Integration of ICT into EFL classrooms: Have Vietnamese primary schools progressed post-Covid-19?

Thi Thanh Huyen Phuong
FPT University, Vietnam

This study investigates the progress in ICT integration into English classrooms at a rural primary school in Vietnam since the Covid-19 pandemic. It uses a qualitative case study design to explore the issue, with accounts from four English teachers through two phases of semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate some progress in ICT integration post-Covid-19, thanks mainly to increased availability of technology facilities, and teachers' improved ICT competence post-Covid. The study highlights teachers' agency in ICT integration, both during and after the pandemic, as an advantage that accelerates the digitalisation of English teaching. However, poor institutional readiness for the digitalisation of English teaching, in terms of both technological facilities and teacher training and support in technology and technology-based pedagogy, was deemed weak during the pandemic, and remained a significant obstacle post-Covid. Recommendations for better ICT integration in English teaching at the primary school level are discussed.
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Author: Dr Huyen Phuong is a lecturer in English who has been involved in EFL teaching at different universities in Vietnam for the past 23 years. In 2018, Huyen gained her PhD degree in Applied Linguistics/TESOL at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Huyen has published her research in well-established journals including Issues in Educational Research, ASIA TELF, Sage Open, and System. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7874-9658 Email: huyenptt3@fe.edu.vn Please cite as: Phuong, T. T. H. (2025). Integration of ICT into EFL classrooms: Have Vietnamese primary schools progressed post-Covid-19? Issues in Educational Research, 35(2), 759-778. http://www.iier.org.au/iier35/phuong.pdf