Gifted High School Students’ Needs for English Learning in Vietnam Contexts

Abstract

The learning needs of English students have been researched over the past decades in different countries, especially among non-speaking English ones. The core goal of these studies was to examine if learner needs/wants and learning outcomes of the English course/curriculum provided are sufficiently matched, i.e., whether or not students feel satisfied (because their needs/wants are met). Expanding this line of research, the current study attempts to find out the needs for English learning among gifted high school students in the current Vietnam context by seeking the answer to the main question: How do these students report their needs for English learning? The findings are supposed to provide useful insights into this English learning – teaching setting. One hundred and eighty English-majored students from five gifted high schools in five provinces of Vietnam participated in a questionnaire-interview survey. The obtained results show that most participants opted for English because they needed it for future employment and cross-cultural/national communications for long-term purposes. As a result, they wanted to practice more English speaking and listening skills rather than other components of English knowledge (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary) and skills (reading, writing). Yet, their English practices in the classroom did not place much emphasis on speaking-listening skills, i.e., their needs were not very satisfactorily met. Some of the findings echo those of previous research, and some are first reported in the current study.

Private Senior High School Teachers’ Self-Efficacy in Understanding Students’ Needs During the Online Learning

“…During the teaching-learning process, students sometimes experience demotivated, especially when they feel overwhelmed with the learning materials. Students show diminished motivation, particularly when the teachers do not pay attention to their needs and academic accomplishment (Hung and Ai, 2021). Table 5 shows the participants' strategies to enhance students' motivation in online learning.…”

“…Teachers should understand the students' needs so they can be more motivated during online learning. Otherwise, students will not be interested in learning if the teachers do not pay attention and understand their needs (Hung and Ai, 2021). Once they have lost their motivation in learning, students barely follow the teaching-learning process and it becomes not meaningful.…”