Beyond the Methodology Course: A Vietnamese Case of Methodology-and-Reflection Integrated Course for EFL In-Service Teachers

While reflective practice has become a buzzword in teacher education literature, the question concerning the teachability of reflection skills remains unanswered conclusively. This chapter reports on the outcome of a teacher education course which integrates reflective practice into an ELT methodology course in a Postgraduate Diploma Programme offered by a Hanoi-based university in Vietnam. The primary aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the possibilities and constraints of integrating reflective practice in a regular ELT methodology course, both as an innovation in teacher education and as a stepping stone to teachers’ engagement with the complexity and uncertainty of language teaching in the twenty-first century. The chapter suggests that while reflective practice may be fostered through formal training, the proceduralization of formally learnt reflective practice skills remains open to question. The chapter concludes with the course instructor’s own reflections, thereby suggesting issues that need further research regarding the teaching of reflective practice skills.