Dr. Melike Bulut Albaba

Abstract

This presentation reports on a British Council ELTRA project that examined teacher professional learning for multilingual classrooms in rural Vietnam. The study investigated the potential of Teacher Activity Groups (TAGs) as a form of collaborative professional development and considered how English language teachers (ELTs) might be positioned as agents of multilingualism within wider school systems.

The project addressed concerns about the linguistic marginalisation of minority students and the lack of teacher preparation for multilingual education. Drawing on research in multilingualism, teacher learning, and communities of practice, it explored how TAGs can support both ELTs and generalist primary teachers to develop inclusive, language-aware pedagogies.

The study involved 15 ELTs, 30 generalist teachers, and 5 teacher educators, with data generated through semi-structured interviews, recordings of TAG meetings, and teacher educator reflective journals. Findings highlight the importance of teacher development for multilingual education. TAGs supported teacher learning and fostered cross-disciplinary collaboration. Teachers began to advocate more actively for linguistic inclusion, and many participants—particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds—reported a renewed valuing of their own languages.

By situating the case of rural Vietnam within broader debates on multilingual education and teacher professional development, the project contributes to understanding how teacher learning structures can be adapted to support equity and inclusion in linguistically diverse settings. The presentation will also discuss key barriers and enablers identified in the project, with implications for teacher education policy and practice.

Biography

Dr. Melike Bulut Al Baba is a researcher and teacher educator. Her experience and expertise lie in language teacher education, teacher research, teacher learning and the education of multilinguals. She is recognised as a Senior Fellow by the Higher Education Academy. She supervises postgraduate research and takes leadership in international research projects. She is a Senior Lecturer in TESOL and teacher education at Sheffield Hallam University where she leads the External Interdisciplinary Network on Multilingualism.