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The International Information & Library Review (2007) 39, 80–88

The InternationalInformation & Library Review

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Delivering LIS education into Viet Nam: A narrativeof teaching, interpreting, and translating

Bernadette Welch�, Janet Murray

School of Business Information Technology (Information Management), 239 Bourke Street,Melbourne, Vic. 3001, Australia

Summary A team of academics from RMIT School of Business InformationTechnology were involved in delivering LIS training to staff at Can Tho Universityin Viet Nam who were to work in a newly developed Learning Resource Centre (LRC).The training materials were written in English and then translated into Vietnamese.RMIT staff then delivered the training face-to-face through interpreters. This paperrecords a narrative of the interaction between academics, students, translators, andinterpreters. This narrative examines development, limitations, and successes ofcross-cultural teaching and learning and offers a commentary from the point of viewof academic participants in this project, particularly about the developingrelationships between academics, translators, and interpreters. Examination ofthe impact includes some preliminary evaluation of the nature of the teachingexperience and the development of culturally inclusive strategies and material.& 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction

RMIT University has been involved in the delivery oftertiary education in Viet Nam since 2001 whenRMIT Viet Nam was opened. As well as deliveringtertiary education, RMIT Viet Nam has beeninvolved in project managing the development offour Learning Resource Centres (LRCs) at variousuniversity campuses throughout Viet Nam. In 2005,RMIT Australia accepted a tender to deliver trainingto the Can Tho University LRC staff.

ee front matter & 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserveilr.2007.02.005

ing author. Tel.: +61 3 9925 5827.ess: bernadette.welch@rmit.edu.au (B. Welch).

The School of Business Information Technology inthe Business Portfolio at RMIT was contracted toprovide a concentrated period of training for CanTho University LRC staff over a period of fourmonths from October 2005 to January 2006. TheInformation and Knowledge Management groupwithin the School were the principal educators forthe project. They were responsible for the plan-ning, writing, and delivery of the specific trainingmaterials. The actual delivery of the training tookplace over a four-month period in three blocks ofintensive teaching.

This paper examines the development of theproject from the initial tender acceptance to thedelivery of the training from the point of view of

d.

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Delivering LIS education into Viet Nam 81

one of the project managers who managed theentirety of the project and delivered the training inthe final stage, and the academic who deliveredthe first training module in Viet Nam.

First, this paper presents commentary on thedevelopment of the project, looking at the trainingrequirements and the context in which the trainingtook place. The issues that guided the developmentof the training programme are discussed. Theseincluded: the teaching environment in Viet Nam,issues of cross-cultural delivery and the use ofinterpreters, the constraints of developing teach-ing material remotely, and sourcing suitable read-ing materials for translation into Vietnamese. Theassumptions and expectations of both parties—thetrainers and the client group, are discussed.Secondly, the paper presents a commentary onthe actual teaching experience by two of theacademics involved, which investigates the learn-ing, adaptation, and modification that occurredduring the experience. This presents interestingperspectives from the point of view of the firstacademic in country, who needed to make asituational assessment that would guide the deliv-ery of the remainder of the programme, and fromthat of the Project Manager who was also involvedin the delivery of the final training module. Lessonslearned and alternative methods of delivering thistype of LIS training are considered.

The development, delivery, and evaluation ofthis project are best described through a number ofinterrelated themes, the development of which willbe through a chronological approach. The threethemes chosen for this examination are about theinternationalisation of tertiary education and re-lated issues, which have impacted both on LISprofessional education programmes and upon theacademic library environment; teaching and learn-ing in a cross-cultural sphere, and about theexperience of teaching using translated materialand interpreters.

