This book fosters a global scholarly dialogue on teaching and researching Vietnamese as a second language, with particular attention to pedagogy, identity, and research innovation. It positions Vietnamese within the framework of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs), highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of teaching and learning in multilingual and multicultural contexts.
The first section examines Vietnamese learning in global settings: heritage language use in bilingual families, second language acquisition in different geographical regions, and the potential of virtual tandem exchange programs. The second presents diverse pedagogical strategies, including corpus-based vocabulary design, task-based learning, and gamification for heritage learners. The third analyzes acquisition processes, such as cross-linguistic influence from Sino-Japanese knowledge, challenges in motion constructions for Chinese and Korean learners, and the acquisition of wh-word order by Japanese learners. The last section turns to broader social and cultural dimensions, focusing on heritage vs. non-heritage dynamics, learner identity, and translanguaging as a tool for inclusive pedagogy. By integrating empirical classroom-based research and educators’ voices from different regions, this volume offers practical insights alongside theoretical contributions. It serves as an essential resource for educators, researchers, and anyone interested in the dynamic field of Vietnamese language teaching and research on a global scale.
Dr. Trang Phan is an Assistant Professor of Vietnamese language and linguistics in the Department of Asian and North African Studies at Ca' Foscari University of Venice. Her research focuses on the syntax of Vietnamese, exploring how it compares and contrasts with other Asian languages, how it has evolved over time, and how it is acquired by learners from diverse linguistic backgrounds. She is the author of the monograph The Syntax of Vietnamese Tense, Aspect, and Negation (Routledge, 2023) and the co-author of the 3 trilingual (Vietnamese-English-Italian) textbooks of Vietnamese entitled Vietnamese Vibes 1, 2, 3 (Cafoscarina Press, 2024). Phan co-edited several edited volumes including Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Vietnamese Linguistics (John Benjamins, 2019), Vietnamese Linguistics: State of the Field (University of Hawai'i Press, 2022), Progress in Vietnamese Linguistics (Taiwan Journal of Linguistics, 2024), and Studies in Vietnamese Historical Linguistics: Southeast and East Asian Contexts (Springer Nature, 2024).
An Nguyen Sakach is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor at the School of International Letters and Cultures, Arizona State University. As an applied linguist, her focus is on curriculum design and learning material development. Her work centers around less-commonly-taught heritage and indigenous languages and communities to advocate for language maintenance and language revitalization. She co-authored Kiễng chân, Nghển cổ, Nháy mắt, Cau mày - Phát triển năng lực Tư duy - Ngôn ngữ dành cho học sinh Tiểu học, a book on Vietnamese collocations and conceptual metaphors for a Vietnamese children's book series. She also co-authored an OER Intermediate Vietnamese Taskbook (via Michigan State University’s grant).
