Exploring the gap between Vietnamese workplace communication in English and English language teaching at a university

This study is set in the globalising context of international companies relocating their businesses to Vietnam in increasing numbers. Drawing on qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews, observations and post-observation discussions, it explores how a sample of fourteen information technology graduates communicate in English at the workplace and to what extent the English education provided at the university (in Ho Chi Minh City, specializing in information technology) that they had all recently graduated from meets such needs. Findings reveal a gap between the communication in English required at the Vietnamese workplace and the use of materials and methods for English language teaching at their former university. This prompts a re-assessment of the extent to which English education at this university
currently provides the support graduating students need. The study offers
recommendations, in terms of both the design of materials and the professional development of teachers, to address the gap identified, so that information technology graduates in such contexts can enter the workplace with the English that will enable them to communicate more effectively.