Speaker
Description
As Vietnam moves toward repositioning English from a foreign language to a more functionally embedded second language within education, important questions arise regarding the extent to which current teaching materials reflect this transition. Although the 2018 General Education Program emphasizes communicative competence, intercultural communication, and the practical use of English in global contexts, relatively little research has explored how these orientations are represented in post-reform English textbooks used in Vietnamese K–12 education. Drawing on the perspectives of Global Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), this study examines the extent to which post-2018 English textbooks demonstrate ESL-oriented pedagogical features and communicative priorities relevant to multilingual and transnational communication.
Using qualitative content analysis, the study analyzes selected upper secondary English textbooks across three dimensions: representations of English users and cultural contexts, communicative task design, and the positioning of English as a functional resource for authentic communication. The analysis suggests that the textbooks reflect an emerging shift beyond traditional EFL-oriented instruction through greater emphasis on interaction, intercultural topics, and communication situated in everyday and global contexts. At the same time, the materials continue to rely heavily on standardized Inner Circle norms, controlled language practice, and highly structured communicative activities, indicating that traditional EFL assumptions still remain influential in textbook design.
The study argues that post-2018 Vietnamese English textbooks reveal a hybrid educational orientation in which established EFL practices coexist with newer ESL- and Global Englishes-informed perspectives. The findings contribute to current discussions on curriculum reform, textbook development, and language policy in Vietnam’s evolving English education landscape, while also highlighting the need for materials that better prepare learners for diverse, multilingual, and internationally situated uses of English.
Biography
Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong is a lecturer at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. She has 19-year experience in teaching English and methodology, and training pre-service and in-service teachers. She is also an author of English textbooks for pre-school and upper secondary students. Her interests include Teacher Education, English Language Teaching and Professional Development
| Affiliate type | University |
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