Draft of the Research Project

Introduction The fast economic growth in Asian countries during recent years has resulted in many significant changes in education such as the changes in teaching methods, learning strategies & styles, learning & teaching facilities. To catch up the changes, the Education and Training Ministry of Vietnam has issued two new textbook sets for students at grade 10. This year, they are used on a large scale after a two-year pilot study. The new textbooks, which are much different from the previous ones, are designed following current communicative approaches. Studying these new textbooks, students are expected to be more active, autonomous and challenging.

Literature review Among the books and articles on Asian students learning stereotypes that I have read, I find this statement of Littlewood is close to my topic: Statements about Asian students obedient and unquestioning behavior are made so frequently that we can scarcely deny that they are based in some form of reality. But we must ask the question: in what reality? Are they based in the preferences and dispositions of students who may actually want to do nothing more than listen and obey? Or are students simply bowing to the constraints and sanctions imposed by their cultural and educational traditions, which discourage the nail that sticks up (Anderson 1993)? Or perhaps the reality exists only in peoples minds, in the form of stereotypes of the passive Asian students? Littlewood, W. (2000: 31) Objectives of the research

The research aims at answering this question: Do Vietnamese high school students want to listen and obey? I choose the same question with that one of William Littlewood to: See whether the answer is the same with or different from that of Littlewood after 6 years. Know more widely and deeply about the English learning styles of Vietnamese high school students To contribute a research in English learning styles from Vietnam. Help other teachers understand more about Vietnamese students learning styles .

Significance of the research The research is important because there is very little information on this matter about Vietnamese students. The learning styles are not paid enough attention to in lesson planning. Conducting the research on Vietnamese students English learning styles will help teachers adapt their teaching methods to fit their students need. It is greatly important when the new textbooks are in use.

Research method Interview 10 students from 2 classes in Ben Tre High School, where I am teaching, about how they often react in English lessons and why they have such reaction. Give a questionnaire to 2 teachers in my school to know their opinions about students learning styles.

References Brown, H. D. 2000, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, 4th ed, White Plains, New York: Longman. Chalmers, D. & Violet, S. 1997, Common Misconception about Students from South-East Asia Studying in Australia, Journal of Higher Education Research & Development , vol.16, no.1, pp. 87-98. Littlewood, W. 2000, Do Asian students really want to listen and obey?, ELT Journal 54/1, pp. 31-35. Watkins, D., Reghi, M., & Astilla, E. 1991, The Asian Learner as a Rote Learner Stereotype: Myth or Reality?, Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 21-34.