MICROTEACHING: Delusion of grandeur in Methodology courses. A case study in Vietnamese context.

In all language teaching methodology courses, especially in Vietnam, it is easily recognized that microteaching is an indispensable part, and sometimes considered the best approach to verify the application of theories of teaching methods into practice. The teacher trainers have increasingly raised the importance of microteaching practice because they strongly believe that, besides the verification factor, other students can experience and learn the methodological approaches and various measures to impart knowledge from his classmates in specific situations. However, it must be admitted that, there are very few in-depth studies on how pair microteaching affects and impacts the effectiveness and success of pre-service teachers after their graduation. They merely consider this issue as the compromise between teacher and learner during the study at tertiary level. This research was conducted on a small scale, on the number of a group of 50 pedagogical students who actually studied, conducted microteaching in the teaching methodology course, and participated in their practicum at high schools. The results of the study suggest that it is of an alarming concern that despite the level of endorsement of the experiences, the feasibility of teaching practice in the field is limited. This paper concludes that pair microteaching can only be considered as a form of practice in a specific subject area of teaching rather than a direct assessment of pre-service teachers' competence in their futuristic teaching activities.