VietTESOL International Convention 2026

This practical workshop provides a strategic roadmap for educators looking to design, execute, and sustain intensive English language & capacity building initiatives as Vietnam transitions toward its 2035 ESL goals. Drawing on the presenter’s experience leading high-impact teacher training workshops, student leadership initiatives, and textbook creation projects through international...

This hands-on workshop gives English educators and curriculum administrators a practical framework for crafting institutional AI policy that moves beyond prohibition toward design. Drawing on recent research from MIT Media Lab, Microsoft, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Collegiate Learning Assessment, the session establishes that the cognitive skills AI erodes, including critical thinking,...

While mastering collocations is vital for natural and fluent expression, vocabulary instruction in many high schools remains heavily dependent on memorizing stagnant, isolated wordlists. This rigid word-to-word translation often acts as a major barrier, causing EFL learners to produce awkward, unnatural phrases. To tackle this persistent issue, this 60-minute interactive workshop offers...

Artificial intelligence tools are rapidly changing how English teachers create classroom materials, allowing lessons, quizzes, and activities to be generated within seconds. However, faster content production does not necessarily lead to deeper language processing or more meaningful communication. In many classrooms, students move quickly through visually polished activities without sufficient...

Creating meaningful assessments is an essential part of English language teaching, yet designing quizzes, setting answer keys, grading responses, and providing feedback can require considerable time and effort. By leveraging accessible digital tools, educators can streamline assessment practices while enhancing the learning experience.
This hands-on workshop will demonstrate how automated...

This presentation reports on the curriculum redesign and pedagogical implementation of an English-Medium Instruction (EMI) across two diverse higher education contexts: Software Testing course and a Comparative Educational Administration course following participation in an intensive eight-week EMI professional development program. Responding to current demands for English proficiency, and...

As English increasingly serves as a language of professional communication in global workplaces, ESP courses need to prepare students to use English beyond the classroom. This 90-minute workshop explores how university - industry collaboration can support the repositioning of English from a foreign language subject to a language for workplace participation. Drawing on the NeoTECH English Works...

Language teachers invest considerable time commenting on student writing, yet a persistent gap remains between the feedback provided and the feedback learners actually act upon. Research locates this gap not in delivery but in reception: learners engage with feedback affectively, behaviourally, and cognitively, and these dimensions operate simultaneously and interdependently (Ellis, 2010; Han...

Critical incidents are unplanned and unexpected events that occur during lessons and prompt teachers to reflect on teaching and learning. Regardless of an institution’s context or teaching approach, such incidents are a natural part of classroom life and can provide valuable opportunities for teacher learning. Analysing these moments can help educators develop greater reflective awareness and...

Teacher observation is a common way of evaluating teaching quality and supporting teaching excellence in English language education contexts in Viet Nam. As observation typically involves pre- and post-observation discussions between teachers and trainers or managers, the ways in which these conversations are conducted can strongly influence how teachers perceive both their own teaching and...

As Việt Nam continues to press toward foreign language integration, especially English as a second language, content teachers have the dual burden of learning English and teaching in it across the curriculum. The path to empowering students through content and language integration is eased with the help of English teachers’ language support courses for teachers in content areas using English...

As English increasingly serves as a language of professional communication in global workplaces, ESP courses need to prepare students to use English beyond the classroom. This 90-minute workshop explores how university - industry collaboration can support the repositioning of English from a foreign language subject to a language for workplace participation. Drawing on the NeoTECH English Works...

Despite the acknowledged effectiveness of translanguaging - allowing students to use their native language (L1) to learn, discuss, and write, even if the instructor does not speak that language - as scaffolding in language education, research depicting how specific scaffolding strategies are integrated into pedagogical translanguaging in English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) classrooms remains...

This workshop will detail a project executing non-verbal exercises to help medical English students improve communication skills and doctor-patient simulations. The research was done with first-year students at a medical university in Vientiane; the presentation will include the need for such a project, the methodology of our research, and the results we found. Students practiced culturally...

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way students learn, access information, and complete academic tasks. In a recent survey conducted by the presenter, 100% of students reported using AI tools, highlighting the urgent need for educators to move beyond debates about whether students use AI and focus instead on how they use it. While AI offers powerful opportunities for language...

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) has gained increasing attention worldwide due to its positive impact on student well-being, engagement, and academic success. However, despite its growing importance, SEL remains underexplored in many English language teaching contexts in Asia (Bai et al., 2024). As language learning is closely connected to emotions, confidence, relationships, and classroom...

The modernization of English-language programs in ASEAN is attracting significant interest from universities seeking to align programs with current and future employment opportunities through Outcome-Based Education (OBE). To align effectively within an OBE framework, university programs require a comprehensive understanding of current and future job markets to establish relevant and...

The modernization of English-language programs in ASEAN is attracting significant interest from universities seeking to align programs with current and future employment opportunities through Outcome-Based Education (OBE). To align effectively within an OBE framework, university programs require a comprehensive understanding of current and future job markets to establish relevant and...

Abstract
While English textbooks provide valuable linguistic input, many classroom activities do not always create meaningful opportunities for interaction, learner voice, or authentic communication. This interactive workshop explores how standard textbook activities can be transformed into communicative learning experiences that promote active student engagement, critical thinking, and...