Mentoring EFL teachers of young learners: lessons from Vietnam

The article reports an English Language Teaching (ELT) scholar’s exposure to teacher practice at an English language school for children in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, during two years as a mentor. As an academic advisor for the school, he observed classes, consulted teachers for local knowledge, shared teaching ideas, and co-designed activities. The first half of the article provides an overview of what can be learnt from this process to enhance the teaching of English communication skills to children. The second half then narrates and discusses a collaborative experience with the teachers to plan and co-teach a lesson to a class of children aged three to four, a process that would generate insights into innovative efforts in teaching young learners. The findings point to three major issues, namely how language is revisited, how learning experience is contextualised, and how children’s creativity is supported.