Digital learning innovation fund aims to provide equal access to English studying

Hanoi (VNA) – The British Council on May 26 debut its “Digital Learning Innovation Fund” that aims to optimise digital technologies in English learning, teaching and testing as part of a strategy to provide more equal education access to all amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fund establishment is part of cooperation between the UK and Vietnam in implementing new in-depth studies and encouraging innovation, thus supporting the National Foreign Languages Project launched in 2008 with a remit to renovate foreign language teaching and learning in the national education system in 2025 and beyond.

The ideal of the fund was first introduced in September 2020 at an online event on cooperation in English teaching between the UK and Vietnam. As of March 2021, the fund had received support from nine agencies of the UK and Vietnam in building initiatives, three of which have been selected to receive sponsorship in the first pilot year of the fund.

At a talk on the application of learning method using digital technology in the post-COVID-19 period, the three initiatives were introduced.

They are Digital English Theatre initiative designed by International House Belfast, Hands Up project and Can Tho University; an initiative by International House London and Hanoi Pedagogical University 2; and ViVEXELT project on online exchange on Engish teaching method in Vietnam by Coventry University and the Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

The three projects were aunched in April 2021 and will run through the next 9-12 months. After completing, lessons learnt from them will be discussed, while the possibility of expansion will be considered.

After the piloting period, the British Council will continue to consider the continuation of digital renovation initiatives in the future with coverage in Vietnam and Southeast Asian region./.