"VIETNAMESE EFL PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ BELIEFS TOWARD THE USE OF TASK-BASED READING COMPREHENSION TASKS IN ENHANCING LEARNERS’ VOCABULARY AT A UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM"

Abstract

"This qualitative study investigates Vietnamese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers’ beliefs about the use of Task-based reading comprehension (TBRC) tasks for vocabulary development at a university in Vietnam. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten final-year students enrolled in an English Teacher Education program. The findings reveal broad consensus that TBRC is effective in enhancing vocabulary learning because it engages learners in meaningful, real-world tasks that require the use of textual information beyond answering traditional comprehension questions. Participants reported that TBRC promotes active vocabulary use, supports the shift from receptive to productive vocabulary knowledge, and improves retention, particularly of collocations and lexical chunks. Nevertheless, several challenges were identified, including large class sizes and exam-oriented curricula, which may limit effective implementation. To address these challenges, participants suggested selective pre-teaching of key lexical items, encouraging contextual inferencing, and systematically recycling vocabulary across task stages. Overall, the study suggests that the effectiveness of TBRC depends on task relevance, alignment with learners’ proficiency levels, and opportunities for meaningful vocabulary use in pursuit of clear communicative goals."