Journal of Foreign Language Studies

THE EMERGENCE AND USAGE OF THE TERM “CHỮ QUỐC NGỮ” IN LATE 19TH CENTURY WRITTEN DOCUMENTS

Vũ Đức Nghiệu — 2025-10-28

This article examines written documents from the late 19th century and concludes that the term “chữ quốc ngữ” first appeared in Gia Định Báo (Volume 1, January 15, 1867) and in Mẹo luật dạy học tiếng Pha-lang-sa (French Grammar Rules, early 1867) by Trương Vĩnh Ký. These findings indicate that the term may have emerged sometime between late 1866 and January 1867.
The expression “quốc ngữ tây tự” (“Western script for the national language”), which appeared in a government document issued by Governor Bonard, published in Gia Định Báo (Volume 2, 1863) in classical Chinese, may have conceptually influenced the later emergence of the term “chữ quốc ngữ”. Bonard’s corresponding French-language decree, published in the Bulletin officiel de l’Expédition de la Cochinchine (BOEC, Volume 5, 1863), referred to “chữ quốc ngữ” as caractères européens (European characters).
While Vietnamese people had already become familiar with the term “chữ quốc ngữ”, French colonial authorities in Cochinchina continued to use ‘caractères européens’ (European characters) or ‘caractères latins’ (Latin characters).
Several historical, linguistic, cultural, and social issues surrounding the term “chữ quốc ngữ” remain open for further scholarly investigation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE USE OF AIZUCHI IN CONVERSATIONS BY VIETNAMESE INTERMEDIATE LEARNERS OF JAPANESE

Nguyễn Thị Lan Anh — 2025-10-28

Aizuchi (back-channels) are essential elements of Japanese communication, expressing the listener’s attentiveness and empathy. This study examines the verbal use of aizuchi by Vietnamese intermediate learners of Japanese. The data consist of seven recorded and transcribed conversations between the learners and native Japanese speakers. Instances of aizuchi were extracted and analyzed from three perspectives: form, frequency and position within utterances. The findings indicate that while learners employ aizuchi to express interest, their lexical range remains limited, and usage frequency varies across individuals. Notably, aizuchi tend to occur at the end of utterances, demonstrating respect for the conversational flow and attentive reception of the interlocutor’s speech – a pattern different from that of native speakers. This study provides insights into aizuchi usage among Vietnamese learners and suggests implications for teaching Japanese conversational skills.

SYNTACTIC FEATURES OF JAPANESE PROVERBS IN SIMPLE SENTENCE FORM CONTAINING ANIMAL ELEMENTS

Nguyễn Thị Minh — 2025-10-28

This study examines 118 Japanese proverbs containing animal-related elements in simple sentence form, collected from various Japanese proverb dictionaries. Based on the definitions and classifications of simple sentences proposed by Japanese grammarians, this study applies semantic role coding to identify typical syntactic patterns. The findings reveal four key characteristics of these proverbs: (i) they generally conform to the basic order and syntactic relations of Japanese; (ii) syntactic markers and sentence components, such as subjects and predicates, are omitted; (iii) emphatic and inverted structures are used, often leading to clause ambiguity; and (iv) sentences with subjects, themes and verb predicates are the most common, with subjects and themes typically realized as animal nouns. These results offer practical implications for language teaching and translation, as well as a theoretical basis for contrastive studies of proverbs in Japanese and Vietnamese.

EMBODIED COGNITION AND THE CONVENTIONALITY OF LANGUAGE

Ngô Bảo Tín — 2025-10-28

Embodiment is one of the core principles of Cognitive Linguistics. Current research on embodiment is complex, involving various perspectives and classifications. This article describes and analyzes six perspectives on embodied cognition proposed by Wilson (2002) and six types of embodiment identified by Ziemke (2003). It also discusses the relationship between cognitive embodiment and context, unresolved issues concerning the link between embodiment and language as highlighted by Zlatev (2007), and the role of embodiment in the hypothesis of linguistic conventionality. Additionally, a schematic diagram of embodiment is also proposed. This study primarily employs descriptive, comparative, and analytical methods, along with the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP). Theoretically, this study contributes to reinforcing arguments about embodiment, offering new perspectives, and establishing a classification framework for embodiment. Practically, it may serve as a valuable resource for language teaching and learning.

