Speaker
Description
I'm Stass, a friendly and experienced foreign educator who has lived and taught in Vietnam for more than six years. I've been running my own two busy language-center branches (that I legally own) in rural and urban Nghe An (Do Luong and Vinh) and teaching learners from preschool to adults, and I would like to present a hands-on approach to adding sustainability into English lessons without relying on digital devices.
Over eight weeks, mixed-ability primary classes explored local environmental issues, created English posters for plastic reduction, and staged a "green market day" (of sorts...) that required the use of real 'transactional' language. Because each classroom had just one projector, the projects depended on printouts, everyday objects, and community interviews to develop both language use and critical thinking.
Speaking-rubric data showed a noticeable gain in fluency (as well as lexical range), while learner (our students') diaries showed autonomy (meaning that they were able to complete most tasks themselves due to the fun/unusual nature of the activity) and eco-awareness.
The session will walk participants step-by-step through lesson sequences, sample worksheets, and quick assessment tools, which are all refined through daily practice at my English centres. Attendees will leave with a reusable project template (which I find very valuable), ideas for managing large classes, and tips for aligning eco-literacy tasks with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and all of that at no extra tech budget required! I'll be delivering in an energetic, audience-friendly (of course!) style, and this oral presentation fits the strand "sustainability in curricula".
Biography
Stass Reed is the founder and academic director of JYS IELTS, an independent English-language centre with two branches in Nghe An. A professional and life-long educator (with a talent and PASSION for languages: an Honours Bachelor's degree in Linguistics, IELTS Speaking at 9.0, TOEFL, TESOL, and other certificates, and knowledge of two other languages) who has lived in Vietnam since 2019, he has delivered more than 10,000+ classroom hours to learners aged four to adult and coaches teachers in task-based, learner centred pedagogy.
Stass has experience as an IELTS Speaking/Writing assessor and regularly shares practical ideas at workshops, and is currently writing a book on "Teaching English in Vietnam: A practical guide for local teachers" (as well as preparing to undertake a teacher-coach global certificate training).
Lê Thị Hoài Thương, co-founder and operations manager of JYS IELTS, oversees curriculum design, teacher mentoring, and community outreach. A Vietnamese IELTS 7.0 graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Education from Hanoi University of Education, she blends local cultural insight with international standards to make programmes relevant and sustainable for rural contexts. Together, Stass and Gracee lead a 20-member team that serves 400 plus students weekly, piloting workshops, teacher/English-center staff training, ecoliteracy projects and specialized and targeted pronunciation practice to promote global citizenship (our motto) across all age groups.
