Speaker
Description
In remote and ethnically diverse regions of Vietnam, sustainable English teaching requires adaptive and culturally responsive approaches. This presentation shares practical vocabulary teaching strategies developed from first-hand experience at Muong Lan Semi-Boarding Ethnic Minority Secondary School in Sop Cop district, Son La province—where 99% of students are ethnic minorities with limited exposure to Vietnamese, let alone English. Amid challenges such as lack of equipment, limited internet access, low learner motivation, and multilingual burdens, the teacher has devised engaging, low-resource strategies to make English vocabulary accessible. These include teaching through images and realia, using gestures and contextual cues, incorporating games, applying controlled repetition, and encouraging personal vocabulary notebooks. These methods promote inclusive and sustainable learning by building learners’ confidence and enhancing retention. The session highlights how small-scale, context-sensitive innovations can foster global readiness through equitable English teaching practices, especially in under-resourced environments. The insights contribute to the broader discussion of sustainable and inclusive ELT in marginalized communities.
Biography
Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Nguyet is currently a teacher at Son La Ethnic Secondary School. She has more than twenty years of experience teaching English for students from ethnic communities.
