Let’s study the way English is taught at a polytechnic college nowadays in my city. Firstly, let me brief you on some information about the students. They come from a variety of background including some ethnic minority groups in Vietnam. English is considered a tool for their future jobs so they do not really care about grammar or writing. A number of students even resist the program simply because they feel like they are forced to learn. The majority of students see the importance of improving their English communication skills but they cannot defeat their laziness and procrastination. (https://caodang.fpt.edu.vn/tuyen-sinh-cao-dang-xet-tuyen?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=CD_FPT?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=CD_FPT&gclid=CjwKCAjw586hBhBrEiwAQYEnHdfm0G4RFVE0_Kkx3fmAelbIa6yu6BV6uR4kcW-A07f0b2vvJFk3NRoCSUkQAvD_BwE)

Now let’s examine the features of the program:

Architectonic: the way the the desks are arranged is not so much different from the conventional way. However, there are individual desks for each student so teachers can be flexible in terms of desk arrangments. The teacher can set it up in a way that they feel suitable for their lesson plan.

Discursive: students have the change to work in pairs or groups. They should not be left working alone. As a result, the interaction between students is encouraged. However, students tend to obey and comply with teacher’s instructions rather than work with their peers. This is probably because they used to be treated like that at primary and secondary schools.

Intersubjective: Learning activities are learner-oriented so that they become actively engaged in their own learning. They are also encouraged to make questions and become agents of knowledge making. They are supposed to watch online videos before they attend classes. That means they can actually find other ways of acquiring the knowledge if they find the videos uninteresting.

Socio-cultural: a curriculum is introduced and recommended to teachers but they can be flexible to modify and adjust it in a way that fit with the students of a specific class. The students’ needs and interests are important and the teachers take them into consideration when designing learning activities.

Proprietary: the lessons are more interactive with students working in groups to complete a task or a project assigned by their teacher. After demonstrating their work or projects, students receive feedback and comments from their peers. The teacher takes notes and summarizes at the end of the lesson.

Epistemological: the teachers have more freedom to supplement their lessons with materials and resources. Authentic texts are used for reading and listening to draw students’ interests. Teachers can also organize field trips or events to motivate learning. Tasks and assignments are given during the course and students can actively go online and do research for information.

Pedagogical: inquiry learning and active learning are the key factors. Students should actively participate in their learning activities. The curriculum is introduced to them on the first day of each course so that they know what they are expected to acquire. Later on, they could have their own way of building their knowledge for in-class activities. However, a number of students have failed to do so and they need extra support.

Moral: students are supposed to become active learners who take responsibilities and who actively prepare themselves for future careers. Sadly, a modest number of students could meet the expectation.