Repositioning and Modifying the Contemporary Approach to English Language Education for Vietnamese Graduate Employability Enhancement

This chapter summarizes the main findings of the previous chapters to tease out the key messages of the whole book project. We note down the contribution of English language education to the development of Vietnamese students’ employability and its influence on their career prospects. We also provide a clearer picture of how English language education has been conducted in Vietnamese higher education institutions, amidst the vigorous English language teaching and learning reforms in the country. Identifying the limitations of English language education in preparing students for the world of work, we argue that there is a pressing need to consider changing the approach to English language education, focusing more on the use of the language at the workplace and moving away from testing students’ acquisition of linguistic abilities or introducing cultural snap-shot of English speaking countries. Extending Kumaravadivelu’s (Beyond methods, Yale University Press, 2003) macro-strategic framework, we propose a new approach to English language teaching and learning that can better foster the development of Vietnamese graduates’ employability.