The development of a LRC on four universitycampuses in Viet Nam has been sponsored by aphilanthropic trust. Can Tho University was thethird LRC to be built. As part of the support for theLRC development, specific staff training is offeredto facilitate the move from an older-style libraryculture dealing with mainly print resources to themore contemporary LRC style of service delivery,customer focus, and access to electronic resources.One of the aims of the LRC development in VietNam was to facilitate the move from a teacher-centred approach to the delivery of education to amore student-centred and inquiry-based approach.The development of the LRC concept is seen as animportant tool in this change. Access to electronic

resources and a much expanded collection oflibrary resource material together with a moreservice-oriented and research-based approach tolibrary users underpinned these changes. Libraryand information studies schools from universities inAustralia and New Zealand have previously beeninvolved in this training, for two other LRCs alreadyopened in other universities in Viet Nam.

The terms of the contract dictated an intensivedevelopment of LIS skills for a diverse group ofparticipants. Emphasis was placed on the need fortraining in information literacy and development ofprofessional skills that would enable the staff to beleaders in the move to incorporate differentlearning styles and use of information resources inteaching and learning. The participants wereinexperienced as far as libraries were concerned,although there were a few staff members who hadreceived LIS training in the USA or New Zealand.The library director and vice-director had bothgained library qualifications in the USA. There werea number of staff who had library experience but notraining. A group of young and enthusiastic staffhad been newly appointed in preparation for theexpansion of library services when the new LRCopened. They had no experience or training in LIS,but among them was a group with considerable ITexperience.

Literature review

Teaching and learning in an internationalenvironment

In Australia, the main discussion about the inter-nationalisation of tertiary education deals withthe issues of teaching onshore international stu-dents. The research generally centres on theacquisition and accreditation of appropriate Englishlanguage levels for study and the questions ofcultural relativity that underpin the delivery ofeducation to international students. Many studieshave been written about the experiences ofuniversities offering courses to international stu-dents either in their home countries or overseas(Gael-Avuila, 2005; Smith-Pariola & Goke-Pariola,2006; Ziguras, 2001), but in most cases thisteaching is offered in English with the internationalstudents having English language abilities. There isa body of research and commentary that offersdiscussion about the role of the tertiary library inthis internationalisation of education, but again,the literature focuses on the perceived or realneeds of international students as they negotiateAustralian or other university curricula (e.g. Li,

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2006; McSwiney, 2002). This type of research andcommentary were useful in that it did set thescene for thinking about the needs of non-Englishlanguage students, but the specific context ofteaching in English using translated materialsand interpreters was not clearly addressed in anystudy.

LIS education in the international context

The lack of professional expertise in developingcountries is addressed by Knuth (1999). The smallnumber of trained librarians leads to a lack ofnetworking and professional support and a lack ofprofessional literature with a local focus. Interna-tional collaboration to assist with this problem, byassisting developing countries in accessing LISeducation resources, is also documented in theliterature, such as the REVISTAS project in LatinAmerica (Johnson, 2005), but these need to beplanned and monitored to ensure success.

The work of international professional bodies isimportant in this area, particularly in the develop-ment of training programmes and the disseminationof international standards and professional litera-ture (see Wedgeworth, 1998).

The internationalisation of LIS curricula has alsobeen an area for study, focusing on discussion of thedissemination of international standards and codesof education in the international context. Anotheraspect of the discussion is the training of interna-tional students in LIS and the nature of thisexperience, particularly in the cross-culturalsphere. In Australia, programmes to assist libraryand information professionals from neighbouringAsian countries have been developed to facilitatetheir on-going training (Jordan, 2002).

An Australian study (Badger & Roberts, 2005)details an e-literacy programme undertaken bySwinburne University of Technology at their campusin Malaysia which was delivered in English byAustralian librarians and was part of the teachingand assessment for all students undertaking coursesat the university. This study describes the kind ofcultural and educational issues encountered inattempting to deliver programs devised in onecountry and delivered in another and was useful inhelping to set the scene for the Vietnameseexperience.

Translation and interpreting

No study that describes the experience of deliver-ing LIS curricula using translated teaching materialand interpreters has been located. The general

literature on translation provided some insight intothe various theoretical positions of the translatingfrom one language to another and gave someinsight into the process, problems, and issues ofusing translated material and interpreters.

