VietTESOL International Convention 2026

Research has shown that the rise of performance-based accountability (PBA) policies, which aim to improve educational outcomes by holding teachers and institutions accountable for students’ performances, have exerted profound impacts on teachers’ practices and identities in many contexts. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and reflective teaching journals, this study sheds light on how English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers working in private tutoring sector in Vietnam, an under-researched group of teachers, experienced and navigated the changes brought by PBA policies, in their heavily exam-driven and market-oriented educational ‘businesses’ setting. Findings reveal the increasing uncertainty and vulnerability of their identities, as they highlighted the pressure of constantly having to produce good students’ results and uphold the impression of quality for the ‘business brand’ without receiving adequate systemic support, while fearing punishments and lack of job security, being viewed as ‘replaceable’ by the managers. At the same time, the teachers also demonstrated agency by raising issues on questionable practices, walking on a thin line between meeting the demands and staying true to their values, embodying a ‘not thriving but surviving’ mentality while planning for their own vision of a future in the profession. The paper offers discussion on problematizing PBA policies and emphasizes a need for further investigation of these trends in the local context.