No abstract

Nowadays, websites are an indispensible means for the purposes of information, administration and promotion. To address a variety of audience with different access purposes, of different age groups, and from different countries and background, websites are designed as a kind of multimodal text with the combination of language, signs, audio and visual components, and presentation effects. In such a globalization era, most websites are bilingual, trilingual, or even multi-lingual. In this paper, attempts are made to study the generic structure potential (GSP) of the English introductory information pages of institution websites in Vietnam. The GSP analysis is based on Hasan’s (1985) framework. The aim of the analysis is to explore the obligatory, the optional, and the iterative elements, which together construct the GSP of these websites. From the findings, suggestions related to improving the quality and the functioning of the websites could then be drawn out.

This paper denotes the findings from an action research project, which applied problem-based learning (PBL) in linguistics courses in an MA TESOL program in Vietnam. The project aimed to study the extent to which the use of problem-based tasks in semantic courses could promote students’ employment of higher-order thinking skills in their learning. It was found that the PBL approach was specifically appropriate in promoting higher-order thinking skills for students with passive learning habits in such Confucian heritage cultures as Vietnam. With well-designed problem-based tasks and adequate tutoring, students learned how to use higher-order thinking skills to facilitate their learning; how to stay more focused on the completion process of problem-based tasks; and how to be motivated to engage in learning activities. In addition, some students were encouraged to follow the same PBL approach in their own teaching practice. Problem-based tasks which took place at a fixed time during class seemed to cause students to lose interest. In addition, a lack of adequate job experience might also have limited the effectiveness and overall success of the problem-based tasks.