Speaker
Description
This study applies the language ecology framework and the translanguaging approach to explore the linguistic interactions among mother tongues, Vietnamese, and English within the multilingual language ecology of ethnic minority students in Vietnam’s northern mountainous region. The main objective is to analyze the current situation and propose solutions for repositioning English from a formal foreign language subject to a meaningful second language in higher education. The research was conducted at Tan Trao University and Thai Nguyen University of Education. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including a large-scale survey of 1,124 ethnic minority students (Tay, Nung, Mong, Dao, Thai, Pa Then, Muong, etc.), in-depth interviews with 32 students and 12 lecturers, classroom observations, and curriculum document analysis. The findings reveal a highly imbalanced multilingual language ecology. Mother tongues and Vietnamese dominate daily communication (over 85% of language use), while English is used only 2.1 hours per week outside class. Notably, only 18.4% of students reported high motivation to learn English, and 67% considered English “irrelevant” to their lives and future careers in mountainous areas. However, students with strong multilingual awareness achieved 28% higher English scores and demonstrated significantly greater communication confidence compared to others. The study proposes a repositioning model for English based on multilingual integration, using students’ mother tongues as a bridge, aiming to improve English teaching and learning effectiveness and promote educational equity for ethnic minority students in northern Vietnam.
Keywords: Multilingual language ecology, Ethnic minority education, Northern mountainous Vietnam, English language repositioning, Language policy and planning.
Biography
M.A. Duong Quynh Hoa is a lecturer at the Faculty of Political Education and Educational Psychology, Tan Trao University, Vietnam. She holds a Master’s degree in Educational Management, which has provided her with a strong academic foundation in educational leadership, quality assurance, institutional governance, and innovation in higher education management.
Throughout her academic career, she has been actively involved in teaching, academic advising, curriculum development, and educational research, particularly in the areas of teacher education and regional educational development. Her research interests include educational quality management, school governance, teacher professional development, and the enhancement of digital competence in higher education. Through both teaching and scholarly activities, she has consistently sought to bridge educational theory with practical innovation in order to improve teaching effectiveness, learning outcomes, and institutional quality.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, M.A. Duong Quynh Hoa has participated in interdisciplinary research projects and professional activities related to curriculum reform, student mentoring, and digital transformation in education. She has also presented her research at national and international academic conferences, contributing to scholarly discussions on educational innovation, sustainable development, and the future of teacher education in the digital era.
Her long-term academic aspiration is to contribute to the modernization and sustainable development of Vietnam’s teacher education system through evidence-based educational management, digital innovation, and collaborative learning practices. She is particularly committed to promoting educational equity, lifelong learning, and quality enhancement in higher education institutions.
| Affiliate type | University |
|---|