The increasing demand for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors throughout Asia, particularly in Vietnam, has resulted in a large diaspora of both native and non-native teachers to assist students in improving their English language proficiency. The objective of the research was to conduct an inquiry into the personal experiences of non-native speakers teaching EFL in Vietnam and the essence attributed to it. This study utilized a comprehensive semi-structured interview with 12 non-native English-speaking teacher-participants from Philippines, Vietnam, Netherlands, Venezuela, Brazil, Spain, India, Ghana, Russia, France, Ukraine, and Poland. The study revealed major themes namely: Professional Rewards, Personal growth and contentment, Promotions and Career Opportunities, Professional Predicaments, and Personal Drive. The benefits of non-native English-speaking instructor in Vietnam were all emphasized, including the strong demand for EFL Jobs, simpler hiring processing, and many advancement possibilities. There were professional issues on discrimination and biases from employers aside from the racism experienced by students. Despite the challenges encountered, there were relevant pieces of advice shared to cope with the challenges such as getting qualified, adapting to culture, and possessing passion and optimism towards teaching as non-native teaching in Vietnam.

This study investigated the effects of different sequential arrangements of informal and formal cooperative learning (CL) on students' motivation, basic psychological needs, and perception of the value of CL in university classrooms. Students in two university EFL classes engaged in both types of CL in a different order. At the end of the study, they were asked to reflect on their CL experiences. Written student comments were collected and analyzed using KH-coder, a text mining system. Results showed that students who participated in formal, then informal CL, seemed to focus more on their lack of English language competence and were less intrinsically motivated than students in the other class. Students who engaged in informal, then formal CL, appeared to build feelings of peer compassion and have higher intrinsic motivation. Findings suggest that teachers should attend to the sequence of engagement when conducting informal and formal CL in university EFL classrooms.

Teachers’ motivation has become a critical issue in the field of education. Understandings of teachers’ motivation for a career choice, and motivation for staying in the profession can be useful for educators, policy makers, and school leaders in finding effective ways to sustain and improve teachers’ motivation. In order to achieve this objective, the current study examined Vietnamese university EFL teachers’ motivation and teachers' basic psychological need satisfaction through the lens of Self-Determination Theory. Data were collected from 104 survey questionnaires and 30 in-depth interviews completed by EFL teachers from 14 universities in Vietnam. Findings suggested that Vietnamese EFL university teachers could be simultaneously intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to become an EFL teacher, and to stay in EFL teaching. However, teachers’ intrinsic motivation was reported higher than the extrinsic motivation. Although teaching is not a well-paid profession in Vietnam, many teachers said that they were committed to teaching because of the intrinsic values of the profession. Moreover, relationships between teachers' intrinsic motivation for EFL teaching and the satisfaction of teachers' basic psychological needs were identified. Findings of the current study suggested that enhancing the satisfaction of teachers' basic psychological needs at work can result in a high level of teachers' intrinsic motivation and commitment to EFL teaching and. This supports the importance of teachers' basic psychological need satisfaction and intrinsic motivation in the quality of EFL teaching as well as teachers' well-being. The study is concluded with practical implications and future research suggestions.

This study measured the effects on certain aspects of motivation for students learning English following a ten-week, multi-cultural virtual exchange project. Participants interacted both synchronously and asynchronously with other non-native English speakers from eleven different countries in an effort to make friends, share cultural interests, and practice English in a real-world, non-classroom setting. At the end of the project, participants were asked to complete a survey based on Dӧrnyei’s concept of the ideal L2 self (2005) and Yashima’s theories on international posture (2009) about how their motivations for learning English had changed. The study suggests that extended interactions in a virtual exchange improves participants’ view of themselves as capable speakers, their motivation to become a better speaker for their ideal future and gives them a broader perspective on their view of their place in the wider world, while motivations for learning English as a responsibility towards others was decreased.

When students learn a second language (L2), their cognition and perceptions may be influenced by various social and environmental factors at the same time (Csizér, 2019). Understanding the underlying constructs of the L2 Motivational Self-System (L2MSS) (Dörnyei, 2005) becomes vital for language learners and teachers alike, as it plays a key role in directing the success or failure of the language learning process in the language. Dörnyei's L2MSS is composed of three constructs that direct learners’ behaviour: the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self, and the L2 learning experience. This literature review focuses on the L2MSS in English writing through the process writing approach — one of the writing approaches theorized by Hyland (2021) — which centres on the writer and describes writing in terms of the processes used to create texts, and which emphasizes the personal creativity of the individual writer, the cognitive processes of writing and the writer’s immediate context.

In accordance with Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis, I have developed a process of using a key moment of classroom time to lower students’ affective filter. Many educators and students have experienced those bone chilling silent moments that occur 5-10 minutes before class begins. Over the years, I have found that by engaging students during those brief 5-10 minutes before class begins, creates an environment that lowers students’ anxiety, increases their motivation, and nurtures a positive attitude.

For this workshop, I will share five methods to engage your students during the 5-10 minutes before class starts. After discussing these five methods, participants in the workshop will be able to discuss and practice how they would implement the five methods to engage students before class starts. The five methods in theme are: music, games, names, follow-up inquiry, and humility.

The South Korean English education sector is constantly being pulled in different directions by an array of ideological shifts that are both local and global in origin. Although the ideological complexes that interact to create these shifts impact the actions ELT practitioners, they are often left unarticulated in ELT discourses. To better appreciate ideologies surrounding the English language in South Korea, this presentation discusses the beliefs of foreign and South Korean teachers of English who work in private academies. In-depth data was collected through the medium of bio questionnaires, narrative frames, and interviews. Results reveal how both sets of teachers were influenced by a complex of unacknowledged ideologies that included Confucianism, neoliberalism, and globalization. When interpreted through the notions of capital, investment, and identity, findings reveal further implications related to English language teaching practices, students’ developing language identities, and possible changes in the future linguistic policy in the South Korean context.

The research regarding the English-learning experiences of North Korean refugees is small yet expanding. However, current studies have focused almost entirely on North Koreans located in South Korea. This presentation will report key findings from a case study of six North Koreans living in the U.S.A. Results will be compared with current literature and explore differences among those who studied English in South Korea versus in the United States. Focal points will include the importance of learning English in relation to the participants’ goals, how those goals varied among students in both countries, and suggestions that the participants made in reflection to their learning experiences – both in the classroom and among peers. Attendees can expect to come away with practical considerations for refugee students they may encounter in a post-secondary English classroom as well as an enhanced awareness of the needs of North Korean refugees, including questions for further research in the field.

Anxiety has long been known to impact the processes of second language acquisition in salient ways (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986; Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015). Anxiety is clearly one of the most important emotional issues that face L2 learners, and research is needed to understand its impact. The current study sought to investigate 2 Japanese university students’ emotive states through language learner diaries and semi-structured interviews. The duration of the study is one semester (5-6 weeks) for each participant, and the research specifically examines the influence of anxiety on the participants’ language learning experiences, the influence of key persons, and their overseas experiences. The results revealed that some key factors such as adequate comprehension and frequent interaction with foreigners were necessary to overcome their language learning anxiety. Attendees to the presentation will be able to gain insights into both positive and negative factors that can affect anxiety for L2 learners.