EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY: CURRENT PRACTICES AT A CENTER OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN VIETNAM

Teachers with a high level of target language proficiency are believed to be more self-efficacious and more competent to provide good models of language usage and to undertake various teaching tasks in the target language effectively. Having a good command of English is a necessary qualification for successful teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL). In the Vietnamese teaching and learning context, EFL teachers are required to have proper professional qualifications, and English proficiency is an important quality for teaching effectiveness. With the aim to examine teachers’ perceptions towards English proficiency, this descriptive study was conducted with 33 EFL teachers at a center of foreign languages through an online survey. The results showed that teachers recognized the necessity of having English qualifications and had positive perceptions towards the English proficiency requirements. The study is beneficial for both teachers and educational administrators to have an insight into the importance of language proficiency for teaching quality. Important recommendations for successful proficiency development were also discussed.  Article visualizations: