Keywords

1 Introduction

Since its participation in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Vietnam has witnessed major economic developments, attracting significantly increased investment from international enterprises (Nha & Tu, 2015). In response to the economic demands, Vietnam’s education has continuously undertaken reforms to improve the quality of teaching and learning and accordingly to boost the capacity of the workforce (Huong, 2014). In particular, Vietnam’s Higher Education (HE), in accordance with the Education Law 2012, has focused on bettering the key areas, including autonomy, governance, curricula and quality assurance of teaching and learning (Hung, 2019; Huong, 2014). These reforms aim to better equip graduates with skills, knowledge and attributes in response to the social and economic demands of the country. Unfortunately, employers have kept lamenting about a lack of soft skills in graduates as the main reason behind an increase in graduate unemployment (Duong, 2019). Therefore, developing soft skills and personal attributes has become an emphasis in the curriculum, teaching and learning in Vietnamese higher education over the past two decades.

In Vietnam, English is considered a competency and skill that can significantly impact graduates’ employability, employment outcomes and career development. Almost all job advertisements require applicants to include evidence of their English proficiency. Therefore, English language education has been one of the focal aspects in recent teaching and learning reforms in the country. In order to boost students’ English proficiency, since late 2010, Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training (MOET) has proposed and implemented three new English language curricula for schools (Project 2020) (Hoang, 2018). Particularly, MOET’s Vietnam Education Publishing House cooperated with Macmillan Education and Pearson Education to develop textbooks based on the Communicative Language Teaching approach (CLT) for primary schools, and lower and upper secondary schools. Students will experience the contents through four macro skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. The ultimate goal of the approach is to assist students in understanding and using the English language effectively in real life. To achieve it, adopting a learner-centred approach where students are considered active participants in teaching and learning has been a priority area (Hoang, 2018).

English language education not only helps develop English competence for learners but also positively contributes to the development of soft skills and/or personal attributes. Students’ soft skills such as teamwork and collaborative ability, communication and problem-solving skills can be honed through different activities in English classrooms (Aclan et al., 2016; Kostikova et al., 2021). For instance, through a pre-debate task for an English lesson, students can support each other to collect data and brainstorm ideas. Additionally, in order to triumph a debate, it is necessary for students to effectively argue and practise reasoning. As a result, their problem-solving and communication skills can be enhanced simultaneously (Aclan et al., 2016). A study carried out in Ukraine revealed that students’ soft skills and attributes, such as problem-solving skills and team management, could be strengthened through educational games. Problem-solving skills, for example, were developed since the students were required to pose questions in a team game, using vocabulary and grammatical structures in the learning materials. After that, further analysis and discussion about the answers would be made by the lecturer and students (Kostikova et al., 2021).

However, there is a lack of research that explores how learning English contributes to the development of students’ soft skills and personal attributes. This chapter responds to this critical gap in the literature by reporting a qualitative study that analyses in what ways students’ experience in learning English helps develop their soft skills and personal attributes. First, the literature about the importance of soft skills and attributes to graduate employability will be reviewed. Second, the research design of the study will be presented. Third, the key findings will be presented. Finally, how pedagogies for teaching and learning English can be applied to benefit students’ soft skills and attributes will be discussed in detail.

2 Soft Skills and Personal Attributes as Significant Components of Psychological Capital

According to Tomlinson (2017), “psychological capital” is conceived as one’s capacity to “adapt and respond proactively to inevitable career challenges” (p. 347). In this regard, possessing the psychological capital helps an individual to be resilient and adapt to a working environment. Moreover, research has shown that there is a direct positive relationship between psychological capital and soft skills and personal attributes. For instance, the finding from a quantitative study conducted by Juan and Guadalupe (2020) revealed that psychological capital greatly influenced employability skills such as teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills in a positive way. A finding from another study taking place in Greece also confirmed that job seekers with psychological capital were more persistent and determined in searching for employment (Georgiou & Nikolaou, 2018). In other words, it can be claimed that soft skills and personal attributes are crucial parts of psychological capital, which likely have a positive impact on graduates’ career outcomes.

The term “soft skills” has been paid due attention to by scholars and has different definitions (Jolly, 2012; Kechagias, 2011; Truong & Laura, 2015). For example, “soft skills” is referred to as “an array of personal skills such as the capacity to communicate, and problem-solve, possess leadership qualities, and the ability to work well in a team, be amicable, and a good listener” (Truong & Laura, 2015, p. 759). Likewise, according to Jolly (2012), soft skills encompass various types of skills, namely “communicative skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, teamwork, life-long learning and information management skills, entrepreneurship skills, ethics moral and professional, and leadership skills” (p. 54). Kechagias (2011) considers soft skills as “intra- and inter-personal (socio-emotional) skills, which are vital for “personal development, social participation, and workplace success”, including skills, such as “communication, ability to work on multidisciplinary teams, adaptability, etc.…” (p. 33). These definitions share the common ground in which they focus on inter- and intra-personal skills.

“Personal attributes” has also received a lot of concern. From a psychological lens, McCrae and Costa (1997) suggested the Big five model of personality, which includes: Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Openness and Experience. Flint-Taylor and colleagues (2014) categorise personal attributes into intellectual ability, which refers to complex predictor of adaptability during adversity (Masten & Wright, 2010), and personality, which is defined as “individual’s master psychological system that oversees and organises mental subsystems, such as motives, thoughts and self-control” (Mayer & Faber, 2010, p. 94), which is somewhat consistent with McCrae and Costa’s. Scholars generally agree that “personal attributes”, alongside “soft skills”, are collectively manifested as “generic skills” or “graduates’ attributes”, including but not limited to oral and written communication, analytical skills, ICT skills, and collaborative and teamwork skills (Hinchliffe & Jolly, 2011; Jorre de St Jorre & Oliver, 2018).

All the aforementioned “soft skills” and “personal attributes” appeared to be interrelated and referred to as employability skills in the UNESCO Framework for Transversal Competencies. In particular, this framework lists out rigorous and essential components that are supposed to facilitate graduates’ transition to the labour market. The framework is also embedded into various educational systems throughout the Asia–Pacific zone (Suarta et al., 2017). This conceptual framework underpins the study reported in this chapter as it is suitable to the aims and nature of the research (Table 8.1).

Table 8.1 Employability skills for graduates (adapted from the UNESCO framework for transversal competencies)
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2.1 The Importance of Soft Skills and Personal Attributes for Employability

Soft skills and personal attributes have been seen to play a crucial role in graduate employability. For instance, Tang’s (2019) research indicated that soft skills such as communication, team-working and problem-solving skills, to name a few, were of necessity for graduates to be recruited. This was because they were highly valued by businesses and employers. Likewise, another study conducted by Kumar and Kumar (2016) revealed that soft skills training had a positive impact on graduate employability, which suggested that students should value and purposefully learn to obtain the skills for the sake of their future career. In the same vein, in the context of Canada, communication skills were ranked among the most influential skills in job-hunting (Bhaskar, 2015). Through a systemic review of the literature between 2005 and 2016, Shukla and Kumar (2017) came up with a list of nine essential soft skills required at the workplace: communication skills, leadership skills, team-building skills, strategic thinking skills, critical thinking skills, analytical and problem-solving, inter-personal skills, imagination or creativity, and presentation skills.

Regarding personal attributes, Paul and Philip (2014) carried out a study to investigate which types of personalities are most necessary at enterprises, utilising the model of personality (Big five) proposed by McCrae and Costa (1997). The finding showed that “Conscientiousness” and “Agreeableness” were crucial for job-hunting success (Paul & Philip, 2014). Moreover, in a literature review article about the twenty-first-century labour market demands, Suarta and colleagues (2017) revealed that employers expressed much appreciation to candidates possessing certain employability skills, including not only communication, problem-solving, decision-making and teamwork skills as soft skills, but also a wide range of personal attributes, such as self-confidence, independence, flexibility and adaptability and life-long learning (Suarta et al., 2017).

To summarise, the research literature suggests that possessing soft skills and personal attributes can help enhance graduate employability. This is partly because they are highly respected by employers and businesses.

2.2 English Language Education and the Development of Soft Skills and Personal Attributes

English language education is considered as one of the effective ways that help to enhance one’s soft skills and personal attributes, which can directly affect graduate employability in the global competitive labour market. Studies have shown that there is a close correlation between an individual’s English competence and his/her soft skills and personal attributes. For example, Kong’s (2018) research suggested “training of communicative English” as one of the employment strategies. In particular, he argued that being provided with opportunities to practise communicating in English in class, students’ oral expression could also be improved alongside their English-speaking skills. As a result, upon graduation, they were able to adapt quickly to unfamiliar circumstances, especially those that require long-term communication skills (Kong, 2018).

