Vol. 27 No. 2 (2023)

Volume 27, Issue 2 of The English as a Foreign Language International Journal (EFLIJ) provides three comprehensive articles on the different facets of teaching English as a foreign language. In the first article, Exploring English Pronunciation Teaching in Vietnam: Time for a New Approach? Hai Yen Vu and Stephen. H. Moore delve into the issue of Vietnamese learners' English pronunciation, which despite many attempts to improve it, persists as a significant challenge. It notes the existence of prior research that has compared the phonology of English and Vietnamese. However, this paper takes a different approach by examining the social, psychological, and cultural factors that impact Vietnamese learners' English pronunciation. To achieve this, the study investigates the attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs of learners and teachers at a private English Language Centre. The study's findings reveal that the conflict between viewing language as a system versus a social practice creates a dilemma for stakeholders regarding their goals, challenges, and possible solutions. This paper presents a study that builds on previous research to provide a more comprehensive understanding of teaching and learning English pronunciation (EP) at an English Language Centre in Vietnam. It highlights the differences in perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes of learners and teachers regarding the main goals and difficulties in learning and teaching EP. The teaching and learning of EP in Vietnam have primarily focused on viewing language as a system and have paid little attention to language as a social practice. However, despite many attempts to address these issues, the same problems persist due to the system's long-standing practices. The paper suggests a need for a new approach that balances the two opposing views of language as a system and language as a social practice to equip learners with both knowledge and skills to use English effectively in communication. Although changing the system is a daunting task, it is necessary to address the needs of English language learners in Vietnam's educational system.