Speakers
Description
Vietnam is repositioning English from EFL toward ESL as part of its long-term language education strategy. Resolution No. 71-NQ/CP (2025) sets ambitious goals for English proficiency and expands early English exposure from preschool onward. This presentation examines how these national policy goals are interpreted and enacted in everyday classroom practice. Drawing on Bernard Spolsky’s model of language policy—language ideology, language management, and language practice—the session explores the relationship between policy aspirations and classroom realities in Vietnam.
While English is promoted as essential for global integration and economic development, implementation remains complex due to large class sizes, mixed proficiency levels, unequal access to resources, and teacher shortages across regions. Within these constraints, teachers often adapt instructional practices to maintain engagement and support comprehension. This presentation argues that such teacher adaptations are a key mechanism through which national language policy is realized in practice.
Using a B1-level speaking lesson as a practical example, the session demonstrates how interactive tasks, scaffolded speaking activities, and strategic L1 use can support communicative development while remaining responsive to local classroom conditions. Participants will gain practical strategies for aligning policy expectations with realistic classroom teaching.
Biography
Uyen Nguyen Ngoc Phuong
Uyen Nguyen Ngoc Phuong is an English language teacher teaching tertiary-level students in Vietnam. Her research interests include translanguaging practices, task-based language teaching, and teacher identity in English language education. Her research focuses on the role of translanguaging and communicative teaching strategies in enhancing students’ engagement and speaking competence in English classrooms.
Hieu Vo
Hieu Vo is an English language educator and MA TESOL graduate whose research interests lie at the intersection of language policy, classroom pedagogy, and learner interaction in Vietnamese English education. Her work examines how national language policies are interpreted and implemented in everyday teaching contexts, particularly during Vietnam’s transition from EFL to ESL. She is interested in communicative and collaborative approaches that encourage student participation and support speaking development in mixed-ability classrooms. Her research also explores practical strategies that help teachers respond to contextual constraints while maintaining meaningful language use in class. Through both teaching and research, she aims to contribute to context-sensitive and sustainable approaches to English language teaching in Vietnam.
| Affiliate type | University |
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