Vietnamese learners

Getting accustomed to Vietnamese Whenever we arrive in a foreign country, there is a period of acclimatisation to the local context. Expatriate teachers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with Vietnamese. This might include exploring free online Vietnamese language resources like these courses offered by Live Lingua. Knowing and using our learner names is fundamental to developing rapport and creating an inclusive learning environment. If you are new to the Viet Nam context and need support, ensure you work with your co-teacher on appropriate pronunciation of children’s names.

Key features of L1 and L2 In language teaching and learning, learner mother tongue is often referred to as L1 and the additional language children are learning is referred to as L2. Having an understanding of key features of L1 and how this might impact learner L2 acquisition needs can support effective teaching and learning. English is classified as a Germanic language within the wider group of Indo-European languages. Modern Vietnamese has multiple influences and has typically been classified as a Mon-Khmer language within the wider group of Austroasiatic languages. This creates some unique learner needs particularly in relation to phonology. Vietnamese can be described as a syllable-timed language whereas English is described as stress-timed. This creates challenges associated with suprasegmental aspects of phonology related to stress at word and sentence level, intonation and connected speech (blurring of word boundaries and other phenomena in the stream of speech). There are also variations in the placement and combinations of consonant clusters that typically present challenges to learners, as well as phoneme level differences related to variations in vowel and consonant quality, and absence in Vietnamese of some phonemes present in English. (See Nguyen 2010 and Lan 2015). This can create challenges related to both listening and speaking skill development that we can proactively address in lesson planning and delivery.

Education in Viet Nam Education is valued highly in Viet Nam and there is much investment occurring in the education sector making it an exciting to be an educator here. There are some features of the education system in this context that it is useful to be aware of if you are new to Viet Nam. Examples include historical tendencies for learners to be viewed as more passive receptacles of knowledge rather than active co-constructors of knowledge. Despite exciting innovations in education in this context in the past 15 years, testing methods and normative attitudes towards testing that are product rather than process oriented have been identified as factors that continue to present challenges to successfully developing learner communicative competence in English (see Minh Nguyen Huu Thanh 2020; Hoang 2018:19). In practical terms, this means learners may require additional scaffolding in the form of model analysis and structured planning time in order to produce written and spoken language independently. Skills associated with self- and peer-assessment that are necessary for autonomous learning and collaborative group work are also not typically focused on in mainstream classrooms, and learner training may be required for learners to be able to effectively identify and address gaps in their use and understanding of English. You might notice a difference in learner needs in these areas between existing Vinschool students and students new to our school.