The nature of the learners

At this level, children are developing awareness of their social worlds and of their membership of various groups, including the Vietnamese class and community. They are further developing literacy capabilities in both Vietnamese and English, as well as biliteracy capabilities. They benefit from multimodal, activity-based learning that builds on their interests and capabilities and makes connections with other areas of learning.

Vietnamese language learning and use

Learners interact with family and the wider Vietnamese-speaking community, and at school with their peers and the teacher in a variety of communicative activities. Specific language-learning skills such as memory and communication strategies are developed. Learners primarily engage in a variety of listening and viewing activities, and understand familiar stories, songs and poems. They use Vietnamese in everyday interactions such as seeking advice, asking for help and clarifying information or ideas, for example, Thưa cô, chữ ‘Việt’ đánh vần thế nào ạ? Làm ơn giúp tôi trả lời câu này. Thưa cô ‘lễ phép’ là gì ạ? They participate in discussions such as sharing information about their routines and leisure activities, and their feelings about themselves and their home, friendships and interests. They explore Vietnamese language and culture through experimentation with Vietnamese rhymes (đồng dao, vè) and proverbs (tục ngữ). They listen to and view children’s songs, music performances, television shows and films, and use their imagination to create simple texts such as songs, dialogues and stories. They understand the function of basic grammatical features and sentence structure, and apply this understanding when describing actions, people and objects in simple texts such as messages, notes and emails to friends and relatives.

Contexts of interaction

The contexts in which students interact in learning and using Vietnamese are primarily the classroom, school and home. They have access to wider communities of Vietnamese speakers and resources through out-of-classroom activities and the use of virtual and digital technology. They work both independently and cooperatively, further developing their sense of personal as well as group identity, and of the cultural and intercultural significance of family relationships.

Texts and resources

Learners develop biliteracy skills through interacting with a range of spoken, written, visual and multimodal texts. Texts such as recipes, weather reports and family profiles show how language is used in different ways and for different purposes.

Features of Vietnamese language use

Learners explore Vietnamese sounds and spelling strategies to further develop their speaking and writing skills and initial understanding of their developing biliteracy. They compare the formation of Vietnamese and English nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions to extend their vocabulary, and use simple sentences to provide information about places (Nhà tôi ở gần trường học), people (Mẹ tôi có mái tóc dài), events (Hôm qua là Tết Trung thu) and time (Tôi đi ngủ lúc 9 giờ tối). They begin to develop a metalanguage for understanding and discussing language features, and make connections and comparisons between such features in English and Vietnamese. Comparing the structures and patterns of Vietnamese with those of English helps learners understand both languages, assisting in the development of their biliteracy skills.

Level of support

This stage of learning involves extensive support through scaffolding. Teachers model what is expected, introduce language concepts and resources needed to manage and complete tasks, and make time for experimentation, drafting and redrafting, providing support for self-monitoring and reflection. Support includes a range of spoken, written, visual and interactive resources, such as puppet plays, songs, video clips and digital games.

The role of English

Learners use Vietnamese in classroom routines, social interactions, learning tasks and language experimentation and practice. Vietnamese and English are used for discussion, explanation and reflection, as learners become aware of the interdependence of Vietnamese language and culture and make comparisons with other languages and cultures. They discuss and begin to explore connections between culture and language use, and the significance of certain traditions and practices, for example, the use of ông, bà, ba, mẹ, anh or chị to address older people or siblings in Vietnamese rather than addressing them by their first names as in English.