EXPLORING VIETNAMESE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCES, AND PERSPECTIVES IN CLIL IMPLEMENTATION

Year 2026, Volume: 15 Issue: 1 , 1 - 18 , 31.03.2026

Le Anh Phuong Bui , Wei-Yu Liu

https://doi.org/10.55020/iojpe.1808823

https://izlik.org/JA24NB35LB

Abstract

In Vietnam, content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has been introduced as an innovative approach to simultaneously develop elementary students’ language skills and academic subject knowledge. This study aims to investigate elementary teachers’ knowledge, experiences, and perspectives on CLIL implementation in Vietnam. Employing a mixed-methods design, this study administered a questionnaire comprising 20 five-point Likert-scale items to 100 teachers in the pilot phase and 183 teachers in the main phase, and conducted individual interviews with six teachers using nine open-ended questions. The findings reveal that although teachers possessed basic insights, relevant experience, and positive perspectives on CLIL (with mean scores exceeding 3.6), they faced several challenges related to professional development, collaboration and administrative support, and disparities in students’ language proficiency. In addition, teachers’ knowledge and experience were positively associated with their perspectives on CLIL (r = .68, p < .001; r = .52, p < .001, respectively), with knowledge emerging as a significant predictor (β = .62, p < .001), and a positive trend was observed between teachers’ language proficiency and their attitudes toward CLIL. Based on the participants’ responses, this study proposes several suggestions concerning training programmes, cooperation, and administrative support to enhance the effectiveness of CLIL implementation in Vietnamese elementary schools.

Keywords

Bilingual education , CLIL implementation , primary school , teacher , Vietnam.

Ethical Statement

This study involved voluntary participation of in-service elementary teachers and did not include any physical or psychological interventions. All procedures were conducted in accordance with research ethics principles and the guidelines. Specifically, participants were invited via email and were clearly informed about the purpose of the study and the confidentiality of their responses. The survey was administered using Google Forms, and participants had the option to provide their email addresses or remain anonymous. All participants were fully informed about the study and provided their informed consent by completing a consent form at the beginning of the Google Form survey. They could proceed to the main questions only after confirming their agreement to participate. In addition, no potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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