VietTESOL International Convention 2026

As intercultural competence has become increasingly important in English language education, many EFL programs have begun integrating culture-related activities into language skills courses. Drawing on intercultural approaches to language learning, this study reports on a mixed-methods exploratory study investigating English-major students’ perceptions of culture-integrated activities across a sequence of General English courses at a Vietnamese university. The courses incorporate scaffolded cultural activities of increasing complexity, including discussing cultural questions in class, role-playing to explore specific cultural concepts, and comparing cultural practices, with the latter two completed as video projects. The study aims to examine students’ overall perceptions of these activities, their perceived benefits for language learning and personal development, the obstacles they may encounter, as well as lecturers’ perspectives on the usefulness of cultural integration and difficulties in facilitating these activities. Data are being collected through a questionnaire consisting of Likert-scale items and open-ended questions administered to second-year English-major students who have completed the course sequence. Follow-up interviews with selected students and lecturers are also conducted to gain deeper insights into learning experiences, instructional challenges, and suggestions for curriculum improvement. The study is expected to provide practical implications for integrating intercultural learning into advanced EFL skills courses in ways that enhance learner engagement, meaningful communication, and curriculum relevance.