What a Difference!
It still amazes me how the teaching style is different from Canada. While preparing for Vietnam I had a rough imagination of how the classroom and teaching would be here. I had completed my middle school in India and the learning style was more standardized. The aspect of memorization was heavily influenced within our learnings. My classroom in India would consist of a blackboard, a projector, individual desks or desks where two students would sit together and fans. Within an English classroom we would be required to read passages and our teachers would provide the answers to the questions where we would then be told to write them down word-for-word and memorize them for the examinations. Having this background influenced my perception on how the school in Vietnam would be like. I thought that Vietnam would be a repetition of what I went through in India, however I was wrong! The way of learning English in Vietnam is more game-based than standardized, making learning more fun for students. The classroom setup is similar to India however in addition to fans, the classrooms have AC! Being hot within a classroom could affect both the teacher and students, so seeing the AC made me really happy! Around the school, there are also stairs that have multiplication and division equations on the steps in addition to motivational phrases. Furthermore, students are so happy to learn English which makes learning and teaching more enjoyable! Before starting my classes I am always swarmed around the most adorable students who do not want to let go! Their faces always light up when seeing us within their school and always rush to say hi or give us a hi-five! When entering the class for the first time, I was given the opportunity to introduce myself and the kids were so happy to see I tried talking in Vietnamese! Although my pronunciation was not great, the students got a grasp of what I was saying in addition to my teacher resaying my sentence properly in Vietnamese! Students were able to ask me a few questions about myself to get to know me and I was so happy to see their smiles and shyness on the first couple of days!
Having a game-based learning classroom was definitely something I did not imagine to see in Vietnam! Everyday in class, the teaching consists of games, singing, dancing and a lot of repetition from the students. Within all grades (1 to 5), teachers split the class in 2 groups and provide stars or tallies to the groups that do the best. At the end of the class, the group with the most stars gets a sticker. This form of learning encourages Vietnamese students to do their best in addition to creating a sense of willingness to participate. As a form of classroom management, my teacher has 3 techniques. She either rings the bell and students would quiet down or she would do the 1-2-3 method. When either her or myself says 1-2-3 students must stop talking and sit in an attentive position. The last technique is using the stars, if either group is doing better they receive a star however if they are being noisy or unattentive they lose a star. It was quite surprising to see the different classroom management techniques compared to what I have used in classes in Calgary.
An example of the star method used in class!
I have been paired up with a teacher who teaches grade 1 and 2 English and being in a EAL concentration it is quite interesting to see my learnings become realistic in Vietnam. I have learnt the benefits of using home language when learning English and being in a grade 1 and 2 classroom, the use of Vietnamese is prevalent within these classes. My teacher creates powerpoints that align with the teaching guide book provided to them. Within the guide book, a step-to-step lesson plan is provided in addition to various games that can be played within the classroom. Game-based learning is the teaching style that each English teacher uses in their classroom. Each powerpoint slide for all lessons has used the aspect of videos, songs, games and colorful pictures. Each presentation made by the teacher is so interactive which is so amazing to see! All of these combined together, helps the students learn basic English skills in a fun and enjoyable learning environment. While teaching the topic for the day, the teacher and myself use the form of repetition where students are required to repeat the word or phrase we are teaching. When repeating, it is interesting to see the class speak in unison, however it does get loud! Since English is a new language for grade 1 and 2’s, during my teaching when I notice the students are unable to understand me, my teacher then translates my sentences in Vietnamese allowing them to comprehend with ease.
This is one example of a Grade 1 powerpoint slide. Students are given the opportunity to refresh their minds on the previous content by playing the lucky flowers game. They would earn stars for correctly naming the object, in addition to earning extra stars if they select the ‘lucky’ flower. They begin to learn the letter K by repeating different words that begin with the same letter. Additionally, students play another game by hearing a sound and identifying the correct object.
This is one example of a Grade 2 powerpoint slide. Students are given a warm up where they are able to earn stars by guessing the correct image and if there is a candy the group gets a star. Students are learning the letter P and are able to sing and dance to a song while learning words such as pasta, pizza and popcorn.
Here is me teaching my first grade 2 class in Da Nang, Vietnam!
I was given the opportunity to observe other classes as well! I was able to notice the difference between my teachings in grade 1 and 2 in comparison to grade 3, 4 and 5. Vietnamese is more used within grade 1 and 2 whereas English is more spoken in grade 3, 4 and 5. Within a grade 5 classroom, it was interesting to see how students are able to hold a conversation with us! Another observation I made was that within a grade 1 and 2 classroom, students work less in their notebooks. They are provided 1-2 minutes to complete a section in their notebook and the remaining time is spent on singing, dancing and repetition. Whereas in a grade 3, 4 and 5 classroom, students are still singing, dancing and repeating however they are required to write down what is being taught in their notebook. It was also surprising to see that students would use a purple pen to write everything down and this is because the principal has told all students to write in this specific colour.
Traveling within Vietnam!
Before coming to Vietnam, I had worried about juggling everything. I would need to teach and complete course work given by the university, however I wondered how I could fit in traveling within the 2 months I spent in Vietnam. After coming here, I noticed that everything is possible! I am able to complete my school work, teach within the school as well as travel and explore Vietnam! The teachers within our school are so kind and flexible! With proper communication, we are able to work out a schedule that is both feasible for them and ourselves. Hiba (my travel bestie) and I have dedicated 3 days to the school, 2 days to do school work and 2 days to explore the beautiful cities in Vietnam! In addition to this set schedule, the lunch breaks are a great time to complete work! Coming from Canada to another country we would want to travel and explore each city. I mentioned my travel stories to my teacher and she was both happy and surprised! She mentioned how I traveled around the country more than herself! During the days off, Hiba and I have planned various places to see within Vietnam! We flew to Saigon and sent postcards to our friends and families! Additionally, we got to see the famous Cafe Apartment! It was so cool to see so many cafes in one building, however it was also interesting to see that people live in these buildings too! We also went to the walking street which had so many food restaurants and what stood out to me the most was their Indian restaurants! Being an Indian myself, I did not imagine having the ability to eat my kind of food in a different country! Apart from all the landmarks we saw in Saigon, we went to a cafe called Oasis Cafe and we were surrounded by a bunch of fishes! Another week of our traveling consisted of exploring Da Nang! What a beautiful city it is! We did an excursion that took us to the Marble Mountains, Lady Buddha statue and the My Son Sanctuary. Although it was a hot day, I was able to mark things off my bucket list by exploring these beautiful places. What made that day memorable was being caught in the rain! WE HAD NO PONCHOS OR UMBRELLA’s! Thankfully, we were able to buy some ponchos at a store however, we were drenched from the rain!
A fun get away to Saigon!
An adventurous time spent in Da Nang and being soaked in the rain!
The first few weeks in Vietnam have been so amazing! Learning new tips and tricks while teaching, making so many memories within the classroom and exploring the beautiful cities around Vietnam!