The studies in translation viewed offered insightinto the relationship between language and cul-ture. Modern translation theory suggests that theprocess of translation and interpreting is not just asimple word-for-word translation of language, but amore complex process requiring cultural sensitivityand knowledge as well as language skills (Biguenet& Schulte 1989, Hatim, 2001).

The training context

Good teaching practice in the Australian contextmandates that teaching be student-centred, cap-ability-based, and use an inquiry approach. This isachieved at RMIT through the use of a variety ofteaching styles and content delivery mechanisms.The provision of work-integrated learning, use ofcase study, and inquiry approaches together withmore traditional methods of instruction provides arich environment for learning. The delivery ofeducation using the online environment also pro-vides abundant communication possibilities. Thisteaching and learning environment is typical of adeveloped Western democracy. In Viet Nam, theeducational paradigm is considerably different,as it is based on a teacher-centred approachusing rote learning and highly structured learningactivities. However, the tender document specifiedthat the training was to demonstrate a student-centred and inquiry-based approach more consis-tent with Australian style education than Vietna-mese styles.

The training materials were based on existingresources available at RMIT in Melbourne, Australia,and used in the teaching of the Graduate Diplomain Information Management, a one year profes-sional qualification accredited by the AustralianLibrary and Information Association. Delivery ofthis programme is offered in a face-to-face modeover two semesters of usually weekly classes.

Although this programme formed the basis, allthe resource material written for the Viet Namdelivery was written in a narrative style and withdetail of content and exercises and resourcesavailable in electronic format. All the materialhad to be delivered via email to the translators atleast a month before delivery so that translationand duplication could take place. All references forwhich permission to translate and reproduce hadbeen organised were delivered at this stage also.

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Development of training material inAustralia

Design of training materials

The assumptions that underpinned the develop-ment of the training documentation were informedby the demands of the tender document, theprogramme material available at RMIT, the timeconstraints of delivery, the need to customise thematerial to use Vietnamese examples for exercisesand examples, the nature of the tertiary educationenvironment in Viet Nam and the cultural andlanguage constraints in teaching in a transnationalenvironment.

Academic staff at the School of Business Informa-tion Technology have been involved in teaching inan online environment in Viet Nam for some time,but this project presented some new challenges.Experience in dealing with international students inthe Australian context was not enough to preparefor this experience, as much of the physicalenvironment was unknown. Using translated mate-rial and interpreters was a new challenge, and theconceptual context of LIS was only understood at abasic level in Viet Nam.

First of all, the delivery had to be done face-to-face, using print materials. Many of the resourcesalso used for the delivery were electronic in acondensed mode, and so a mixed mode wasdeveloped for the actual training using primarilyprint materials but with online resources madeavailable as well.

The translation of the training material wasundertaken by a lecturer at the Can Tho Universitywho had a great deal of experience in translationand teaching English. He also undertook most of theinterpreting duties during the classes.

The content was based on materials that hadbeen used in the Australian context but adapted toallow for cultural differences and the Vietnamesecontext. As discussed above, the participants haddiffering levels of LIS experience. Thus, there was aneed to present material that was current andtopical, not only to further the professionaldevelopment needs of the staff with LIS qualifica-tions, but also to ensure that the inexperiencedstaff were provided with the conceptual back-ground related to the sector.

In collection management, for example, thebasics of the collection development cycle werecovered but the programme also drew on examplesthat covered, electronic information sources aswell as the more traditional formats with which theparticipants were more familiar. One outcome hadto be an understanding of the type of collection and

the model of service delivery that would beavailable in the new university library, which wastotally different from the existing library which ranon a traditional semi-closed access model.

The modules were designed to provide as muchinteractive and visual content as possible. Few ofthe participants had visited countries outside ofViet Nam, so it was important to be able to putacross a concept of how Western libraries looked.So PowerPoint presentations that accompaniedlecture delivery made good use of photographs.These were taken in libraries in Melbourne duringthe preparation period. All visual aids used werebilingual.