Likewise, in the context of Singapore, realizing the importance of English language, the Ministry of Education (MOE) encouraged education institutions, especially higher education (HE) ones to embed English courses into the curriculum. This was driven by the belief that English learning could lay a firm foundation in developing graduates’ soft skills/attributes, referred to as “21st Century Skills”, including three groups: the first group being civic literacy, global awareness and cross-cultural skills, the second encompassing critical and inventive thinking and the third consisting of communication, collaboration and information skills (Hanington & Renandya, 2017). According to these authors, in response to the policy, the three most-established government-funded autonomous universities, namely National University of Singapore (NUS), National Technology University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) applied the “dual approach” to help students both obtain academic qualifications and equip them with workplace communication skills for the sake of their career development. For instance, at NUS, a project-based English course mainly for science and engineer undergraduates required students of different genders and cultures to work together and evaluate their peers’ work online, given that it could help enhance their cross-cultural skills (the 1st group), communication, critical thinking skills (the 2nd) and collaboration and information skills (the 3rd) (Hanington & Renandya, 2017).

In China, although it has not been applied yet, the project-based teaching method was recommended in vocational colleges. Siyang (2018) argued that, with this mode, students could use English to communicate with each other and participate in their tasks independently, actively and creatively in an imagined workplace. As such, it would more likely allow them to connect with the real working environment later (Siyang, 2018). Similarly, Aclan and colleagues (2016) reported that EFL/ESL students’ different types of soft skills could be significantly expanded through the three-stage debates (pre-debate, actual debate and post-debate). The stages stressed on the development of various soft skills and attributes, ranging from critical and inventive thinking skills, global citizenship to inter- and intra-personal skills, and information literacy (Aclan et al., 2016).

In a study conducted by Tevdovska (2015) aiming at boosting students’ soft skills in an ELT (English language teaching) environment, some methods were suggested: (1) task-based and problem-solving activities, (2) group-work involving discussion and debates, (3) delivering oral and poster presentations, (4) role-plays and dialogues and (5) writing. As for the first two methods, the activities were supposed to provide students with exposure to practical situations, such as ones regarding ethics, which require them to critically analyse the problems and come up with appropriate ethical solutions. Moreover, students had to involve themselves in group discussion about specific topics at the workplace, enabling them to build team spirit. Within the last three approaches, while the 3rd and the 4th aimed to improve students speaking skills through supporting them to convey their ideas effectively and confidently in formal settings (staff meeting, interview session, to name a few), the goal of the 5th was to enhance students’ writing skills through curricula vitae, cover letters and emails, etc., using suitable formats and structures (Tevdovska, 2015).

These studies highlighted that communication skills, teamwork ability, problem-solving and critical thinking skills and information literacy are the main areas of focus in advancing students’ soft skills and attributes in ELT contexts. A possible explanation to this can be, in order to successfully secure and retain a job in the labour market with more intense competition than ever before, graduates are expected to effectively search for accurate information from various sources, communicate, collaborate and provide suitable solutions to challenges. However, little research regarding how English language education affects soft skills and personal attributes has been scrutinised. The present research was therefore carried out.

3 The Current Study

The current study aims to investigate in what ways English language education can help develop students’ soft skills and personal attributes. The research question is:

How does learning English contribute to students’ development of soft skills and personal attributes?

This study was conducted as qualitative research in which the thematic analysis was used in order to explore significant information from the interviews. According to Braun and Clarke (2006), thematic analysis refers to the procedure of coding and finding out the common patterns or themes, which allows the researcher(s) to obtain valuable insights from the raw data. Focus group interviews are opted for because they can create social interaction among participants within similar age ranges or socio-features. Hence, they can comfortably share more in-depth feelings or opinions on a certain topic than those on one-to-one interviews (Thomas et al., 1995).

The convenience sampling and snowball sampling techniques were utilised (Ackoff, 1953; Breweton & Millward, 2001). As for the first technique, since the participants (group 01 to group 23) were instructed by and got familiar with one of the researchers, it was supposed that they could freely share what they thought about the proposed question. With respect to the snowball sampling technique, the researcher asked his networks to introduce potential participants from a different HE institution. In other words, the two techniques are beneficial in the way that they enable the researchers to get access to the available participants for interviews. They also help save time and cost (Ackoff, 1953; Breweton & Millward, 2001).

