English language teachers developing culturally responsive pedagogies in Vietnam

Globally, there is an increasing recognition of systemic inequalities which deprive minority groups and indigenous people of quality education due to cultural, linguistic, and financial barriers (UNESCO, 2023). At the school level, these inequalities are seen in curricula and teaching practices primarily designed for the majority, leaving minority groups at a disadvantage in terms of educational outcomes. This is particularly evident in Vietnam, home to 54 different ethnic groups, each with its own language, culture, and traditions, and where educational disparities between majority and minority ethnic groups are noticeable.

Teachers can play a significant role in shaping the educational outcomes of ethnic minority group students through their choice of teaching pedagogies and their understanding of the cultural and linguistic diversity that students bring to the classroom. However, many teachers in Vietnam, and elsewhere, are often ill-equipped to handle culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms.

Teachers collaborating on a group task in a workshop

The project

Funded by a British Council Vietnam UK/VN Season 23 grant, the project set out to empower 40 English language teachers of ethnic minority group students in their own professional learning through an exploratory practice (Allwright & Hanks, 2009; Hanks, 2017) approach to teacher development. Through this approach teachers would be better able to understand the cultural context of their learners and develop culturally responsive pedagogy (Gay, 2018) in order to ultimately help improve the English learning outcomes of these learners.

Working in collaboration with the local education authority, we designed and led a series of one-day workshops between April and October 2023 in Lang Son province, alongside a mentoring programme. Through Exploratory Practice, the teachers worked in collaboration with their learners. Together they discovered how best to motivate English language learning, building on the connections to learners’ languages and culture.

Teachers collaborating on a group task in a workshop

The project team

The project was led by Dr Laura Grassick (University of Leeds) with Professor Judith Hanks (University of Leeds), Professor Hoa Nguyen (University of New South Wales), Dr Lan Anh Tran (Vietnam National University), Dr Nga Ngo (Tay Bac University).

Project outcomes

By the end of the project, the teachers had created lesson plans and posters to share with colleagues. They felt encouraged to try out new classroom practices and activities with their 300 English language learners, which boosted motivation for teachers and learners. A key outcome was the increased sense of achievement among teachers, who felt better able to support their learners from ethnic minority groups by embedding culturally responsive strategies into their lessons. Their work was disseminated through teacher-led presentations in an online webinar, which received positive feedback from an international audience of researchers and practitioners.

Greater awareness of learners’ culture and background

'We have time to implement the activities which help [learners] to develop their sense of belonging and love their culture. The students feel that they are respected' (CS1)

More positive perception of learners’ potential

‘I find that my students are so imaginative – before I didn’t think that my students could be like this on their own’ (CS2)

Using new teaching ideas and approaches to motivate learners

‘…in the normal work that we teach in class, we mostly just call it like a repetitive process I always try to finish the lesson within the time frame, but now I can give students a broader understanding of their culture, some things, such as religious beliefs, or maybe their customs’ (CS1)

Benefits of collaborative learning

Teachers reported an interest in the project from other subject teachers in their schools, suggesting that culturally responsive pedagogies may have a wider appeal and is an area for further research.

‘…teachers have to work together. I have learned a lot from listening to them and discussing the teaching ideas with them’ (CS5)

The project also produced various outputs, including:

• Webinar “Exploring culturally responsive pedagogies in English language teaching” Nov 2023, attended by practitioners and researchers in Vietnam, UK, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Australia and Japan. This event was organised by Vietnam National University and showcased some of the teachers’ work from the project, presented by the teachers themselves.
• Webinar “Contextualising Exploratory Practice: Case studies from Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan”, attended by researchers and practitioners from Vietnam, UK, Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, Japan and Thailand. This event was jointly organised by the University of Leeds and the University of New South Wales and provided a platform for discussion around exploratory practice and inclusivity.
• A ‘Community of culturally responsive practice’ for teachers in Lang Son province to ensure the sustainability of the project.

For further information please contact Dr Laura Grassick [email protected] or Professor Judith Hanks  [email protected].

Posters showing the inquiry and projects teachers undertook with their learners.