In many developing countries closed accesslibraries are common, therefore, the concept ofopen access needed to be explored. In the case ofthe new library at Can Tho, open access had beenplanned from the start, but the staff still had to beprepared for operating a library in this differentcontext. This affected different components withinthe training content.

The learning styles of the participants also had tobe taken into account. ‘‘Chalk and talk’’ is thetraditional approach used in Viet Nam, accompa-nied by very structured classroom activities. Oneaim was to model the student-centred learningstyle that the university was moving to adopt. Apractical, rather than theoretical orientation, hadbeen requested, so the participants often workedon materials or documentation that could be usedas part of policies and procedures in the new LRC.Wherever possible exercises were designed toprepare staff for the types of enquiries and servicesthey might receive in the new LRC, in the contextof student-centred learning. Often they were askedto prepare material and find resources in subjectareas currently taught at Can Tho University. Alsoneeded were: group work, class activities thatdeveloped specific learning materials relevant tothe new LRC, and exercises and case studies usingreal work examples. Using the knowledge ofprofessionally experienced LRC staff to assist inteaching less-experienced participants was alsoimportant.

Access to online tools

We decided that access to online tools would befacilitated for participants to demonstrate andoffer opportunities to use the professional re-sources that are taken for granted in Westerntertiary libraries. For development of technicalservices, access to WebDewey and LCSH wasobtained so that students could learn the basics

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of cataloguing and classification. Participants alsohad access to a Vietnamese language version of theDewey Classification tables, which proved to be aninteresting contrast to WebDewey. Also availablewas access to online ordering systems as well asvarious commercial reference sources. Access totwo large aggregated databases was availablethrough the existing University Library network.Participants were trained to use these databases,so in turn, they could train students and staff.

Physical environment—Can Tho

Training took place in a classroom which wasadjacent to the existing library building. It was asmall room that had been equipped with approxi-mately 22 personal computers, which was conve-nient when online tools were used or practicalexercises were being done, but at other times, theclassroom arrangement made the teaching spacecongested.

Translation of reference material

Choosing the reading material to support teachingand learning for participants was a challenge. Theaim was to provide readings that were of highquality, but not too theoretical and not too long,both to aid the participants in grappling withunknown concepts and also to ensure that every-thing could be translated in time. Direct andsimple language was therefore also sought. It wasdifficult to source materials in Vietnamese, buta few articles written by library professionals fromother Asian countries were sourced and used toavoid there being a bias towards Western librariesin the reading. For example, an excellent articleon customer service in libraries was found, writtenby two Indian library professionals (Gupta & Ashok,2002).

Delivery of training—narratives

Initial training—October 2005

The lecturer who delivered the first module hadpreviously undertaken training and consultancywork in developing countries, so she was familiarwith some of the likely challenges. She had alsovisited the National Library of Viet Nam in 2003 andmet with the Director of the National Library ofViet Nam and the head of one of the library schoolsin Hanoi, so she had some knowledge of the libraryand information sector in Viet Nam. She had also

previously visited the regional town of Can Thowhere the university was situated.

The first module covered enquiry-based teachingand learning, the role of the information profes-sional, customer service, and collection manage-ment. As teaching progressed, it became clear thatflexibility and adaptability were the order of theday, to ensure that content was relevant andappropriate to the audience. Linkages had to bemade between the existing concepts of libraryservice to facilitate understanding of how servicescould be offered differently in the new LRC.

Customer service presented a challenge in thatfrom a cultural context the concept is unknown inViet Nam. This was one example of how theprogramme was adapted according to the partici-pants’ response. In fact, the library staff was soimpressed by the whole concept of customerservice following the presentation of an initiallecture that the programme was extended to allowexamination of customer service case studies. Inaddition, the programme examined examples ofcustomer service charters from universities in othercountries. One outcome was that the groupproduced a Customer Service Charter for the newLRC as an exercise. Although this content had beenprepared, its inclusion had not been definitelyplanned, as it was not expected that the segmentwould be so enthusiastically received.