However, pertaining to the participants from groups 01 to 23, mitigating the matter of power relationship is necessary here as they were taught by one researcher (Peel et al., 2006). In particular, a consent form for interviews was sent to the students for their signatures. The form served as a guarantee that no harm or impacts would be caused to the participants’ learning results for what they provided, and they were not under any pressure to participate in the research. As such, the participants would more likely feel comfortable to participate and share information.

The selected interviewees were first- and second-year students from three different majors, namely, General Medicine, Information Technology and Land Management. While the participants from the first two majors were taught by the researcher at Nam Can Tho University (DNC), the remaining came from Can Tho University (CTU) and took part in the interviews through the snowball recruitment channel. DNC is a private educational organisation while CTU is a public one, both of which are in the central area of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The information about the participants is summarised in Table 8.2.

Table 8.2 Summary of participants’ information
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The researcher informed the participants of the purpose of the study, their identity protection and data confidentiality, and gave them a consent form to sign. After that, they were divided into 30 small groups, with 03 students in each. Using the 32 factors listed in the adapted UNESCO Framework for Transversal Competencies as the interview guide, the researcher asked the participants to vote for two soft skills and/or personal attributes among the predetermined ones that can be developed the most through English language education and provide detailed explanations. Each interview session took place approximately from 15 to 20 min.

All interview data were recorded and transcribed. Then, the researcher read through them carefully several times before proceeding with thematic analysis. In particular, through what was shared, he coded core information before turning to identifying repeated themes regarding (1) the specific soft skills and/or personal attributes that can be developed thanks to English language education, and (2) the particular ways in which English language education can contribute to the development of those soft skills and personal attributes. Concerning the second theme, only the extracts with more rigorous data would be given as evidence in the finding section.

4 Findings

4.1 Soft Skills and Personal Attributes Developed Through Learning English

The finding from the interviews with 30 small groups of students indicated that among the listed factors, six types of soft skills and personal attributes, including good oral communication (1), confidence (2), teamwork ability (3), problem-solving skills (4), proactiveness (5) and information management (6) stood out as the most popular that could be developed thanks to English language education. For scoring calculation, it is stipulated that among the two skills/attributes voted, the first-mentioned one will get two points and that the second mentioned will get one point. The statistical data are summarised in Table 8.3.

Table 8.3 The most popular soft skills and attributes developed through English language education
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As can be seen from the table, firstly, “oral communication” was selected as the most valuable among the six skills/attributes chosen, which were mentioned fourteen times with the point of 23. The participants believed that English courses at university provided them with abundant chances to learn and practise their English oral communication. This can be exemplified in the following extracts:

Through speaking-practice activities, we can better our oral communication […]. Hence, we agree that it is one of the top skills that can be enhanced through learning English at university. (G3, General Medicine)

English language education can facilitate our oral communication because having chances of talking to foreign lecturers makes us feel confident in our English-speaking ability. (G15, Information Technology)

The finding is consistent with the research conducted by Kong (2018) given that students’ enhancement of oral expressions is attributed to “Training of Communicative English” as a strategy in English classes. Similarly, according to Permata (2017), 97.8 and 89.1% of the selected first-year students said that learning English can better their speaking ability and public speaking skills, respectively; and the percentages of their third-year counterparts voting for those skills were 95.7 and 85.7%.

Next, “confidence” was chosen by eleven clusters of students, with 18 points recorded. The participants confirmed that thanks to participating in varied types of tasks, such as self-presentations, group-projects and the English-speaking club at university, their confidence level was increased. Group Thirteen claimed that group work, pair work or individual talks could serve this.

At school, we often experience communication occasions like group-work, pair-work, or individual presentations. Then, the teachers point out our strengths and weaknesses after our practice. As a result, through time, we feel more confident. (G13, General Medicine)

Group Sixteen stated that taking part in the English-speaking club made them more self-confident.

Thanks to joining the English-speaking club at our university, we know more novel vocabulary and better our pronunciation. We can role-play and make conversations, too. […] Hence, our confidence can be boosted, at least in terms of English-speaking competence. (G16, Information Technology)

A similar result is also evident in previous research by Tevdovska (2015) which showed that students’ confidence could be enhanced through different activities, such as oral presentation, poster presentations, role-plays and dialogues.

