LAL training in Vietnam: A teacher-centred approach to resource development

This article discusses the creation of a set of online training materials for English language teachers in Vietnam focusing on classroom-based assessment practices. The sociocultural approach informed all stages of the project, from data gathering and topic selection to the format of the materials. Adopting a sociocultural approach facilitated the attention to the context which is a key strength of the project. Data were collected through focus group discussions and individual semi-structured interviews. Context-specific issues identified during data analysis include: the challenges of competence-based assessment, inequalities in English language provision, and the issues of large class size and heavy workloads. Participants’ answers indicate the materials provide teachers with assessment knowledge, which is tailored to their institutional context, the Vietnamese context, and to their circumstances. This study of Vietnamese teachers’ assessment practices and beliefs indicates that language assessment literacy is a socially constructed system which is both context-specific and context-dependent.