Using the transliteration method as a learning strategy in the English classroom in Vietnam

Abstract

The English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom setting focuses on teaching English as a foreign language in a classroom in a non-English speaking country. Based on this definition, teaching English to students in Vietnam is considered EFL students because English is not the official language of Vietnam. The purpose of this article is to better understand learning and teaching goals in the context of English as a foreign language classrooms. Teaching English as a foreign language has shifted from traditional methods such as the grammar translation method to more modern methods such as the communicative language method. The use of translanguaging learning in Vietnam has grown over a period of time due to the need, use and growth of the spread of English in the country. In the EFL classroom in Vietnam, learners are asked by teachers to perform tasks that resemble different real-life situations through the use of English. The most important reason behind the combination of both English and other Vietnamese languages is for learners to master the target language in a flexible way, through using the language as a new means of communication.