Vu Thi Hang’s (not pictured above) teaching style is far from traditional.

In her class, it’s common to find students moving, dancing, acting and singing. In fact, she encourages it.

“I think it helps students to feel the language,” Hang, 25, tells Saigoneer. She describes herself as a theater hobbyist, while also holding a Masters in Asia Pacific Studies. “I like to encourage expression, so the students can try and use the language creatively.”

The kind of creativity and free-play her class fosters is relatively uncommon in most public school English programs in Vietnam. At every rung, from rural county classrooms to top-tier universities, traditional programs have long prioritized reading, writing and grammar as benchmarks for fluency.

Subjects like speaking and listening don’t get enough attention, Hang believes. “When we started teaching our kids, they were scared to speak English. We had to build their confidence.” Tiếp tục đọc “In Rural Tay Ninh, Teach For Vietnam Brings a Jolt of Change to English Teaching” →