This project aims to explore the challenges of teaching linguistic minorities in Vietnam, a group often identified as academically disadvantaged. There is a global gap in teacher education programmes in equipping educators to effectively teach linguistically diverse students. We recognise the need for teacher training in multilingualism in Vietnam and posit that teachers of English, with their nuanced understanding of language learning dynamics, can serve as catalysts for promoting multilingualism.
We will provide comprehensive training and support for English language teachers, focusing on multilingualism in education and facilitating Teacher Activity Groups (TAGs). These teachers, supported by the research team and local teacher educators, will lead TAGs with other subject groups to promote understanding of multilingualism and professional development for linguistically inclusive teaching.
Our research focuses on: 1) analysing teachers’ professional development needs for teaching multilingual students, and 2) evaluating TAGs as a strategic bottom-up approach, led by teachers for teachers, to enhance their professional engagement, foster ongoing learning in multilingualism, and provide leadership opportunity for particularly female English language teachers to create a positive impact in their teaching community.
The insights derived from our project contribute valuable knowledge on integrating the expertise of language teachers into mainstream classes through collaborative professional development and female teacher leadership initiatives.