Thirdly, in terms of “teamwork ability”, this type of skill received twelve-mentioned times and its voting point was 17. The groups of interviewees stated that English learning can help improve their team-building skills. Group Eleven’s extract can be given as a typical example:

There are occasions in which we have to work together to find information and exchange ideas in our English class, which can develop our team spirit. (G11, General Medicine)

Sharing the same point of view are groups Twenty-one and Twenty-seven, as in the following reports:

One of the most important skills that can be trained in our courses of English is ‘teamwork’. In fact, we are provided exercises and have to interact smoothly with each other if we want to finish them optimally. (G21, Information Technology)

We are assigned into groups to complete tasks […]. Therefore, we are able to cooperate with each other to solve the tasks more easily and more effectively. (G27, Land Management)

Raising team spirit was already confirmed by Hanington and Renandya’s (2017) research which revealed that project-based English courses would expand undergraduates’ teamwork ability because they had to cooperate to successfully solve tasks. This finding is reflected in the current study, too.

Fourthly, as for the “problem-solving” factor with the voting point of 11, eight groups of participants referred to it as a type of skill which could be strengthened by virtue of English courses. This skill enhancement is shown in the following statements:

We agree that our problem-solving skills can be improved through challenging reading and speaking activities that require us to debate. (G9, General Medicine)

In order to solve difficult exercises effectively, we are usually grouped to work […]. As such, our problem-solving skills can be sharpened. (G23, Information Technology)

This finding aligns with that of Aclan and colleagues (2016). This study reported that problem-solving skills improvement could be strongly connected with debate-related tasks assigned in English courses. In addition, English assignments that require students to cooperate were also proven to help them solve problems more easily (Permata, 2017), which is also supported in the current research.

Fifthly, seven clusters of participants agreed with a 10-voting point on “proactiveness” as a factor that can be improved through English learning. Group Eighteen said:

Our English teachers sometimes challenge us with tricky questions for bonus marks. The rule is we have to plan and take them on individually […]. As a result, we think this can boost our proactiveness. (G18, Information Technology)

Similarly, group Twenty-nine stated:

Doing extra-tasks in class, especially grammar or reading ones, requires us to proactively search for new vocabulary or grammatical structures by ourselves. (G29, Land Management)

In the literature review, “proactiveness” is one of the key personal attributes which contributes to graduates’ employability (Tomlinson, 2017). In the present study, “proactiveness” development can be consolidated by English courses at university. Accordingly, English language education can be considered as a “bridge” easing students’ pathway to employability.

Finally, five groups stated that their “information management” could be strengthened when they attended English classes, with the voting point of 8. For example, both groups Fifteen and Twenty-five stated:

English learning helps provide us with a lot of vocabulary, which is instrumental to effectively finding, sorting, comparing and contrasting information online in the era of technology 4.0. (G15, Information Technology)

When working in groups, there are times we have to discuss and practice finding information in English and Vietnamese on the internet […]. As such, it can improve our information management. (G25, Land Management)

This is echoed by a study conducted by Aclan and colleagues (2016) who confirmed that students’ information management skills could be lifted by means of the preparation stage of the debate in EFL/ESL contexts. The scholars found that, during the pre-debate phase, participants had to look for and manage information related to the discussed topic(s) from different channels (Aclan et al., 2016). Hence, it can be supposed that students are able to learn to manage information well if they attend English courses with specific tasks targeting the development of this skill.

4.2 The Ways English Language Education Contributes to the Development of Soft Skills and Personal Attributes

In this study, English language education was revealed to positively affect students’ development of specific soft skills and personal attributes through two ways, namely in-class and extra-curricular activities. In particular, all participants believed that varied types of tasks assigned to them in the English classroom facilitated their progress of soft skills and personal attributes, and five groups opted for English-speaking club participation as a means of improving their oral communication skills. The detailed information is summarised in Table 8.4.

