This paper reports the findings of an investigation into English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ self-efficacy and their classroom management in the context of the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The paper also aims to find out what makes teachers different in terms of skills in classroom management. The study was designed as a descriptive mixed-methods one, using a questionnaire, focus group interviews, and classroom observations to collect data. Forty-six EFL teachers from three high schools responded to the questionnaire. Twelve got involved in the semi-structured interviews, and six as classroom observed teachers. Two group interviews were conducted with the participation of three vice-principals and three heads of English teams. The results indicated a significant interaction between EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and their classroom management skills. Teachers who own a higher level of self-efficacy showed to manage their classes in a more confident and purposive manner than those with a lower level of self-efficacy. Three main reasons differentiating teachers’ skills in classroom management, including pre-service teacher education, previous attending continuing professional development events, and teacher’s learning autonomy were detected. Case-based teaching, organizational learning, and lesson study are recommended in pre-service teacher education and in-service teacher professional development activities to enhance teachers’ self-efficacy and their classroom management.

This two-year action research study examines how incorporating ‘The Writing Revolution’ (TWR) strategies and adapting task complexity can improve TESOL students' expository writing in secondary education in Cyprus. A total of eighty-three students (12-17 years old) from various first language (L1) backgrounds and CEFR levels (A1-B2) participated from six lower secondary (LS) and upper secondary (US) state classrooms. The methodology involved spending one-quarter of students' weekly class time on the learning and application of TWR techniques in their L2/EFL writing. Overall, 90-180 activities were completed successfully, and cognitively undemanding and context-embedded writing tasks gave way to more complex and cognitively demanding tasks to suit students’ differing proficiency levels. Qualitative analysis of students’ writing and focus group discussions indicated that writing improved coherence, organization, and complexity. Students expressed feelings of reduced anxiety and improved confidence in English writing. These findings highlight the importance of dedicating time to teaching writing explicitly in L2/FL classrooms and gradually increasing task complexity beginning at the sentence level. This study’s unique contribution demonstrates how TWR strategies can be effectively tailored to L2/FL contexts and offer practical implications for TESOL curriculum developers, researchers, and educators seeking to improve students’ writing confidence in FL and lessen writing anxiety in the classroom.

A large body of evidence demonstrates that cooperative learning promotes reading achievement.  Cooperative learning is based on Social Interdependence Theory, which holds that learners benefit from leveraging cooperative effort to achieve individual and mutual goals. Student-generated questioning (SGQ) is a cooperative learning strategy that promotes learning through an iterative self and peer-assessment process. SGQ has yielded mixed results among lower-proficiency language users, where linguistic and cultural barriers can impede efficacy. Providing students with pre-training, procedural prompts, and language modeling has proven effective. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design was employed to determine the impact of a highly scaffolded SGQ strategy on reading comprehension in two intact CEFR-A2 reading classes (n = 62) over a 16-week semester at a Japanese university. The Cambridge A2 Key Test was administered before and after the reading intervention. Parametric test results revealed SGQ had no significant effect on any of the five reading subskills. Further discussion of findings and recommendations may prove instructive for reading educators and researchers of low-proficiency English students in Japan and other East Asian contexts.

Speaking is one of the most challenging skills in studying English, raising concerns among many English teachers about how to help improve their students’ speaking performance. While many shy students prefer to work individually, others indicate their competence in group work. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of group discussion in authentic role-play on the speaking performance of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) young learners at a suburban primary school in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Participants in this study include 80 students: an experimental group (N=40) and a control group (N=40). During six weeks of the role-play session, experimental group students will work in groups, whereas the control group’s participants will prepare individually. Pre-tests and post-tests were employed to examine the students’ speaking performance, and interviews are conducted to compare students’ perceptions of the two role-play formats. The results from the speaking test show that the scores of the experimental group were higher than those of the control group. In the experimental group, five components are improved: pronunciation, content, vocabulary, grammar, and fluency. In contrast, only three components (pronunciation, content, and grammar) are enhanced in the control group. The findings from the interviews revealed that students of both group discussion and individual work engaged in role-play activities and substantially improved their language skills. However, they also faced some challenges in effectively using the two formats of role-play during speaking lessons.