Quan Minh Dung is Academic Manager at Vietnam Australia International School (VAS), an English teacher at Vietnam-USA Society (VUS). He teaches programs such as iBT, IELTS and TOEIC. Mr. Dung had plans to study in Australia and the United States, but eventually chose to pursue a course in Vietnam, which, according to him, is “the most correct decision”. How come? Let’s find out.
Quan Minh Dung at Vietnam Australia International School where he is currently working as Academic Manager
Hello and welcome, Dung. In your opinion,what should students consider when choosing an appropriate course?
The impression of first contact is very important.
Taking my story with HANU-VU MTESOL program coordinators for instance. When I contacted them for help, their professional supports really made me happy. They encouraged me to apply for the course while facilitating the process. And right after receiving my PG transcript and application form, they accepted me after a 10-year hiatus.
The second important thing you need to consider is whether the knowledge gained from the course increase your professionalism in your workplace. Before attending this Master course, I had already taken important positions at international schools, such as Academic Coordinator or Head of Admissions Department. Such jobs were fine. I had experience, flexibility, and also the ability to quickly adapt to different working environments. Almost everything had gone smoothly as planned. However, deep down inside, I always felt missing something firm and steady.
Fortunately, HANU-VU MTESOL program met my requirements. The program provides people who are working in the education field with the necessary skills in order to constantly develop their competence. I always proudly tell my co-workers, as well as my students, that my most correct decision so far is taking the HANU-VU MTESOL course. The course helped me become really mature and professional at my age of nearly 40.
Quan Minh Dung with Professor Pat Drake, Dean of College of Education - Victoria University (left) and Dr. Nguyen Thi Cuc Phuong, Vice President - Hanoi University (right), September 2013
After completing the course, how did you apply the knowledge and methods learnt to your current job?
Everything that I learnt has helped me a lot in both jobs: managing and teaching, far beyond preparing good lectures.
For example, a teacher reports, “Student A shows signs of overload, irritability, and taciturnity, etc.” I would find out whether this also happens with student B, C or not. Then we can determine if students are not happy at school, and offer timely solutions on a large scale, to limit the consequences which are affecting students’study. This is particularly good for the management, in terms of people and professionalism. Taking advantage from this experience, I have built up a project called “Integrating knowledge, reducing pressure of study on students”. In this project, students have more time to participate in extracurricular activities. My research paper on Minimizing Translation Mistakes in the Writing Process by Using the Question-making Techniquewas approved and posted on JACE (The Journal of Asian Critical Education), whose editorial board are professors from all around the world (http://freireproject.org/wp-content/journals/jace/JACE2_2013_Vol2.pdf). Many of my Vietnamese and Southeast Asia colleagues have said that this work is very useful and really appreciate it.
Thank you very much for your sharings! We wish you further success in your future endeavours!