Vietnamese Teachersʼ and Studentsʼ Perceptions of Global English

Recently, recommendations have been made to move beyond the native speaker model as a sole target in English language instruction. However, the orientation for this shift is debatable. Whose English should be the target for instruction in international contexts such as Vietnam? This paper reports a study which documents Vietnamese students' and teachers' views about the kind of English they prefer to learn and teach. The findings show that the students and teachers believe students use English more with non-native speakers (NNS) than with native speakers (NS) outside the classroom, but British and American English tend to be the preferred models, at least in the classroom. There is no simple answer to what kind of English will be useful in Vietnam in the future, though focusing on British and American English in the classroom and encouraging learners to explore other varieties of English outside the classroom can be one suggestion.