TEACHING ENGLISH TO NON-MAJORS: CHANGES AND ORIENTATIONS

Abstract

This paper describes the job of teaching English to non-majors as the mandates and functions of the Faculty of English in Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU), and relates it to English teaching in Vietnam in general where relevant. Our approaches and orientations in teaching and researching English for non-majors are also presented in this general context. Thus, the paper begins with an overview of the Faculty of English, its mandates and functions before mapping the changes in the pedagogical approaches to English teaching over different periods of the Faculty’s development. The paper then ends with some orientations for the time ahead.