Model of Educating Traditional Cultural Values for English Language Teacher Education Students in Hanoi, Viet Nam

Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, M.A. 

Faculty of Applied Linguistics, International School-Vietnam National University.

INTRODUCTION

In global integration context which is stated by Tran Ngoc Trung (2018) “above all are the English language integration and information technology integration” (p.343), educating Vietnam’s traditional cultural values for students in general and students whose major is English Language Teacher education in particular plays an important role for the stable development of the country. As a future English teacher, with good competence in English, if English Language Teacher Education students are educated about traditional cultural values adequately and systematically, they can pass the values to their high-school students in the future and make foreign friends comprehend Vietnamese traditional cultural values. Therefore,  traditional  cultural  value education  for  these students  is  a  unique  and  important  task  in  universities (Sy, 2020). In order to make the process of educating students about traditional cultural values successful, a model of traditional cultural value education needs to be made to help universities understand the process of traditional cultural values more visually and clearly. 

Corresponding Author: Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen

*Cite this Article: Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen (2022). Model of Educating Traditional Cultural Values for English Language Teacher Education Students in Hanoi, Viet Nam. International Journal of Social Science and Education Research Studies, 2(7), 287-293

LITERATURE REVIEW

• Model of traditional cultural value education

According to Hoang P. (2010), “Model is a concise representation for an object’s typical features based on a certain means to study about the object”. Based on Vietnamese Wikipedia, model is “a demonstration of the relationship between knowledge and people about the subject. Model is not only a means but also one of the intellectual demonstrations. In relationship with theory, model is not only a research engine for possibilities to realize theory but it is also an instrument to find out whether the mechanism, the relation, the rule of law in the theory exist or not.” This kind of model is the conceptual model.

Besides, Albert Hornby (2000) stated that there was another way to comprehend model, which is “a copy of something, usually smaller than the original object”.  This kind of model is material model.

In scientific educational study, model is considered to be a conceptual one, which presents the most important factors of a system, and describes the characteristics of the factors as well as the relation among the factors. L. Yilmaz et al (2015) in “Conceptual modeling: definition, purposes and benefits” stated that model is a system that illustrates the mechanism and characteristics of the factors based on a given format”. Thai D. T. (2010) shared the same viewpoint when claiming that model is a conception of an object or a phenomenon’s mechanism with the following features: equality, basis, typicalness, and visuality. Therefore, the conceptual model can reflect the most typical features of a system that needs to be researched. 

Educational model, according to Nguyen H. T. (2014) is “a design that represents researcher’s ideas, describes the core of the factors, activities and correlation in an educational institution with another one”. So, educational model can be perceived as a conceptual model that reproduces essential factors of one educational system as well as the relation and operation of these factors”. Educational model consists of the following factors education policies, education approaches, education content, education methods, education media, education forces, education subjects, etc.

Based on the above-mentioned comprehension of education model, the author of the paper regards model of traditional cultural value education as “a conceptual model, which can show the nature of the factors of the process of traditional cultural value education, presents the correlation among these factors in an educational institution as well as between an educational institution and related institutions in organizing, instructing and stimulating learners’ willing and active activities to help them have comprehension of traditional cultural values and make these values turn into learners’ inner values, meet the demand of the society.” 

• Factors of the model of traditional cultural value education 

As stated above, education model is viewed from educational process, so the factors of the model are also the factors done in the process of organizing educational activities at universities. System-mechanism approach considers educational process to “exist as a complete system” and consists of the basic factor as below: education purpose and tasks, education content, means and methods, educators, learners and education results (Nguyen V.H & Ha T.D, 2002). Traditional cultural value education is also an educational process with a certain organization with unique features modified in the factors such as: purpose, tasks, content, educational methods and assessment methods.

• Objectives of traditional cultural value education

Value education in general and traditional cultural value education in particular in an integral part of the complete education process, helping to form a value orientation system for students in compatibility with social value education. 

