VietTESOL International Convention 2026

As Vietnam strives to transform English into a second language within national schools, a paradox remains: students often master complex grammar yet remain silent during daily classroom activities. This study argues that the core barrier is not unwillingness to communicate, but a systematic lack of accessible functional language resources retrievable under real-time class interactions. Grounded in Conversation Analysis and functional language theory, the study investigates recurring classroom interaction patterns among 220 students from Grades 5, 6, and 7 across three schools in both urban and rural Vietnam, using naturalistic classroom observations and semi-structured teacher interviews as primary data sources. The analysis identifies six recurring interactional situations - opening routines, individual task management, behavioral coordination, collaborative work, learning assessment, and lesson closing - and bridges the gap between students' existing L1-dominant communication habits and their target EFL functional language needs. Findings show that students across all observed contexts demonstrate clear communicative intent and task engagement, yet consistently conduct participation in L1 due to the absence of short, ready-to-use English expressions suited to real-time classroom demands. In response, the study develops a context-embedded, comic-based classroom language handbook that organizes functional scaffolds by interactional situation and communicative purpose, designed for immediate use across multiple subjects. This resource offers both teachers and learners a practical, low-pressure tool to gradually normalize English as a working language beyond formal language instruction.