AN EVALUATION OF THE OXFORD ENGLISH HUB: INSIGHTS FROM ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN VIETNAM

Abstract

The Oxford English Hub for Q: Skills for Success is a digital platform developed by Oxford University Press to enhance the effectiveness of the Q: Skills for Success coursebook series. At the School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University, the platform has recently been adopted as a tool for homework practice. However, no studies have yet examined how it benefits teachers and students, or what limitations it may present within the institution. Therefore, this mixed-methods research is conducted to evaluate the online practice platform of Q: Skills for Success series at the School of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University in terms of its benefits and limitations. Through a survey with 559 students and an interview with 9 teachers from the English Department in the second semester of the school year 2024-2025, the research finds out specific strengths and limitations of the online practice platform. The findings, derived from both quantitative analysis using descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic analysis of interview transcripts, show that the majority of the participants agree that Oxford English Hub offers more strengths than limitations such as being friendly and easy to navigate, appropriateness, consistency in terms of the content and various task types for language skill practice. Therefore, most participants demonstrate high satisfaction ratings with the platform. Further recommendations by the interviewees may provide suggestions for publishers to improve their online practice system as well as for teachers to adapt it fitly in their educational context.