Table 8.4 Summary of soft skills/attributes developed through participating in certain learning activities
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With regards to in-class activities, role-plays and dialogues were regarded to improve oral communication skills and confidence. Two typical groups reported:

In speaking-skill classes, we are often asked to role-play in different situations such as showing directions, buying and selling things at the supermarket or ordering meals in restaurants. […] We think this helps us boost our confidence in English oral communication. (G7, General Medicine)

During the practice time, we are required to converse using short model conversations in our textbook. Although it can be rigid, we have chances to practice and sharpen our English-speaking skills, leading to our confidence improvement at the same time. (G24, Land Management)

Moreover, self-presentation is believed to positively contribute to students’ confidence, as shown in the following extracts:

In the self-presentation activity, our teachers require us to come in front of the class and try to introduce ourselves non-stop in about one or two minutes. Thanks to this, we assume that we can communicate in English more fluently and confidently. (G10, General Medicine)

We think that our confidence level can be increased to some extent whenever we present ourselves in English in front of our teachers and classmates. This is because the classroom is a safe environment for us to freely practise our speaking skills without any fear of making mistakes and to get constructive feedback from the teachers. (G22, Information Technology)

In addition, students’ oral delivery and confidence could be developed through communicating with foreign lecturers. Groups Three and Twenty-one said:

Sometimes in class, we feel very eager because we can meet, practice speaking English with foreign teachers and receive constructive feedback from them for our oral communication improvement. (G3, General Medicine)

There are certain periods in which we have chances to interact with foreign lecturers, which helps us get familiar with their voice and intonations and feel more confident in communication. (G21, Information Technology)

Pair-work and group-work tasks were found to build up students’ problem-solving skills, teamwork ability and confidence. Their enhancement in these skills and confidence are shown in the following statements:

We agree that our problem-solving skills can be improved through challenging reading activities. We remember, at that time, it took us quite a lot of time for the three of us to answer a multiple question about the main idea summary compiled by our teacher. After time-consuming analyses and arguments, we finally came up with the correct answer. (G9, General Medicine)

In order to do difficult exercises effectively, we are usually grouped to work. Everyone has to think proactively and try to analyse them to find feasible solutions. As such, our problem-solving skills can be sharpened. (G23, Information Technology)

Besides, extra-tasks play a pivotal role in improving undergraduates’ proactiveness. Typically, group Eighteen commented that their teachers’ challenging questions could serve that:

Our English teachers sometimes challenge us with tricky questions for bonus marks. The rule is we have to plan and take them on individually. They give us no hints, so we are supposed to be in a dilemma in which we must proactively find the answers or lose the bonus. As a result, we think this can boost our proactiveness. (G18, Information Technology)

A similar point of view is clearly shared by group Thirty’s comment. The students strongly supported the necessity of further exercises for their proactiveness enhancement. They reported:

Not only in our study but also in this modern world of work, it is vital for us to show our autonomy to stand out from others and be highly appreciated by teachers or employers. English courses are a good environment where we can strengthen our proactiveness since additional tasks make us take a lead and prove our competence to lecturers while our classmates may find them daunting and challenging. (Group 30, Land Management)

Lastly, additional tasks also require students to search information online effectively and manage to arrange the materials they have found feasibly. Therefore, these are considered as enabling factors for students to improve their information management. For example, groups Twenty and Twenty-five shared:

Sorting and managing to organise varied materials logically is extremely important at the workplace, which can be trained with the help of English language education at university. This is because, with additional exercises, we have to refer to the internet for further information, which is various and controversial. Therefore, we think that this is a valuable opportunity to practice and enhance our information management skills. (G20, Information Technology)

When working in groups, there are times we have to discuss and practice finding information in English and Vietnamese on the internet. Online information is varied; hence, it is a desperate need for us to correctly determine and clarify materials and documents before our group presentations. As such, it can improve our information management. (G25, Land Management)

This research revealed that different types of tasks assigned in English courses, including role-plays, dialogues, self-presentations, interaction with foreign lecturers, pair work and group work, and extra-tasks make different levels of contributions to undergraduates’ development of soft skills and personal attributes. All types of aforementioned activities, except for additional tasks, were reported to enhance students’ oral communication skills. Another notable point is that pair work and group work were the contributors to students’ development of up to three different soft skills and one personal attribute, including “oral communication”, “teamwork”, “problem-solving skills” and “confidence”. In contrast, the remaining activities were supposed to help develop one skill and/or one attribute (see Table 8.4). This finding is consistent with previous research (Aclan et al., 2016; Hanington & Renandya, 2017; Kong, 2018; Tevdovska, 2015). In particular, these studies shared a common point that English-speaking activities in class could help improve students’ oral communication and confidence. However, while Kong (2018) generally mentioned English-speaking tasks, the others also included activities that require students’ working in pairs or groups, such as project-based tasks (Hanington & Renandya, 2017; Tevdovska, 2015), role-plays or dialogues (Tevdovska, 2015), and the three-stage debates (Aclan et al., 2016). These tasks were confirmed to develop students’ soft skills and attributes, such as teamwork, problem-solving skills, proactiveness and information management, which is also supported by this research. Despite the similar findings reported in these studies, communicating with foreign teachers and doing further exercises are two types of activities found in this study but not in the others. They are also supposed to contribute to undergraduates’ development of specific soft skills and personal attributes.