According to Pham V. H. (2013), value education needs to make learners: 1) understand individual values; 2) be aware of the fact that individual values have close relationship with social values. 3) form and develop value system; 4) show individual values in everyday life; 5) help learners find out how to get based on the values they created and require society to evaluate values, individual correctly, to encourage people to utilize these potentials. 6) know how to evaluate other’s values and self-evaluate their own values. 

Specifically, traditional cultural values are to help learners: 

• Be fully and deeply aware of the traditional cultural values stated in the education purposes.
• Respect and have high opinion of these traditional cultural values; criticize the behavior against traditional cultural values. 
• Have behavior and activities compatible to traditional cultural values. 

• Content of traditional cultural value education

Content of traditional cultural value education is the system of traditional cultural values that helps students to form their own value orientation in accordance with social expectations at a certain historical period of time. This system is selected from the national culture, is integrated into the content of the courses, the educational activities or is designed as separate modules at university. The selection of these traditional cultural values must be based on the certain principles at a particular historical era. In global integration context, traditional cultural values to be educated for English language Education Teacher students must be both representative for Vietnamese cultural identity and representative for universal values. Besides, these values must be suitable to the students’ psychological, biological and training characteristics (as a foreign language teacher in the future)

The core traditional cultural values needs to be educated for students are: patriotism, benevolence, unity, diligence, eagerness for learning, honesty, modesty, bravery, loyalty, optimism, etc.

• Methods of educating traditional cultural values

Among the factors of education process in general and traditional cultural value education process in particular, methods of education is an important one. According to Hoang P. (1995), educational method is a system of ways to organize an educational activity. More specifically, educational method reflects the ways to organize an educational process, the diverse activities of teachers and learners to transform the moral, lifestyle, artistic and cultural requirements of society into students’ personality and quality (Tran T.T.O, 2005).

In traditional cultural value education, the following forms of activities can be held for students: 

– International Forum for English Language Teacher Education students about traditional cultural values with the attendance and participation of international students in which English is used as the main language 

– Excursions to museums and galleries related to cultural traditions. 

– Travels to historical places so that students can have real-life experience; nurture their belief and knowledge of traditional cultural values; have good attitudes towards these values; and have correct behaviors based on these values.

– Debates about traditional cultural values and the values against cultural traditions. The debate can be in English if there are international students attending.

– Online and offline contests about traditional cultural values for English language teacher education students

– Projects assigned to students with the topic of traditional cultural values 

– Traditional Music and traditional musical instrument performance for students, etc.

2.4. Assessment of traditional cultural value education 

Assessment plays an important role in an educational process. Assessment not only evaluate students’ the current situation and adjust students’ activities but it also evaluate teachers’ the current situation and adjust their activities (Tran B. H, 1995). In educating students about traditional cultural values under the current context, assessment needs to be turned from knowledge assessment into capability assessment which consists of students’ awareness, attitudes and behaviors in practical relationship with other people and society. In addition, competence-based assessment for students can be done in various ways: teacher’s assessment, student-student assessment and student’s self- assessment. In traditional cultural value education the following methods can be applied: interview, assignment, observation, case-study in which students can show their own opinion relating to traditional cultural values.  Assessment in traditional cultural value education not only relates to assessing knowledge and attitudes but more importantly, it also relates to assessing students’ behaviors and activities.

MODEL OF TRADITIONAL CULTURAL VALUE EDUCATION FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

1. 1. Principles of making the model of traditional cultural value education for English language teacher education

• The proposed model needs to fit with the approaches of traditional cultural value education

Traditional cultural value education can be implemented in a variety of approaches: through university education, through family education, through mass media, through cultural academic environment, through student’s self-education. Among these approaches, university education, which is highly scientific, plays an important role in orienting the rest ones. Model of traditional cultural value needs to be in compatible with the above-mentioned approaches.

• The proposed model needs to fit with the conditions of the university with English Language Teacher education major

Model of traditional cultural value education as stated in the previous part represents the nature of the important factors and the interactive relationship among these factors. In order to operate the model in educational institutions, the proposed model must be suitable with the practical conditions of the university with English Language Teacher Education major, needs to have adequate labor forces (including managing staff, lecturers, officials), adequate facilities, policies of traditional cultural values, finance and other necessary conditions. 

