Challenges of Incorporating Phonics into English Programmes in Vietnam

Huge thanks to Macmillan colleagues Quyen Ho Hac Bao , Phuong Nguyen and Vy Le Thi Tuong for arranging a fascinating and very useful day in HCM City during my recent stay. I was hugely impressed by their skills and knowledge and very grateful for their time.

And thanks also to the schools and teachers who made time to talk with us about the challenges of incorporating phonics into their English programmes: Dafi Jenkins, Head of Academic at ILO Preschool https://ilo.edu.vn/en/ , and professionals at UKA https://uka.edu.vn/en/, Ischool https://ischool.vn/en/  and the private language center VUS https://vus.edu.vn/

Despite the different settings, the challenges were remarkably similar:

• Making time in the curriculum or programme offering for discrete and regular phonics teaching

• Ensuring that the needs of bilingual pupils are taken into account within a programme (especially for pronunciation)

• Ensuring that teachers have the requisite skills and/or training with on-going support

• Providing enough information to persuade parents of the value

Macmillan’s Australian developed programme, Snappy Sounds https://www.macmillanic.com/english/snappy-sounds/  recently received UK DfE accreditation.