In terms of English-speaking club participation, six groups of interviewees in the current study considered taking part in this activity facilitated their enhancement of oral delivery and confidence. The two following extracts are vivid examples:

Whenever we gather at the English-speaking club organised by the English Department, we always have fun because not only we can relax but we are able to speak English freely about different topics, which results in our fluency in English speaking and confidence. (G12, General Medicine)

Since participating in the English-speaking club at our university, we acquire new vocabulary and improve our pronunciation. Possessing good vocabulary, correct pronunciation and having chances to practice speaking with other students who share the same interest in English result in our confidence, at least in English competence. (G16, Information Technology)

This finding echoes a recent study conducted by Nguyen and Ho (2019) which showed that taking part in extra-curricular activities, including English-speaking clubs, helped students improve certain soft skills, including oral communication and confidence. Hence, it can be concluded that participating in English-speaking clubs is supposed to strengthen their speaking skills and confidence.

5 Discussion

The findings from this study revealed that among the 32 soft skills and/or personal attributes provided for discussion based on the UNESCO Framework for Transversal Competencies, communication skills, confidence, teamwork ability, problem-solving skills, proactiveness and information management were chosen by the participants as the most popular components which could be positively influenced by English language education. Specifically, oral communication skills were ranked first, with fourteen groups of students voting for them and the voting point being the highest, at 23. “Confidence” attribute ranked second, was seen to be developed thanks to English courses with eleven-mentioned times and an 18-voting point registered. Twelve clusters of students stated that learning English at university could significantly contribute to strengthening their teamwork ability, which was in the third position with 17 points. While eight groups assumed that their problem-solving skills could be improved by joining group-work activities in English classes, other seven and five groups believed that English language education could facilitate the development of their proactiveness and information management skills. These three types of skills and attributes were calculated by 11, 10 and 8 points, respectively.

In previous research, possessing these skills was confirmed to lead to increased employability. For example, a study conducted by Suarta and colleagues (2017) revealed that candidates with good communication, flexible problem-solving skills, proactiveness and self-confidence were highly treasured by employers (Suarta et al., 2017). Regarding the context of Vietnam, because of the deep-rooted Confucian culture, many students are likely to strictly follow what the teachers instruct them (Nguyen et al., 2019), causing their lack of confidence, which may negatively affect their employability. Yet this study reveals that English language education can help provide students with the opportunities to develop essential soft skills and personal attributes, including those which are strongly expected by recruiters, such as oral communication, confidence and teamwork skills, to name a few, as found in the current study.

It was also found in the present research that in-class tasks and participation in the English-speaking club as a type of extra-curricular activity made different contributions to students’ development of the five aforementioned types of soft skills and personal attributes. Based on this finding, this section will focus on discussing the roles of English pedagogical methods to sharpen students’ psychological capital with regards to two aspects, in-class task implementation and extra-curricular activity encouragement.

In terms of in-class task implementation, it is necessary to mention students’ learning styles. As discussed above, many Vietnamese students might be quite dependent on their teachers to access lessons due to the Confucius-based culture (Nguyen et al., 2019), which can restrict their employability. Accordingly, one of the solutions is to embed more diverse types of assignments, tasks or projects that encourage students to be more proactive and responsible for their learning, into the curriculum, teaching and learning. A study carried out in the Canadian context suggested that English textbooks should include inter- and intra-personal skills in tasks that engage students in practising building rapport, shaking hands and asking questions, those that are often expected at the workplace (Bartel, 2018).