• The proposed model needs fit with the university-level objectives and objectives of innovation in university education

As stated in the Vietnam’s Congress Official Documents, objectives of university education is to “train the learners so that they can have political and moral qualities, knowledge, career practical skills, research competence, health, creativity and job responsibilities, adaption to working environment”. Hence, university education must create the students who are both “well-educated” and “well-behaved; accordingly, university education should not only focus on teaching knowledge but also on developing good personality. In international integration, under the influence of market economy, the mission of developing good personality becomes ultimately important. Hence, model of traditional cultural value education need to realize the objectives of university education related to students’ qualities and competences.  

1. The proposed model needs to inherit and learn from the national and international experience in traditional cultural value education 

Currently, traditional cultural value education for young generation has been paid a lot of attention by foreign government and people as well as Vietnamese Communist Party and researchers. There were not a few foreign and domestic studies on traditional cultural value education. The proposed model must learn from, inherit from the national and international experience in educating students about traditional cultural values.

1. The proposed model needs to correspond to the concept of model of traditional cultural values 

As mentioned in the previous part, model of traditional cultural value education is a conceptual model, which can show the nature of the factors of the process of traditional cultural value education, presents the correlation among these factors in an educational institution as well as between an educational institution and related institutions in organizing, instructing and stimulating learners’ willing and active activities to help them have comprehension of traditional cultural values and make these values turn into learners’ inner values, meet the demand of the society. Consequently, the propose model need to represent the key factors, and their relations as well as the way to operate the model so as to turn the traditional cultural values of the society into student’s own values. 

1. Model of educating English language Teacher Education students about traditional cultural values

Based on the above-mentioned principles, the model of traditional cultural values for English Language Teacher Education students is proposed as below.

This model consists of the following factors:

2.1. Objective of traditional cultural value education

Educating English Language Teacher Education students about traditional cultural values is to transform the national traditional cultural values to student’s own values, which partly contributes to the development of student’ s competences and qualities as future English teacher, meet the society demands and expectations. 

2.2. Content of traditional cultural value education for students

Content of traditional cultural value education is the system of values that needs to educate for students. 

Selection of the content of traditional cultural value education should be based on the following principles:

+ Firstly, the traditional cultural values must be the ones that are representative, typical of Vietnam’s culture, and compatible with the universal ones. English Language Teacher Education with the language use competence will become medium to introduce and propagandize Vietnamese culture to international friends. 

+ Besides, the selected values need to be suitable with the features of students’ future career (as an English teacher) and their psycho-biological characteristics. 

Based on these two principles, the following traditional cultural values need to be educated for students: patriotism, benevolence, respect for teachers, eagerness for studying, diligence, etc. 

2.3. Methods of traditional cultural value education

Methods of traditional cultural value education is the unified and collaborative way between instructors and learners in a specific educational condition to realize  the purpose of education, in order to transfer the necessary values in to the inner value system of each student.

Below are the ways the employ some common methods that can be used to educate students about traditional cultural values:

Case study method

In this method, real-life stories (using the real-life cases in everyday life) are used to verify an issue. Lectures can let students read the real-life stories or watch videos about real-life examples. These cases must fit with the lesson content, must be suitable with student’s level and the length of the story can depend on the total amount of time given to the lesson.

– Procedure:

+ Step 1: Student reads (or watch/listen to) the case.

+ Step 2: Student ponders over the case. Student can write down their opinion before discussing the case with other students

+ Step 3: Students discuss the case based on the questions given by the teacher

*In traditional cultural value education, teacher can let students study the real-life stories or any story written based on the real life, in which there are behaviors for or against traditional cultural values. After that, students will distinguish the good from the bad ones, conform to the demonstrations of traditional cultural values.

Discussion method

In this method, the class is divided into small groups, the members of each group based on the task division to take part in the discussion in a certain length of time. After that, each group is going to present their ideas in front of the class and get the feedbacks from the teacher, classmates and self- evaluate to adjust their group activities.

