VietTBLT

Status: Ongoing  | Timeline: 2025-2026

The VietTBLT Initiative focuses on advancing task-based language teaching (TBLT) for Vietnamese through three interconnected pillars: research, pedagogy, and community with a mission to create practical, research-informed instructional materials and foster a network of teachers committed to meaningful, communicative learning. See current and past projects https://www.viettblt.com/projects 

GUAVA Refresh 

Status: Ongoing  | Timeline: 2022-2027 

GUAVA = Group of Universities for the Advancement of Vietnamese in America

• Curating and publishing monthly e-Newsletters to keep members and friends staying connected. Sign up here to receive my monthly updates about Vietnamese language education via GUAVA.
• Serving as a board member of GUAVA and working closely with the board to initiate new changes (GUAVA Connect, Innovation Awards, Best Practices).
• Migrating the GUAVA website to open-source WordPress to serve as a resource hub for VLT. Designing, updating, curating resources.
• Editing and designing the GUAVA Newsletter, a professional space for Vietnamese teaching professionals (five issues).

Taskbook as OER (2023–2024)

The idea for this project began in 2017 as a handbook of communicative English tasks for school teachers, but the proposal did not receive funding at the time. In 2023, when a colleague invited me to collaborate on developing Vietnamese language teaching materials, I returned to this earlier concept and applied a Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach, one of my core research areas. The project received a grant from The Less Commonly Taught and Indigenous Languages Partnership, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and housed in the Center for Language Teaching Advancement (CeLTA) at Michigan State Universityto. We developed high-quality, open educational resources grounded in TBLT. The resulting materials are now used by major universities in the United States and internationally. See more at https://sites.google.com/view/vietoer

Multiʻōlelo Initiative (2018–2022)

Multiʻōlelo was a research-sharing initiative supporting scholars in the language sciences. It served as a platform for open, accessible knowledge exchange and included the curation of high-quality open-access journals for educators and researchers. Through Multiʻōlelo, I received two community service awards for contributions to the field. The project is now housed at SLS-UHM. Learn more: https://multiolelo.com

• Phung, H. (2023). Bridging the research-practice gap with Multiʻōlelo: An initiative for language research communication. AAALGrads Newsletter 7(2), 20-22.
• Phung, H., & Ortega, M., (2021, June). Promoting L2 research visibility and accessibility. Paper presented at the CALICO Virtual Conference. https://youtu.be/OgUJ0zFuap4
• Phung, H. et al. (2020). Using infographics for language research dissemination. Workshop delivered at the SLS Brownbag
• Phung, H. (2021). Multiʻōlelo Annual Review 2020. Report designed and published on the MO website. Retrieved at https://multiolelo.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/2020-multioleo-annual-review.pdf
• Phung, H., Choe, A., Diez-Ortega, M., Eguchi, M., Holden, D., Mendoza, A., & Nguyen, T. (2020). The Multiʻōlelo initiative for language research communications. Second Language Studies, 38(1), 5–17. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34737.20325
• Phung, H., & Reinagel, R. (2018, April). Multiʻōlelo platform: Showcasing multilingual voices in language learning and use. Proposal presented at the 22nd Annual Graduate Student Conference of the College of Languages, Linguistics, & Literature. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI.

Whitelist of Open Access Journals in Language Studies (2015-2022)

Several backlists of predatory journals, conferences and publishers are available, but I want to maintain a whitelist of OA journals for those who are interested in learning more about language studies. Available at: https://airtable.com/shrlJXc3YKRm1ZwXs; If you know an open access journal unlisted in the list above, please recommend here: https://airtable.com/shrq3y56DhkTvGjJk

VietTESOL International Conference (2017)

VietTESOL 2017 asked a bold question: How might we redesign Vietnam’s national ELT conference to be more inclusive, dynamic, and teacher-centered? Building on the momentum of earlier PBLL initiatives, I helped conceptualize and organize VietTESOL 2017 using a new approach to conference design and teacher engagement. Despite the challenges of implementing a new model for the first time, the 2017 conference laid the foundation for what has since become one of Vietnam’s most active annual professional gatherings. VietTESOL 2017 website https://viettesol.weebly.com;

PBLL Symposium (2016-2018)

Initially created as a small professional learning group among project-based language teachers in the English Department, this initiative evolved into a university-level symposium series with innovative formats and strong faculty engagement. I led the design of the symposium experience—including the brand identity, conference program, visual materials, digital platforms, and communication strategy. These design layers helped shape PBLL into a recognizable and scalable learning community. The workshops attracted participants from across the member universities of Thai Nguyen University and were later expanded into a national conference for multiple languages. http://pbllsymposium.weebly.com

Brave Girls (2016-2018)

BraveGirls emerged from the belief that “educating one woman educates an entire family.” We designed a platform that nurtured confidence, leadership, and opportunity for young women. Beyond program development, I created the visual identity, communication materials, training content, and grant-funded deliverables, shaping the initiative’s voice and presence. Supported by the AIEF Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund ($25,000), BraveGirls became a collective space for empowerment. https://bravegirlsvietnam.wordpress.com; https://www.facebook.com/bravegirlsvietnam

Community English Club (2010-2014)

CEC began with a question: How might we design a student-led ecosystem for language learning that is creative, empowering, and enduring? I initiated CEC in 2011 and mentored its leadership team through 2014, designing not only the program structure but also its visual identity, public-facing communications, and digital presence, including graphics, posters, publications, and early websites. Students co-created English game shows, volunteer-teaching programs, bilingual magazines, and campus-wide events. Many alumni now work in leadership positions, and the club continues to operate today. Student-produced work from this period can be viewed here: https://www.slideshare.net/cec12345; https://www.youtube.com/cecenglishclub; https://web.archive.org/web/20111009215500/http://cectn.net/cec

Publications and presentations from this initiative:

• Phung, H., Tran, N., & Hoang, D. (2023). Empowering students with authentic tasks to learn English beyond the classroom: A club-based model. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 17(2), 191–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2021.1998068
• Phung, H. (2016, April). Student empowerment in a community of practice: A case study of Vietnam. Poster presented at the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar. The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
• Phung, H. (2012, May). Empower students with authentic tasks: A club-based approach to language learning. Paper presented at the Conference “Building English Teaching Capacity through Action Research and Innovative Practice” organized by U.S. Embassy Hanoi, National Foreign Languages 2020 Project, and Thainguyen University.