Similarly, when teaching the module CollectionManagement, we realised that all ordering ofmaterials was being done in a paper-based systemwith a restricted number of book suppliers. There-fore, the lecturer managed to organise from VietNam for the participants to have temporary accessto the online databases of two major librarysuppliers—Baker & Taylor and James Bennett Pvt.Ltd. who were happy to provide access free ofcharge for a limited period. This enabled partici-pants to experience an online ordering system,although they needed a good deal of instruction tohelp them in using the databases. The educationalmodel they were used to was not student centred,which made it difficult for them to take theinitiative to browse and ‘‘play’’ with the databases.But again, practical exercises focused on theproduction of documents that would form the basisof a collection management policy.

Apart from delivering the course content, as thefirst person in-country, the lecturer had an im-portant role in information gathering: to assess thetraining needs, to report on the library environ-ment in which the training participants wereworking, and to build up a rapport not only withthe training participants but also with the seniorlibrary staff. These tasks were essential to ensure

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that future modules would be delivered effectivelyand meet the university’s requirements. Thisincluded meetings with senior library staff todiscuss the training content and delivery. Photo-graphs were taken of the current library, and alsoof all the LRC staff, for the information of the RMITstaff running the next modules.

It was important to build up rapport withinterpreters and establish the best methods andprotocol for the verbal delivery of material. One ofthe interpreters had done the majority of thetranslation of the handouts and the readings andhad become very interested in the course content.He was also a trained teacher, and this was verybeneficial. In small group work, he assisted thelecturer in managing the groups and in many waysworking with this interpreter became a quasi-teamteaching experience. In small group work, it wasuseful to place one English speaker and oneparticipant with LIS experience in each group.

Dynamics can be affected in the interpretationprocess, but once some protocols had beenestablished momentum was maintained. We foundthe best way to deliver was for a few sentences at atime to be spoken and then to be translated. This toassisted the flow of information and ensured thatthe interpreter fully understood the context.

The participants also had a handout for eachsession, either in English or Vietnamese, dependingon their personal preference. For classroom activ-ities, one on one instruction could supplementthe information provided and also enabled thelecturer to check for understanding. For non-English speakers, reliance had to be placed on theinterpreter to check for understanding and this inturn was dependent on the individual style of theinterpreter.

Participants were given a maximum of tworeadings for each day and were expected to lookat this as homework as well as read through theirnotes for the day and prepare for the following day.Each day then began with review questions whichprovided reinforcement of the content but alsochecked for understanding. These were discussedorally at the beginning of each day in order toprovide an interactive session which started theday off on a positive note.

The other aspect of the training delivery that hadto be considered, as in any developing country, wasusing culturally correct behavior—such as usingtitles (Miss, Mr., etc.) when addressing participantsand the interpreter, and using standardized formalgreetings at the beginning and end of sessions.Naturally trying to say a few words in Vietnamesewas a real icebreaker and clearly appreciatedby the participants. Finding a common second

language was also a useful ploy. In this case, twoparticipants spoke French, as did the lecturer, sothis could be used to aid communication and tobuild up rapport with the participants. It wasimportant for the lecturer to be sure to attendmorning and afternoon teas, as she was very muchconsidered a guest and it would have beenimpolite, for example, to stay in the classroom torevise the next segment.

We found that, in fact, more of the participantsthan had been expected spoke and understoodEnglish at a reasonable level, but because of thetechnical language and jargon being used, bilingualdelivery was still necessary. In comparing thisexperience to other training work in the Pacific,the lecturer delivering the first module came to theconclusion that although the use of an interpreterpresented a different dynamic, the clue to successremains an understanding of the cultural contextand learning environment of the country in whichtraining is delivered.

Subsequent training—January 2006

The second module of training delivered concen-trated on the development of customer service skillsand knowledge of cataloguing and classificationtools. The third module was concerned with refer-ence training and specific training in using theappropriate databases accessed by the LRC. Deliver-ing training with the aid of an interpreter was adisconcerting experience at first. Certainly, inexperi-ence with the delivery of teaching using translatedmaterial meant that the actual teaching materialsneeded to be adapted on the spot at times to meetthe demands of the classroom and the participants.

