The paper aimed to examine the perceptions and reality of English teachers at community colleges in the Mekong Delta in using action research as a tool for their professional development. The questionnaire and interviews were employed to collect the research data. The results showed that most EFL teachers recognized the significance of doing action research in developing their profession and many difficulties related to it were also reported. Some suggestions were figured out to help teachers conduct more research and identify the benefits of doing action research for their growth and changes in teaching expertise