Effect of pedagogical environment on learning English in universities in Hanoi Abstract ( research question ? / method ? ) The aim of this study is to investigate the impact that the learning environment has in learning English listening and speaking skills including: Instructors, students, curriculum and textbook, teaching methods, learning and teaching environment To collect the data, the research was based on both qualitative and quantitative techniques of research by using the case study in a non-public language institution and the application of a questionnaire as instruments of research for a number of 50 students in some universities in Hanoi The findings were: Students fear speaking English language in public and can’t make a conversation, presentation in English easily Curriculum of listening and speaking does not contain enough suitable exercises to practice the skills Instructors not use strategies that develop speaking and listening such as: role- play, debates, and presentation-assignment Less time devote to listening and speaking skills Lack of modern labs used for teaching listening and speaking skills More than 30 students are in listening/ speaking class It has been strongly recommended: Use motivating teaching strategies such as: cultural debatable topics, discussions, role-play, and presentations - assignment to develop speaking skill Teach Listening and speaking course in the modern lab Increase the time of listening and speaking course Activate English club and societies inside the colleges Reforming the textbooks is suitable for Vietnamese students Students’ number in listening and speaking class must not exceed 30 Introduction In today’s globalized world, the most common language used is English In general, English has become the important language for communication, business, education and opportunity According to (Nagaraj, 2008): “English language learning was an effort directed at reaching as an approximation of the native speaker model as possible” Demand for English learnings is on the rise, more learners have access to higher education, and vocational training programs are increasingly including English language classes in their universities Speaking and listening seems to be the most important skills of all the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) because people who know a language are usually referred to as speakers of that language (Ur, 1996) The major goal of all English language teaching should be to give learners the ability to use English effectively, accurately in communication (Davies & Pearse, 1998) However, after many years studying English, not all English language learners can communicate fluently and accurately because they lack necessary skills One of the important reasons is due to effect of pedagogical environment on learning English speaking and listening The students can pass exams easily but it is difficult for them to use English to communicate To help the students improve the skills, it is necessary to find factors that affect students ‘speaking and listening skills, so that the teachers can deal with these factors to help the students improve English speaking and listening However, up to now, there is no research conducted about the issue in universities in Hanoi In general, from the results of the research, it was evident that the students deal with many problems in the English class Moreover, there are a lot of factors that contribute to their success and failure in learning speaking and listening tasks On the whole, the current teaching and learning of the skills in universities in Hanoi need to be improved The research focus on two main issues: What are the effects of pedagogical environment that the students in universities in Hanoi encounter when they learn to speak English? What are the factors that affect the students’ English speaking performance? It would be helpful for universities’ teachers in Hanoi in particular and teachers in Vietnam in general to formulate methods that enhance the English learning skills of the students This researchers hope that the study would bring results and recommendations that can be used to inform educators and teachers about the effects in Hanoi on finding suitable ways to improve English speaking and listening of the students Hopefully, the study can contribute to the improvement of English teaching and learning in Hanoi Science and Technology University Davies, P & (2000) Success in English Teaching Oxford University Nagaraj, G (2008) English in the world In English Language Teaching: Approaches, Methods, Techniques (p 1) Orient Longman Ur, P (1996) A course in Language Teaching Practice and Theory Cambridge : Cambridge University