Speaker
Description
The Mekong Delta, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, faces increasing environmental challenges. However, many undergraduate students in this region remain disengaged from local ecological issues, despite their direct stake as residents. This study investigates how place-based education (PBE) can be integrated into English language teaching (ELT) to foster students’ sense of place and environmental awareness. The research involves English majors at Can Tho University participating in a spatial storytelling intervention titled “Mapping Identity: Narrating a Place-Based Personal Story.” This activity encourages students to reflect on the personal significance of local places, annotate digital maps with meaningful locations, and share autobiographical stories in English.
Adopting a qualitative action research design, the study collects data through student narratives, map annotations, group discussions, and pre-/post-intervention reflections. Findings are expected to reveal that engaging with place-based storytelling not only enhances students’ English language skills but also deepens their emotional and cognitive connection to their local environment. Furthermore, shared mapping and dialogue are expected to foster a collective awareness of environmental responsibilities and regional identity.
This research highlights the transformative potential of PBE within ELT contexts, especially in ecologically sensitive areas. By linking language learning with personal and environmental narratives, educators can empower students to become more critically aware, culturally rooted, and ecologically responsible. The study offers practical implications for curriculum design in EFL settings aiming to cultivate sustainability-oriented citizenship through language education.
Biography
My full name is Huynh Thi My Linh. Currently, I am a second-year Ph.D. student in International Graduate Program of Education and Human Development, National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU), Taiwan. I am honored to study under the mentorship of Professor Paichi Pat Shein, a distinguished scholar in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Indigenous Science Education, Multicultural Education, and Place-Based Education.
My research interests include ESD, place-based education, sustainable and social innovation, and stakeholder engagement in higher education. I am driven by a deep passion for addressing urgent global challenges—such as climate change, educational equity, social inequality, community resilience, and sustainable development—through transformative educational practices.
My academic journey began with a Bachelor's degree in English Translation and Interpretation from Can Tho University. I later earned an MBA from Foreign Trade University and accumulated 5.5 years of professional experience at the Ho Chi Minh City campus of the same university. Prior to my doctoral studies, I served as a lecturer in the Faculty of Business Administration at Ton Duc Thang University, where I taught Management Principles and supported academic development initiatives.
