VietTESOL International Convention 2026

The national plan adopted by the Government of Vietnam to make English a second language in schools marks a significant shift from treating English primarily as a curriculum subject towards using it more extensively for learning, communication and institutional participation. The central challenge is therefore no longer whether this repositioning is desirable, but what it will take to translate policy ambition into feasible and sustainable practice. This roundtable examines the conditions needed for implementation across a highly diverse education system in which learners, teachers, institutions and localities begin from very different levels of readiness. Rather than assuming a single pathway, the discussion considers a menu of context-responsive approaches, including strengthened English-rich environments, bilingual education, CLIL and English-medium instruction, with different combinations and intensities appropriate to different schools and learner groups. Particular attention will be given to teacher and institutional capacity, curriculum and assessment alignment, appropriate expectations for learner outcomes, and the implications of moving beyond predominantly British- or American-oriented norms towards English as a Lingua Franca for international intelligibility and communication. The roundtable will also address how differentiated implementation can expand opportunity without assuming that every learner, school or locality must progress at the same pace. Bringing together perspectives from language policy and national language planning, the session ultimately asks what schools, universities, teacher educators, researchers, policymakers, international partners and education providers should do next to turn the national vision into workable, evidence-informed and context-sensitive action. Invited guests of this discussion are Associate Professor Obaidul Hamid and Dr. Nguyen Thi Mai Huu.