 6.5: Perceptions of teachers’ responsibilities (N=18) ................................... 231

Table 6.6: Students’ awareness of learner autonomy (N=18)................................. 239
Table 6.7: Preference for autonomous learning (N=18) ......................................... 242
Table 6.8: Autonomy in Vietnamese tertiary education context (N=18) ............... 249
Table 6.9: Emerging themes from teacher interviews (N=6) ................................. 254
Table 6.10: Teachers’ views of their roles and responsibilities (N=6) ................... 255
Table 6.11: Teachers’ perceptions of students’ expectation and ability (N=6) ...... 258
Table 6.12: Teachers' awareness of learner autonomy (N=6) ................................ 260
Table 6.13: Teachers’ view of learner autonomy in Vietnam (N=6)...................... 264
Table 6.14: Teachers’ practice in promoting learner autonomy (N=6) .................. 269
xii


Table 6.15: Teachers’ perceptions of control in the classroom (N=6).................... 272
Table 7.1: Rating of students’ learning contracts (N=25) ....................................... 284
Table 7.2: Rating of students’ learning diaries (N=25) .......................................... 289
Table 7.3: Emerging themes from student interviews (N=25)................................ 296
Table 7.4: Students’ learning objectives (N=25) .................................................... 297
Table 7.5: Assessment of the effectiveness of using learning contract and learning
diary (N=25)............................................................................................................ 298
Table 7.6: Students’ self-assessment of language improvement (N=25)................ 307
Table 7.7: Students’ use of learning strategies (N=25)........................................... 311
Table 7.8: Self-direction in students’ application learning strategies (N=25) ........ 312
Table 7.9: Challenges in implementing the learning contract and writing the learning
diary (N=25)............................................................................................................ 318
Table 7.10: Future use of learning contract and learning diary (N=25) ................. 320

xiii


LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Metacognitive knowledge for autonomy in language learning .............. 82
Figure 5.1: Students’ learning habits ..................................................................... 148

xiv


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ADR:

Acceptance and Desire for Responsibility

ILTP:

Integrated learner training programme

MKKS:

Metacognitive knowledge - oneself as a learner

MKLA:

Metacognitive knowledge - language awareness

MKLC:

Metacognitive knowledge - learning context

MKLP:

Metacognitive knowledge - learning process

PLAQ:

Perspectives of learner autonomy questionnaire

RFAQ:

Readiness for learner autonomy questionnaire

SPSS:

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

TESOL:

Teaching English to Speakers of other languages

TR:

Teachers’ responsibility

xv



CHAPTER 1.

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.1 Introduction

This chapter provides the background to this research, which I conducted at a
Vietnamese private university in Hochiminh city between September 2010 and
January 2011. The research is an interventionist case study adopting mixed methods
from a constructivist-interpretive approach. It investigated the effectiveness and
implications of a learner-training programme for promoting learner autonomy in
English language learning at the university. In this chapter I shall begin with a brief
introduction to learner autonomy as an important educational goal of tertiary
education in Vietnam. This introduction is followed by a historical account of the
periods of the country’s education and language policy. Then, I shall link the
language education history to the discussion of the Confucian Heritage Culture in
Vietnam and its influence on Vietnamese education and language classrooms. Within
this socio-cultural context, I shall give a detailed description of the university where
this research was conducted to set the background for the case study presented in this
thesis. I shall also express my motivation for undertaking this study and discuss my
role as a researcher/teacher in this research context. Finally, I shall highlight the
significance of this study and present the structure of this thesis.

1.2 Learner autonomy in Vietnamese education
Learner autonomy has been a popular theme in educational research since the 1980s
with a rapidly growing amount of literature (Holec, 1981; Dickinson, 1987;
Pemberton et al., 1996). In Vietnam, it is currently a buzzword that has been
receiving increasing attention in a nationwide effort to improve the quality of tertiary
education in the country. Developing the capacity for greater learner autonomy is

1


believed by policy makers and educationalists to be one of the main targets of the
educational reform (National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 2005).
This mission is especially important given Vietnam’s ambition to boost economic

growth and become an economically strong nation. It is hoped that if young
Vietnamese are educated and trained to be autonomous in learning, they will
contribute to an active workforce that is able to embark on lifelong learning and adapt
to new developments and changes in the world (Q.K. Nguyen and Q.C. Nguyen,
2008).
This study examines the possibilities of fostering learner autonomy in tertiary
education in Vietnam. It focuses on investigating learners’ variables in relation to the
educational context, including the curriculum, teaching practice, and learner training.
A model for promoting learner autonomy will also be proposed, carried out and tested
for its appropriateness and effectiveness. Data obtained through this intervention
process will be used to provide insights into teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of
autonomy and shed light on the issue of promoting learner autonomy in non-western
contexts, such as Vietnam.