Procedure:

+ Step 1 – Working with the whole class: Teacher introduces the topic for discussion and assign the tasks to the different groups. This includes three sub-steps: Topic introduction; task assigning to the groups; group division

+ Step 2 – Working in groups to discuss

This steps includes the following sub-steps: the groups prepare working location; make the working plan; agree on working principles; discuss and select the group’s opinions; prepare to report the group work results

+ Step 3 – Working with the whole class: The groups present the group’s opinions in front of the class. This step consists of two su-steps: each group takes turn to present their ideas; teacher and other students evaluate the group’s ideas. 

*In traditional cultural value education, teacher can ask students to discuss the topics relating to traditional cultural values, by which the significance and roles of these values can be clarified, and teacher can encourage students to have behaviors and activities conforming to traditional cultural values. 

Debate method

In this method, teacher proposes an issue for student to evaluate. Students will be divided into two groups: one group is for the issue, the other is against it. Students in each group will have time to discuss to give reasons and arguments to defend their group’s ideas and refute the other group’s ideas by using critical thinking. 

Procedure:

+ Step 1: identify the topic for debate

+ Step 2: Assign the tasks, students study about the debate topic

+ Step 3: Organize the debate

*In traditional cultural value education, teacher can give the issues concerning traditional cultural values for students to debate. After discussing, students in the groups will give their arguments, reasons and evidences to defend or protest the opinions or ideas related to traditional cultural values. 

Problem – solving method

This is the method in which teacher gives student the problematic situation, and students will analyse, comprehend the real-life problem or situation to find out the suitable solution.

Procedure:

+ Step 1: teacher proposes the problematic situation

+ Step 2: Students analyze the situation and find out the causes of  the problem

+ Step 3: Students list the solutions

+ Step 4: Students choose the best solution

*In traditional cultural value education, Teacher can give the problematic situation related to traditional cultural values; students will consider and analyze the situation to find the suitable solution.

2.4. Means of traditional cultural value education

Means of traditional cultural value education are the material tools which carry information or convey related information of traditional cultural values used by teacher and students to help students comprehend and apply traditional cultural values.

Means of traditional cultural value education can include the following items:

– Audio & Visual tools: TV serials, cassettes, CDs, VCDs, DVDs (which mentions the case/ stories/ events related to traditional cultural values); projector, cassette, etc.

– Printed publications: books, newspaper, poster, articles, poems, idioms, folk songs or studying handouts relating to traditional cultural values.

2.5. Assessment of traditional cultural value education 

Assessment of traditional cultural value education needs to mention the three aspects in the value formation process, which are: awareness, attitudes and behaviours. Specifically, it is important to assess student’s awareness of the traditional cultural values and the significance of these values, to assess student’s attitudes (approve or disapprove) of the traditional cultural values as well as student’s behaviours demonstrating traditional cultural values; to assess student’s activities related to traditional cultural values in practical situations.

Assessment tools assist teachers in collecting information about traditional cultural value education. Some assessment tools that can be used in traditional cultural value education for students are listed as below: 

+ Written tests: used to measure student’s cognitive performance or student’s attitudes; there are two types of written test: multiple choice tests and constructed response tests.

+ Assessment form based on criteria: teacher will design the form with indicators (to assess awareness, attitudes and behaviours) and assess students based on the form. 

+ Observation form: the behaviours demonstrating traditional cultural values are listed in the observation form, by which the teacher can assess student’s performance and students themselves can assess the progress and results of traditional cultural value education process. 

+ Interview questions: teacher can identify student’s multiple-perspective thoughts of traditional cultural values based on the student’ answers. 

+ Practice exercise: Teacher can assess traditional cultural value education through student’s role-play, student’s analysis of situation or through group activity minutes. 

+ Oral test: Students present their opinions of traditional cultural values and teacher assesses their presentation based on given criteria. 

+ Project products: Project products are reports, pictures, photos, poster, video clips, etc. about  traditional cultural values or can be the scientific products or performances (new songs, plays, or story-telling about traditional cultural values. 

