Speaker
Description
Language loss is an urgent concern in many multilingual countries, especially in Vietnam, where ethnic minority communities possess rich linguistic heritages. This study focuses on the E De ethnic group in Vietnam’s Central Highlands and investigates the current status of their native language among younger generations. Grounded in a sustainability lens, the research examines how language use is shifting in daily life and education, and explores efforts to preserve linguistic and cultural identity.
The study begins with a review of key language policy documents related to the E De language. It then employs a mixed-methods approach, combining a language use survey with in-depth semi-structured interviews among E De youth. Findings highlight both the efforts and challenges in sustaining the E De language, including community-based initiatives, intergenerational gaps, and gaps in policy implementation. The study underscores the importance of integrating language preservation into educational planning and curricula. It also suggests leveraging digital tools and community engagement to support indigenous language sustainability and raise awareness of the cultural identities tied to these languages.
Biography
H Lu Ba Ayun is a Master’s graduate in English Language and a dedicated English teacher with over six years of ESL/EFL teaching experience. She has a strong aspiration to become a university lecturer and is passionate about promoting equity in education, particularly by empowering ethnic minority youth to pursue academic and professional paths in linguistics. In 2019, she was awarded the prestigious DARMASISWA Scholarship by the Indonesian government to study Indonesian language and culture at Universitas Gadjah Mada, an experience that broadened her intercultural awareness and deepened her commitment to multilingual education.
Most recently, she served as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) at Michigan State University, where she taught Vietnamese and contributed actively to academic life and cultural exchange on and off campus. Her current interests include genre-based pedagogy, corpus-informed instruction, education policy, and the intersection between language and equity. In both teaching and research, Lu Ba is committed to bridging theory and practice in meaningful and accessible ways. Outside academia, she enjoys watching documentaries, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends.
