Speaker
Description
In the context of repositioning English from a foreign language to a second language, ethnic minority students in Vietnam’s northern mountainous region face significant challenges related to cultural disconnect and low learning motivation. This study investigates the role of intercultural competence in this repositioning process. The mixed-methods research was carried out at Tan Trao University and Thai Nguyen University of Education. Data were collected from a survey of 832 ethnic minority students (Tay, Nung, Mong, Dao, Thai, Pa Then, Muong,..), in-depth interviews with 28 students and 11 lecturers, and classroom observations. Key findings reveal that students’ intercultural competence remains limited (mean score = 2.87/5.0). English is largely disconnected from their indigenous cultural experiences, resulting in low motivation (only 19.6% reported high motivation) and minimal out-of-class use (2.3 hours/week). Notably, students with higher intercultural competence achieved 31% better English scores and displayed significantly greater communication confidence. The study proposes an integrated model that incorporates intercultural competence into the English curriculum, using students’ indigenous cultural capital as a bridge, thereby enhancing teaching effectiveness and promoting educational equity for ethnic minority students in northern mountainous Vietnam.
Biography
Dr. Nguyen Thi Hong Chuyen holds a PhD in Language, Literature and Vietnamese Culture from the Institute of Ha Noi studies and International Education, Ha Noi Metropolitan University. Her main research field is Sociolinguistics in general and the languages of ethnic minorities in the mountainous regions of North Vietnam in particular. She has published more than 50 articles in both domestic and international journals, and 4 books have been released by major publishing houses. In addition to her linguistic research, she is also involved in education-related studies at the Institute of Ha Noi studies and International Education, Ha Noi Metropolitan University. Besides her own research, over the past 5 years, she has mentored numerous groups of students in conducting scientific research. As a result, 5 student groups won First, Second, and Third prizes at the university level. Additionally, 2 student group received a Third Prize at the Ministry level. Her recent studies and those of her team, focus on investigating the linguistic characteristics of ethnic minorities in the mountainous regions of North Vietnam from a sociolinguistic perspective.
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