The necessity of dealing with up to 30 partici-pants in a fairly confined environment working withone interpreter meant that flexibility had to be akey attribute in the delivery. The experience ofusing interpreters threw into sharp relief manyeducational questions about the transference ofskills and content and the use of different teachingstyles. In devising the training materials for thefinal stage of delivery, a number of teachingmethods were used; each provided differentproblems using the interpreter. The principles ofgood teaching fostered in the RMIT context provedto be just as important in teaching using inter-preters. Carefully managing group work so thatthere were a range of skill levels and Englishlanguage in each group was important. Ensuringthat the gaps necessary for interpreting to takeplace did not seriously interrupt the flow ofinformation and activities was also important.

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The training material had been written as acontinuous narrative of content and exercises andactivities. It was translated and presented as asimilar document in the Vietnamese language.Further explanation and organisation of the classwas done through the interpreter who also trans-lated the responses or presentations of the parti-cipants who did not speak English. The interpretingwas done in a consecutive fashion, interpretingpassages or sections spoken in English, and thentranslating into Vietnamese.

The delivery of material that was concept basedprovided some interesting problems as the level ofcomplexity in one language is intensified whendelivering in another language. Careful evaluationvia exercises and discussion, particularly withparticipants who spoke English language wasnecessary. The issue of translating a specificprofessional vocabulary was also an interestingprocess. Because some participants were conver-sant with the LIS vocabulary, some translationswere the subject of discussion about how best toconvey meaning. This process highlighted the needto establish shared meaning of terms, whichinvolved working with the participants and transla-tors to describe and then ensure that terms wereunderstood.

Using a lecture approach, which initially seemedlike a simple methodology became more cumber-some because of the gap between the delivery ofthe content and the translation. The student’sability to concentrate was limited using thisapproach. Lectures needed to be kept to aminimum, and use of visuals and stories wherepossible to illustrate points made the lectureapproach more palatable. Using group work ap-proaches proved to be a productive method in thatparticipants could discuss the work and then onestudent could give a report that could be translatedfor evaluation. Reliance on participants withEnglish language ability was important in theseactivities. Pacing of the delivery of materialwas an issue as the interpreter became used tothe styles of the different presenters. Overall, fivedifferent staff members were used in the deliveryduring the eight-week period, providing a challen-ging verbal and linguistic environment for theinterpreters.

The culturally embedded nature of language wasevident, particularly in the area of verbal and non-verbal cues. Any use of vernacular speech by thelecturer was also greeted with incomprehension oran attempt to translate literally. Questioningapproaches are also culturally embedded, andnew methods of questioning needed to be ex-plored. Participants, when faced with an exercise

about finding answers to ready reference questions,found the exercise initially difficult as the questionswere not phrased in ways that they expected.Also, finding answers using web search engines,commonplace in English-speaking countries, provedto be more difficult in Viet Nam where thiswealth of information is not available yet and needfor this is also not much identified need for thesetypes of responses. An exercise designed topractice effective searching of the Web using theGoogle search engine had to be constructed sothat Vietnamese websites could be searched.Fortunately, many of the information-rich websitesare available in Vietnamese and English (e.g. mostGovernment websites and news sites, as well as anumber of corporate sites), so evaluation ofthe exercise was relatively easy. Developing knowl-edge of what material was on offer in Viet Namproved to be an interesting topic for participantsand trainers.

Developing a working relationship with theinterpreter was vitally important. The relationshipis a complex one as the interpreter also has tobecome a teacher, particularly when the work isstudent-centred and inquiry based. Although manyof the participants were used to the specificprofessional vocabulary used, the interpreter alsohad to learn this extensive vocabulary. Fortunately,the translator of the training materials was alsooften the interpreter used in class and hadmastered the vocabulary and the professionalcontext of the training at an early stage.