1.3 History of education and foreign language education policy in Vietnam
“Vietnam’s linguistic history reflects its political history” (Denham, 1992: 61)

This statement virtually summarises and highlights the complicated nature of
language issues in the history of Vietnam. In the discourse of Critical Theory,
language is not only a means of communication but also a political tool that can be
used to exercise power, especially colonial and imperialist, to control and dominate
people (Pennycook, 1998). This has been illustrated vividly in the history of

2


education and foreign language teaching and learning in Vietnam, which is the focus
of this section.
1.3.1

The Mandarin legacy

Learning a foreign language and learning in a foreign language are by no means
recent phenomena for the Vietnamese people. For the most part of its long history,
Vietnam struggled to maintain its indigenous language against linguistic and cultural
assimilation from foreign invaders. The history of Vietnamese education can be dated
back to Mandarin (Chinese) domination, from 111 BC to 938 AD – a period of over
1000 years. During this centuries-long period, Chinese, with its idiographic Han
script, was used as the official language in Vietnam (M.H. Pham, 1994). Education
was in Chinese medium and followed the Chinese models with a system of schools
set up to train the children, mainly sons, of Chinese rulers and of Vietnamese
aristocracy to staff the state bureaucracy. The competitive examination system, i.e.,
the imperial examination (Hsu, 2005), which was introduced under the Tang dynasty
(618-907) in China, was also implemented in Vietnam (Wright, 2002).
Chinese influence remained strong in Vietnam even after the country became
independent in 939. For example, Quoc Tu Giam, the first institution of higher
education of Vietnam, was established in Hanoi in 1076 to prepare students for the
imperial examination to enter the Mandarinate (Wright, 2002). The school was first
reserved to teach the royal family but was later open to the public, consisting mostly
of male students. Chinese continued to be the language of state and the teaching
medium with Chinese textbooks (Lo Bianco, 1993, cited in Wright, 2002). Chinese
influence was also reflected in the Van Mieu, the Temple of Literature, which was
considered to be an important centre of Taoist-Confucian thought (M.H. Pham,
3


1998). In this feudal era, only children from landlords and rich families could afford
formal schooling. However, middle-class and poorer families could send their
children to study in small classes run by village teachers. As the society generally had
respect for learned individuals and social mobility was made possible by the imperial

exam system, being literate and well-versed in Chinese classical works was
considered a virtue. This fondness for learning has remained a Vietnamese cultural
trait until the present day (L.H. Pham and Fry, 2004).
Not until the thirteenth century was the early writing system, Chu Nom, developed for
the Vietnamese language, which had been a vernacular language for millennia. Chu
Nom, an indigenous adaptation of the Chinese characters to the Vietnamese spoken
language but unintelligible to the Chinese, became the symbol of national identity
(N.Q. Nguyen, 1993, cited in Do, 2006). However, as one had to be competent in
Chinese before being able to learn Chu Nom, it was used by a limited number of
well-educated people for literature and culture, while written Chinese was still the
prevalent language for law and government (P.P. Nguyen, 1995, cited in Wright,
2002). As a result of the long period of Chinese occupation and influence, as much as
60% of the modern Vietnamese vocabulary has Chinese roots, especially words that
denote abstract ideas relating to science (through translation into Chinese then to
Vietnamese) and politics (Alves, 2001). However, phonetically, morphologically and
syntactically, Vietnamese remains a distinct language from Chinese (ibid.).
1.3.2

The French colonial period

The French presence in Vietnam began soon after the arrival of European merchants
and missionaries in the sixteenth century (Wright, 2002). Their interest in Vietnam
increased by the end of the eighteenth century when France was in the race for
4


colonies with the British. They gained more influence in the country when French
Bishop Pigneau helped Nguyen Anh to quell the Tay Son Rebellion and to found the
Nguyen dynasty in 1802 (ibid.). However, after coming to power, Nguyen Anh, who
then changed his name to Gia Long, reneged on his promises to give the French

