VIETTESOL INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION 2025

In Vietnam, English language teachers, especially those serving ethnic minority students, often face unique challenges: Limited confidence in their own English proficiency, pressure to meet national language benchmarks, and expectation to teach through English-only methods. Yet in linguistically diverse classrooms, these approaches can marginalize both teachers and learners. This session explores how translanguaging can be a transformative pedagogical and professional tool in the ethnically and linguistically diverse classrooms.
Drawing on research literature, interviews with Vietnamese teachers teaching in ethnic minority settings, and several chapters from a new series “Vietnam’s Foreign Language Teacher Competencies in Practice,” the presentation will highlight three interconnected benefits of translanguaging. First, it supports teachers with limited foreign language proficiency by allowing them to scaffold instruction using students’ home languages, improving classroom communication and instructional effectiveness. Second, it enhances equity for ethnic minority students by affirming their linguistic identities and creating more inclusive learning environments. Third, it builds teacher self-efficacy and professional confidence by shifting professional identity from “deficient speaker” to “multilingual facilitator.”
Participants will engage with real teacher voices, explore questions for professional reflection, and consider how to implement translanguaging strategies within their own teaching and teacher education contexts.