Vietnam
Australia
The Common European Framework of Reference has been adopted and adapted globally in language teacher education. In Vietnam, pre-service teachers of the English language are required to reach the advanced level (C1) of the Common European Framework of Reference - Vietnamese Version as a condition to graduate and become language teachers. This article examines the perspectives of universities and pre-service teachers on this requirement. It draws on 37 interviews with university leaders, lecturers, and pre-service teachers. The findings indicate how universities and pre-service teachers respond to the National Foreign Language Policy. The active role of universities in finding ways to improve pre-service teachers' English proficiency and the proactive efforts of pre-service teachers in meeting the required standard can be seen as a positive indicator. However, the findings show a number of both visible and hidden dissonances between the reality and Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training's expectation, between pre-service teachers and leaders and between a cohort of pre-service teachers who aim for globally recognised standardised level and the university training systems which are only capable for institutional localised tests. The study shows that some preservice teachers stressed the importance of pedagogical knowledge over language competence.