However, there are contents that need to be tailored to fit and maintain Asian identities, so Vietnamese lecturers can make some changes not only to serve the aforementioned purpose but also to create more chances for students to be self-reliant, critical and creative in their study. Activities like task-based projects, role-plays or self-presentations have been proven to be useful for this purpose (Aclan et al., 2016; Hanington & Renandya, 2017; Kong, 2018; Siyang, 2018; Tevdovska, 2015). In addition, when designing these activities, teachers may consider to clearly divide English lessons into three steps (pre-, while- and post-), each of which can help activate students’ different types of soft skills and personal attributes. For example, in the pre-step, students are supposed to find and determine information to fit what they want to present before class; or while students are making presentations in front of their teachers and classmates, it is critical to encourage them to speak fluently, logically and confidently so as to avoid losing face while building confidence. As a result, information management and oral communication skills can be enhanced (Aclan et al., 2016).

Noticeably, the present study revealed the fact that students’ development of soft skills and personal attributes was attributed to their communication with foreign teachers and doing optional exercises aimed at individuals was not found in earlier research. As for communication with foreign teachers, English is considered a foreign language (EFL) in Vietnam, so there are still limited opportunities for their practice speaking English (Vo et al., 2018). As such, when the participants in this study were exposed to such opportunities, it is understandable for them, especially those who love English speaking, to feel excited and more engaged in their oral communication skills if guided well. This finding can be linked with a study about psychological factors influencing Japanese high school students’ English communication behaviours showing that interacting with English native speakers in classes helped boost students’ confidence (Ito, 2017). In the case of further exercises, in essence, they are similar to project-based tasks, except that while the latter focuses on group work, the former aims at individual students. In fact, additional tasks refer to what is called “Autonomy of choice” (AC) (Macaro, 2008), in which these types of exercises are optional and highly require students’ commitment and voluntariness. Therefore, it is concluded in this study that those who are more self-motivated and take more responsibility for their own learning are more likely to improve their autonomy and proactiveness.

Regarding the English-speaking club, a type of extra-curricular activity (ECAs), research has shown that such activities are beneficial for students’ improvement of soft skills and personal attributes. For example, ECAs such as community services, volunteer programmes or skill-focused clubs can make contributions to students’ improvement of soft skills and personal attributes (Tran, 2017). Likewise, a study from Nguyen and Ho (2019) proved the effectiveness of ECAs in sharpening students’ certain soft skills and attributes. Hence, English-speaking clubs should be promoted. Through this channel, students from different classes or majors who share the same interest in English can meet with one another, thereby receiving several advantages. Firstly, interaction between participants is more likely to happen because they are exposed to opportunities to talk and exchange ideas on given topics, which can lead to their increase of confidence and openness to others. Secondly, similar to group-work tasks in class, there are academic games in which students have opportunities to cooperate and debate. Their problem-solving and team-building skills, therefore, can be developed. This was confirmed in a study by Kostikova and colleagues (2021). Thirdly, foreign teachers should be invited to join the clubs so that local students have the opportunity to practise speaking with them, improving their oral communication skills and self-confidence. In short, if English-speaking clubs are widely supported and effectively run, they can be a safe environment for students to strengthen their oral communication skills, teamwork ability, problem-solving skills, confidence level or even their proactiveness, partially thanks to the voluntariness of this activity.

6 Conclusion

The study has provided insights into how English language education contributes to students’ development of soft skills and personal attributes. Firstly, six factors including communication skills, confidence, team-working ability, problem-solving skills, proactiveness and information management skills were found to be improved by virtue of English learning. Secondly, different types of in-class tasks and participation in English-speaking clubs, as an extra-curricular activity, were regarded as instrumental to students’ varied levels of development of oral communication, information management skills, confidence and proactiveness. As such, the role of English teaching methods to students’ psychological capital is also discussed in this chapter. It is suggested that extra-tasks and projects should be purposefully designed and implemented, and that extra-curricular activities should be promoted in order to build up students’ certain soft skills and attributes. Possessing soft skills and personal attributes, including those found in this current study, has been proved to positively affect employability and employment outcomes (Bhaskar, 2015; Kumar & Kumar, 2016; Shukla & Kumar, 2017; Suarta et al., 2017; Tang, 2019). Therefore, English learning at tertiary education will benefit the development of graduates’ psychological capital, an important type of employability capital (Tomlinson, 2017) that makes students more work-ready and benefit their career development in the long term.