commercial privileges and protection to Catholic missionaries. After Gia Long,
successive kings, brought up in the Confucian tradition, had similar views and even
imprisoned missionaries and persecuted indigenous people who converted to
Catholicism (ibid.). This gave the French government an excuse to make a military
intervention to protect their missionaries in September 1858. After several fierce
battles across the country, France gradually gained control of various areas in
Vietnam and forced the feudal government to sign treaties which turned the occupied
territories into French protectorates (Wright, 2002).
The presence of European missionaries in Vietnam not only brought about religious
and political but also linguistic and cultural changes. A system of Romanised writing
of Vietnamese called Quoc Ngu, which uses the Roman letters to transcribe the
indigenous spoken language, was developed in the seventeenth century by the
Portuguese and other European missionaries (Lo Bianco, 1993, cited in Do, 2006).
About the importance of the introduction of Quoc Ngu, L.H. Pham and Fry (2004:
202) comment,
[t]his innovation was to have profound and unanticipated consequences on the
evolution of education in Vietnam. This new writing system made Vietnamese
language far more accessible to ordinary Vietnamese, with great implications for
raising mass consciousness to foster both political and social change.

5


In fact, this was possible because colonial policy made Quoc Ngu and French the
languages of official documents in 1878, with the aim of using the Romanised script
as a first step to an eventual shift to French (Osborne, 1997, cited in Wright, 2002).
In 1887 the Indo-Chinese Union (Union Indochinoise), which consists of Vietnam,
Cambodia, and Laos, was created under the government of France (Wright, 2002).
Similar to the Chinese feudalism, French colonialism subscribed to the theory of
assimilation and the policy of direct rule. They wholeheartedly believed that “their

colonialism was a mission civilisatrice which could be made to benefit the colonised
as well as the colonisers” (Wright, 2002: 228). Therefore, a system of French
education was established alongside the existing Confucian schools to provide
western schooling to the social elite class, most of whom were the children of the
landlords and aristocrats from the previous feudal era (Ngo, 1973, cited in L.H. Pham
and Fry, 2004). Not only was this educational system elitist, it was also irrelevant to
the social context of Vietnam because the curricula were identical to those in France
(Thompson, 1968, cited in L.H. Pham and Fry, 2004). The French assimilation and
civilisation of the Vietnamese people was notoriously summarised by the saying,
“Nos ancêtres sont les Gaulois” (Our ancestors are the Gauls), which the Vietnamese
students had to learn by heart.
French medium education, however, only received scant enthusiasm among the
Vietnamese and was available to only a tiny proportion of the Vietnamese population.
It was estimated that only about 3% of the population of 22 million people were in
school in 1941-1942 (Wright, 2002: 231). The vast majority of the population was
peasants or workers on plantations and in mines and received no schooling (ibid.).
Besides, there were strong movements against the use of French. A few Confucian
6


schools which used Chinese still operated and were still valued by the bourgeois
class, though the last of their kind was closed in 1919 (M.H. Pham, 1994). More
prominently, private Vietnamese schools were founded by patriotic teachers to
promote Quoc Ngu. One of these schools, the Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc (Tonkin Free
School) established in Hanoi in 1907, is considered to be “in the broadest sense a
popular educational and cultural movement of real significance to subsequent
Vietnamese history” (Marr, 1971: 164, cited in L.H. Pham and Fry, 2004: 204). This
movement added to the growing popularity of Quoc Ngu as it was used as a medium
for the publication and dissemination of the writings of western reformists and
progressive thinkers, such as Montesquieu (1689-1755) and Rousseau (1712-1778)

(L.H. Pham and Fry, 2004). As L.H. Pham and Fry (2004: 204) comment, this
movement “provided a progressive example of relevant and practical education
oriented to social and political change”.
1.3.3

The French War (1945-1954) and the American War (1955-1975)

After seven decades of colonising Vietnam, the French governor had to accept the
Japanese occupation of Indo-China in 1940, following the seizure of Paris by the
Germans in World War II. During this time, Vietnam was under both the governance
of France and the occupation of Japan. In March 1945, when the Allied forces
advanced in the West, the Japanese demanded to control the French troops in
Vietnam. When this was refused, they overthrew the French colonial government in
Indochina and declared the country independent under the rule of Bao Dai, who acted
as their puppet king (Wright, 2002). On September 2nd 1945, following the defeat of
Japan by the Allies in battles around the world, Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the
resistant force Viet Minh, led an insurgency to oust the Japanese-backed government
and declared the independence of Vietnam.
7


After the victory of the Allies, the French returned to Vietnam to reclaim their
colony. The newly established Vietnamese government led by Ho Chi Minh was only
able to control the north of Vietnam for one year before being forced to retreat to the
highland and rural areas near China border. The French offered to recognise the
independence of Vietnam if it agreed to become part of the French Union, a form of
commonwealth (Wright, 2002). However, both sides could not come to an agreement
because France wanted to retain their control in the south while Ho Chi Minh wanted
a unified country (ibid.). This led the French to wage a war to retake the north by
force which lasted from 1945 to 1954.

