Bac Lieu University Action to ASEAN Initial colloquium on Action Research

---

Bac Lieu University in the Mekong Delta in south Vietnam is situated down on the very tip of the southern Ca Mau Peninsula. Bac Lieu University is a young university, established in 2006 and opening its doors in January 2007. Like PDU Bac Lieu University's mission is to train highly skilled human resource professionals, conduct scientific research and transferring technology to serve the regionally and nationally socioeconomic development.

This colloquium on Action Research was offered by the Office of English Language Program, US Department of State, and co-sponsored by the US Consulate General HCMC. It was an exciting visit to another university in Vietnam to meet faculty and English teachers in different regions of Vietnam! I am continually amazed at the professionalism of these EFL professionals and by their resilience and perseverance in seeking opportunities for professional development and for improving English language education in their schools.

Jill Kester, Senior English Language Fellow, National Foreign Language Project 2020, Ha Noi organized this very important initiative to encourage action research among English language educators at various institutions. Catherine Bolster, English Language Fellow at Bac Lieu together with her colleagues at the Dept of Foreign Languages at Bac Lieu University did a fantastic job organizing this colloquium.

I had the good fortune to attend Jill's presentation at CAMTesol where I found out about the work that she is doing with Vietnamese English teachers and I couldn't pass up the chance to bring action research back to Quang Ngai. When I spoke with the faculty here at Pham Van Dong University, three of the teachers/profs were interested so we brainstormed, each identified a problem to work on in the classroom, and each created a plan of action and those three teachers started their projects.

Fortunately, on their behalf I was able to present at the Action to ASEAN Initial Colloquium on AR at Bac Lieu "Developing an AR Project: First Steps and Hurdles," featuring the work of these three teachers -- Ms. Thuy and Mai Dao both decided to address a common problem -- inconsistent performance giving oral presentations in class -- and the quality of feedback on those presentations and whether developing a rubric and using it would have a positive impact on the quality of feedback.

The third teacher Ms. Hai is investigating the value of offering a reward to increase student motivation. Ms. Hai is an in-service teacher in a mountain village school in Son Giang. She was eager to develop a plan to experiment with the impact of a reward to increase student motivation to complete homework assignments. She is in the 3rd week of an exciting project -- students get a monetary reward if they complete all 3 assignments each week. At the end of 4 weeks, those who have a 100% record have a chance to enter an writing contest "The best way to spend the prize money" -- complete with justifications or rationale for one's choice on how to spend the prize money. All these projects are works -in -progress. But as those of us who are familiar with action research are aware, change does not happen overnight and this type of research is an iterative process that requires change based on reflection. We will stay tuned to find out what happens in the classrooms of Ms. Thuy, Mai Dao, and Ms. Hai.

Also presenting were Vuthi Chau Sa, University of Foreign Language Studies at the University of Da Nang on 'Jigsaw in Speaking' -- An Alternative Technique for Bit EFL Classes? and Vo Thi Thuy Trang University of Foreign Language Studies at the uNiversity of Da Nang presented on "Teaching Pronunciation for Regional Integration." I learned a great deal about EFL and professional development in Vietnam and continue to learn about the Vietnamese educational system.

Bac Lieu, situated on the southern tip of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta, has great seafood! It's on the water and there is ample fish and seafood. We had dinner the first night at our lovely hotel -- seafood hot pot with some delicious mango salad and shrimp. Lunch the next day was at a very beautiful seafood restaurant on the river -- outside with a breeze and fresh grilled squid, grilled shrimp, green mango salad, sooooo good. . That evening we went to an outdoor restaurant on a lake where the busboys delivered the food to tables on bicycles -- again delicious hot pot and other Vietnamese delicacies, hosted by Bac Lieu University...the Head of the Dept of International Cooperation, Ms. Thu; the Dean of the Faculty for Foreign Languages, Mr. Chau, Catherine Box, English Language Fellow at Bac Lieu University, another volunteer representing Brunei Consulate, and several teachers from Bac Lieu university. Delicious!

We had a brief tour of two of the local sites -- one was the pagoda where there are several Buddhas, including several of Quanyin (Chinese name) and Quyen (Vietnamese?) Goddess of Mercy. This is my favorite Buddha. Here at this pagoda stood several statues of Quanyin with her multiple hands to offer help and assistance to all in need in any circumstance. Knowing that there are resources to approach any problem is somehow reassuring. The second site was the house of the Prince of Bac Lieu -- a wealthy local who lost all the family money right after WWII but his house stands as a museum and a testament to his extravagance -- stately old hardwood beds and Victrola's and pearl inlaid coffee tables and other pieces of furniture.

---

Photos

Jill Kester, Sr. English Language Fellow, US State Dept
Bac Lieu University Colloquium on AR

Jill Kester, Sr. English Language Fellow, US State Dept.
Co-Chair, Action to ASEAN Initial Colloquium on Action Research