This presentation explores how literature circles, when thoughtfully structured as pedagogical tasks, can provide rich, engaging opportunities for advanced heritage learners of Vietnamese to develop interpretive skills, expand their academic language repertoire, and connect with cultural narratives. Grounded in a Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) framework, the project demonstrates how reading circles built around the Vietnamese literary classic Dế Mèn Phiêu Lưu Ký were designed to scaffold deep reading, foster peer collaboration, and elicit personal response, all while affirming students’ heritage identities.
Over the course of a 10-week quarter, each student rotated through meaningful roles—such as Discussion Leader, Summarizer, Word Wizard, Illustrator, and Connector—that were reframed as communicative tasks aligned with TBLT principles. These roles guided learners in making sense of the text, engaging in interpretive dialogue, and using academic Vietnamese in purposeful contexts. The presentation will outline the instructional design, highlight student work, and offer practical guidance on adapting literature circles for use in other language teaching contexts.
Selected Slides
Slides/Recordings: Upon request
Talk delivered at the 2nd Venice-Tempe Vietnamese Language Teaching Symposium organized by Dr. Trang Phan (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) and An Sakach (Arizona State University)
About the Symposium
This symposium series aims to unite teaching and research professors of Vietnamese worldwide to explore methodological insights and technological advancements in Vietnamese language instruction. The symposium is completely online and will be conducted via the Zoom teleconferencing platform. (more info here)