The most difficult activities to sustain in thisenvironment were those of listening, question andanswer, or thinking and reflecting activities. Theseinvolved more direct interaction with staff, and themediation of the interpreter sometimes madethese activities too drawn out.

Teaching using translated material and an inter-preter was an experience that opened up the areaof cultural sensitivity in unexpected ways. Thecomplexity of the transaction could not have beenappreciated when the training materials weredeveloped based on the experiences with interna-tional students in Australia.

Conclusions

The Western style academic library provides onemodel of how developing countries could developtheir academic institutions. The issue of appro-priately staffing this model is a challenge in thatthere is a shortage of qualified library staff and thelibrary schools are not producing enough graduateswith the necessary levels of expertise.

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The virtual library is an alternative model, butcurrently in Viet Nam internet access is limited inindividual homes. It is not surprising to hear thatnow the new LRC at Can Tho University isoperational, students queue up before the libraryopens in order to secure a computer to use. CanTho University is currently piloting distance educa-tion, and the LRC will need to develop and maintainelectronic resources to support this initiative.However, access to the range of electronic re-sources considered appropriate for a large aca-demic institution is problematic. Costs of resourcesmay limit what can be purchased as will the limitedresources available in the Vietnamese language.Also, maintaining print resources in a tropicalenvironment presents another set of problems,and a virtual library collection may be preferablefrom a preservation perspective. For the present atleast, the Western LRC model is the one beingadopted for Can Tho University.

Participation in this project led to increasedknowledge of the way LIS education was beingdelivered in Viet Nam. There are several initiatives,including a planned library and information studiesschool at Can Tho University. Initiatives are oftenhampered by the issue of access to relevantteaching materials and technical resources inVietnamese language, such as international stan-dards for classification and cataloguing. A lack ofLIS literature in Vietnamese also hampers profes-sional development. International collaborationand efforts to make materials available in devel-oping countries are very important. Libraries in VietNam and other developing countries are unable tosend large numbers of staff to other countries forprofessional education, and the LIS professionneeds to focus on offering assistance for in-countryLIS programmes.

In terms of the teaching process, the mostsuccessful activities were those that involvedhands-on skill development, group work and roleplay, and visual and online exercises. The moduleson information organisation, using WebDewey andLCSH online were very well received. The partici-pants were also enthusiastic about the training inusing online reference tools and doing exercisesinvolving visiting the websites of other libraries andundertaking virtual library tours. This reflected aneagerness to learn new skills, but in a verystructured way, and also a desire to become awareof library models in other countries.

Thus, as in any teaching context, the use of arange of delivery methods with a high level ofstudent participation proved successful. Adapta-tion and flexibility in training delivery, however, inthis particular context were an essential compo-

nent. The short time span for training alsoprecluded much in the way of sustained practice,and participants moved from training into practicein the new LRC fairly soon after training finished.

This project satisfied the immediate needs foreducation and training for a specific university LRCstaff, and it was successful in that the LRC openedthree months later and staff were trained andready to deal with the needs of a diverse group oflibrary users. A better approach might be tosupport an in-country training programme thatwould create a cohort of LIS professionals whocould then deliver on-the-job training both withintheir own organisations and other libraries. Devel-opment of specific information products in theVietnamese context also needs to be undertaken.

In the Can Tho project, both written materialand verbal teaching needed to be translated andthis necessity had a profound impact on the writingof the training documentation and the communica-tion of the concepts and skills. The academicsinvolved in the project were involved in thenegotiation of meaning between producers andreceivers of the training material (Hatim, 2001).This negotiation also took place with an added levelof complexity as there was a layer of LIS profes-sional language that also had to be negotiated.

The experience of delivering this training high-lighted the culturally based assumptions of thelanguage and the communication processes neededto convey meaning. Although the experience ofteaching international students within Australiawas helpful, awareness of cultural differences andexpectations were even more significant in deliver-ing material in a foreign language in a foreigncountry. The development of trust between trainerand interpreter in what was a complex relationshipwas also a defining experience. The use of inter-preters who were also teachers, as was the case forthis project, is highly desirable.

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