The independence of Vietnam in 1945 had marked the new status of Vietnamese and
its modern writing system, Quoc Ngu, as the national language of the state and
education, although this was fully achieved only after the French were defeated
completely at the Dien Bien Phu battle in 1954 (Do, 2006). As for foreign languages,
foreign language policy in Vietnam has become “a barometer of Vietnam’s relations
with other countries” since its independence (Wright, 2002: 226). During the French
war, knowledge of French was “obviously not an asset” in the revolutionary areas
(Wright, 2002: 233). Instead, young Vietnamese people were encouraged to learn to
speak Chinese because of the military and civilian support from the People’s
Republic of China (ibid.).
The Dien Bien Phu victory resulted in the Geneva Agreement of 1954 stipulating the
withdrawal of the French troops from Vietnam and the division of the country along
the 17th parallel, pending national elections. However, Ngo Dinh Diem, the Prime
Minister in the South refused to participate in the national elections and took power in
a coup d’état (Wright, 2002). The halves of the country became two politically
8


different regimes. This division led to the involvement of the U.S. and its Cold War
rival, the USSR, in Vietnam from 1964 and brought English and Russian into the
linguistic equation. In the communist North, education was organised following the
Soviet model (L.H. Pham and Fry, 2004). Russian became the most important foreign
language to learn. With support from the USSR, tens of thousands of Vietnamese
students gained first degrees in the Soviet Union (Wright, 2002). In the capitalist
South, which received strong financial and military support from America and
France, English and French became the main foreign languages. While the demand
for English was obvious because of the need to acquire some competence to work
with the Americans, the existence of French as the second popular foreign language
was attributed to the fact that French-educated people held strategic posts in the
government of the South (Do, 2006). With the increasing involvement of the

Americans, the elitist colonial education system in the South was also gradually
replaced by one that provided greater access to facilitate economic development
(Nguyen, 2007b).
1.3.4

From Reunification to 1986

The divergence in foreign language policy in the two parts of Vietnam came to an end
in 1975 with the fall of Saigon, which marked the reunification of the country, and
the end of the ‘American War’, as it is known in Vietnam. The unification also
allowed the whole country to adopt a unified Soviet-styled educational system that
had been in place in the North after the French war. As a result of the ‘American
war’, Vietnam was isolated from the Western capitalist world by the US-led trade
embargo. The situation was worsened because of the sour relations with China after a
war broke out at the Sino-Vietnamese borders in 1979 and with other neighbours due
to Vietnam’s military involvement in fighting the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia
9


between 1975 and 1989 (Wright, 2002). The USSR became the main supporter,
trading partner, and sole provider of technical assistance and training to Vietnam. The
political, economic and educational alliances with the USSR therefore made Russian
the main foreign language at all levels of the Vietnamese education system (Do,
2006; Wright, 2002). In the south of Vietnam, Russian departments were founded in
universities and colleges with staff coming from the north. Good students were
encouraged to choose to learn Russian with the prospect of pursuing higher education
in the Soviet Union (Do, 2006). As English and French were at that time generally
regarded as ‘the languages of the enemies’, their use and dissemination were
inevitably restricted (Phan, 2008). However, although there were quotas for foreign
language education at high school, which were set by the government and were in

favour of Russian, there was no overt obligation to eradicate these languages
altogether and English and French were still offered to a very small proportion of
students (Denham, 1992; Do, 2006).
The dominance of Russian as the main foreign language in Vietnam, supported by
national education policy for political and economic reasons, continued until the early
‘90s. However, as a result of the dramatic socio-economic changes in Vietnam after
1986, this dominance gradually died out before coming to an end with the collapse of
the Soviet Union in 1991 (L.H. Pham and Fry, 2004; Do, 2006).
1.3.5

From 1986 to present

After a decade of political isolation and economic mismanagement and stagnation,
the Vietnamese government decided to change political direction in 1986, marking
the beginning of an era called Doi moi (literally translated as ‘reform’ and often
referred to as ‘economic renovation’) (Wright, 2002; Do, 2006). The economy was
10