A STUDY ON CHALLENGES FACED BY STUDENTS IN SEMI-STRUCTURED QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWBASED RESEARCH

Nguyễn Thanh Hoa — 2025-10-28

This study aims to explore the challenges faced by English-majored students at Hanoi University in designing qualitative research projects that employ semi-structured interview as the primary research instrument. Semi-structured interviews were implemented with 10 student participants who have had limited experience in conducting research interviews. Thematic analysis was applied to analyze the data. The findings reveal that most students encountered difficulties in various stages of the research design process, including participation selection and sampling, research instrument development, data collection and data analysis. In response to these challenges, respective solutions were proposed to help students improve their research skills and to support teachers in the teaching of the Primary Research Methods module.

FACTORS INFLUENCING ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS L1 IN L2 CLASSROOMS: A CASE STUDY

Nguyễn Thanh Hoàng — 2025-10-28

This study aims to provide a holistic picture of first-year students’ attitudes towards the use of Vietnamese (L1) in English (L2) classrooms and examines whether background factors such as geographical locations and types of high school influence their attitudes. A quantitative research approach was employed, involving a questionnaire survey of 107 first-year students at a university in Vietnam. The findings reveal that the students hold relatively positive attitude towards the use of L1, while acknowledging both its advantages and limitations in L2 classrooms. However, no significant differences in attitudes were found among students from different regions or high school types, suggesting that these factors do not significantly impact university students’ attitudes towards the use of L1 in English learning contexts.

EVALUATION OF E-LESSONS ON LMS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY AT HANOI UNIVERSITY

Phạm Ngọc Thạch — 2025-10-28

This article presents the results of a pilot implementation of e-lessons in two practical language modules – A2-level Italian and Japanese for Tourism. The e-lessons were developed by lecturers from the relevant departments and uploaded to the University’s Learning Management System (LMS). Using descriptive and inferential statistical methods, this study analyzed experimental data from 197 foreign language students and survey responses from 149 students on various aspects of the two e-lessons per module. The study results indicate certain correlations between study time and test scores, as well as among various factors of the e-lessons, such as learning objectives, technology use, presentation format, and other criteria. This study holds both theoretical and practical significance in the context of Hanoi University’s efforts towards online education and digital transformation.

IMPROVING THE TEACHING OF READING COMPREHENSION TO C1-LEVEL JAPANESE-MAJORED STUDENTS

Nguyễn Thị Đăng Thu — 2025-10-28

This study proposes an improved approach to teaching reading comprehension to secondyear Japanese-majored students at Hanoi University, drawing on the CEFR framework and relevant prior research. Data were collected through an analysis of the C1-level textbook and surveys with both teachers and students. The findings indicate that while the textbook offer texts of diverse topics and pedagogical activities with a focus on speed and intensive reading, students encounter many difficulties in interactive reading lessons. These include limited acquisition of complex vocabulary and kanji, struggles with advanced grammar, challenges in grasping text content, and the lack of self-study skills without teacher guidance. To address these issues, this study proposes a three-stage reading model (pre-, while-, and post-reading) that flexibly combines reading strategies. Its effectiveness was confirmed through a five-week experimental implemantation: students‘ test scores were improved significantly, and most of them found the new model engaging and effective.

JACQUES RANCIÈRE’S PHILOSOPHY OF INTELLECTUAL EMANCIPATION AND ITS APPLICABILITY IN CONTEMPORARY FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Phạm Tiến Hùng — 2025-10-28

This article introduces the educational philosophy of the French philosopher Jacques Rancière through his renowned work “The Ignorant Schoolmaster: Five Lessons in Intellectual Emancipation” (1991). Based on the real-life story of Joseph Jacotot, a 19th-century educator who developed a method of teaching foreign languages without explanation by using an original text, Rancière presents the concepts of intellectual equality and intellectual emancipation through self-directed learning. The author analyzes and discusses the significance of these two core concepts for contemporary language education in the 21st century. In the modern context of information explosion and diversified learning modes, Rancière’s ideas provide a theoretical foundation for rethinking the role of teachers, encouraging learner autonomy, and fostering a more emancipatory and egalitarian environment for foreign language education, where learners are empowered to independently explore and master the target language.