2.6. Educational resources of traditional cultural value education for English Language Teacher Education students 

The forces that participate in the traditional cultural value education process are: 

– Board of directors of the university: responsible for directing and controlling the process of traditional cultural value education at university. Specifically, Board of directors take responsibility in making the plan of traditional cultural value education, allocate the human resources, creating the university’s educational philosophy, encouraging university staff to take part in creating healthy academic environment … Board of directors of the university are also in charge of directing Youth Union, Student’ s Association to propagandize the activities of traditional cultural value education, making them appealing to staff and students alike. 

– Leaders of Youth Union and Student’ s Association: These people play a very important role in organizing the activities of traditional cultural value education like field trips, excursion, travelling to historical places, or places with cultural heritage; folk song performance, traditional musical instruments, contest about traditional cultural values, etc.

– Administration staff and Student’s Affairs staff: these officials need to cooperate with Yout Union and Student’s Association. They are also the people to cooperate with lectures and student’s family in organizing the activities to educate students about traditional cultural values. 

– Deans of Faculty of English language Teacher Education: only when Deans of Faculty of English language Teacher Education approve of the policy of traditional cultrural education, can the content of traditional cultural value education be English language Teacher Education d into the courses in the English language Teacher Education programs. They also need to encourage and create good conditions for lecturers to integrate the content of traditional cultural value education into the content of the courses in the program. 

– Lectures who teach courses of English Language Teacher Education program: the lecturers are in charge of delivering the integrated lessons in which traditional cultural values will be taught. 

– Student’s family: Students’ families are responsible for building a cultural lifestyle, cooperating with universities which have English Language Teacher Education major in encouraging students to participate in the activities related to traditional cultural values and perform the behaviors demonstrating traditional cultural values. 

– Means of mass media: these have an important role in propagandizing, popularizing the policies of traditional cultural values; in complimenting the good examples of the people who can demonstrate traditional cultural values in everyday life, and good examples of universities which can create healthy cultural environment, etc.

2.7. Necessary conditions to operate the model of traditional cultural values for English Language Teacher Education students

In order that the model of traditional cultural values for English Language Teacher Education students can be operated, there are necessary conditions stated below:
– It is necessary to have government’s policies of traditional cultural value education. Currently there have been some policies of culture such as National Strategy for the development of Vietnamese cultural industries to 2020, with a vision to 2030; Resolution No 33-NQ/TW of the 9th Meeting of the Party Central Committee of the 11th tenure on building and developing Vietnamese culture and people meeting the demand for national sustainable development. However, there need to have more policies of traditional cultural value education. 
– It is necessary to have the approval of the whole society. In recent years, traditional cultural value education has been paid more attention. Nevertheless, it is important to have the agreement, support of the whole society. (local organizations, offices, businesses, …) so that traditional cultural value education is not the task of a particular institutional educations but it is also the task of all the people in the society. 

– It is necessary to have enough finance and adequate facilities. The finance is given by government or collected from organizations, businesses, etc. in society. Besides, the facilities like classroom, functional rooms or, ect. or equipment like laptop, projector, speaker, etc. are also necessary.

– Managers and lecturers need to be well-qualified and competent in educating English Language Teacher Education about traditional cultural values. This is the key requirement for the model of traditional cultural value education can be operated as these people will contribute the major part in the effectiveness of the application of the model of traditional cultural value education into practice.

These conditions must be combined so that the model of traditional cultural value education can be operated in real life. 

CONCLUSION

The model of traditional cultural values is regarded by the writer of this paper as a conceptual one, which shows the nature of the factors of the process of traditional cultural value education, presents the correlation among these factors in an educational institution as well as between this educational institution and related institutions in organizing, instructing and stimulating learners’ willing and active activities to help them have comprehension of traditional cultural values and make these values turn into learners’ inner values. The construction of proposed model must be based on some principles. In the proposed model, the major factors are: objectives, approaches, content, methods of education, and means of education, assessment, educational resources and necessary conditions. It is important to implement the conditions synchronously in order that the model of traditional cultural value educations can be operated in reality.

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