My Journey
“I watch Disney channel” was often my reply when someone asked me about learning English. The lesser-told story was on how I started: My Dad, who had received too many job rejections due to his low English proficiency, decided to enroll me in an extra English class when I turned six as a way to prepare for my future. The language skill turned out to be more than a highlight on my resume. It allowed me to embark on beautiful adventures, enjoy new experiences, and touch many lives. My Dad’s mishap in the past has become a motivation for me in learning and eventually inspired me to shape my career purpose: helping people acquire the competencies that
grant them the possibility of a better future.
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At 19, I knew English was my strength. I entered University of Education as the top student and sailed through the first year effortlessly. However, many of my peers could not handle the classes with such ease, I noticed. They struggled to understand the lesson and express themselves in the English-instructed class. The fact that I was lucky to have slightly better English skills compelled me to support my friends. I gathered a team, founded an English club, and planned up different activities for my peers to practice English after class. The participants were shy to talk at first, but the communicative games we prepared allowed them to lower their guard and enjoy using
English. Soon, everyone began participating more actively. Our events grew in popularity, attracting students from other universities to join and over 5,000 followers on our fan page. Despite the sleepless nights and seemingly never-ending rehearsals before each event, I derived an untiring pleasure from the creation process: planning, testing, and seeing my creations help others uplift their skills.
Later, I found and seized a one-year teaching assistantship in Hong Kong. Given a group of students who were culturally and linguistically different from my Vietnamese learners, I felt motivated to research deeper in learning models and craft new instruction strategies. The whole process introduced me to the field of Instructional Design. With knowledge and creative power, I was emboldened to devise a mobile-assisted learning program to help postgraduates improve their English-speaking skill before they could undertake teaching duties. As a result, the program could reduce the number of guided learning hours and human efforts while fastening learners’ progress compared to previous courses. The positive outcome of the program showed me that by artfully combining technological tools with my pedagogical knowledge, I could greatly enhance the efficacy of learning as I once desired.
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Covid-19 brought me to uncharted water: designing training for businesses to enhance professional skills. The upskilling pressure was even greater since the rate of successful adoption meant a life-and-death matter to the companies. The intriguing experience added a new meaning to my profession by showing me the power of Instructional Design in elevating not just individuals but the organization as a whole. It has also inspired me to extend my Instructional design practice to a new learning context: the business workplace.
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I have chosen Learning & Development as the arena where I would distill my strengths and interest into tangible impacts: helping people acquire the competencies they need for a greater future.
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