What is ViVEXELT?
Welcome to ViVEXELT (Vietnam Virtual EXchange for English Language Teaching). ViVEXELT is a project funded by the British Council and supported by the National Foreign Language Project in Viet Nam through the ‘Digital Learning Innovation Fund’ initiative that aims to encourage partnerships between the UK and Vietnam which generate new research, insight and/or innovations to improve the teaching and learning of English. With the impact of Covid-19 on learning, British Council and the National Foreign Languages Project (NFLP) in Viet Nam are keen to ensure that future remote and online learning opportunities are more equitable and accessible to all, rather than just a few, and that they are sustainable over time. ViVEXELT addresses ELT capacity building and digital competence enhancement through the creation of cross-sectional ELT networks as communities of practice supported by a Virtual Exchange (VE) course. VE enables sustained, technology-enabled, research informed, people-to-people education programmes or activities in which constructive communication and interaction takes place between individuals or groups who are geographically separated and/or from different cultural backgrounds, with the support of educators or facilitators (Helm 2019). The participants are practising English Language teachers and students in teacher education who will reflect ‘in’ action, ‘on’ action’ and ‘for action’ through a VE course, exploring both the local and the global ELT needs and competencies for the 21 st century, which has been made more urgent by the COVID 19 Pandemic, forcing many teachers to move to online delivery.
Leading Institutions
ViVEXELT is a joint project between Coventry University in the UK and Hanoi University of Science and Technology in Vietnam.
Coventry University (CU) is a dynamic and innovative university and achieved 5 QS Stars for teaching, employability, internationalisation, innovation and for Online Learning – the only UK university to be rated 5 QS stars in 2020. MoocLab’s World University Rankings by MOOC Performance (WURMP) placed CU ahead of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. CU leads in the Internationalisation of the Curriculum in the UK and has a robust record of research which links theory and practice in English Language Teaching and Learning. Its Research Centre for Global Learning aims to impact positivelyand ethically on teaching and learning across the higher education sector, and beyond.
Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) is the first and top engineering university in Vietnam. Since its foundation year (1956) HUST has maintained its pioneering position in high-quality training, scientific research and technology transfer to make significant contributions in growing and sustaining Vietnam’s economy. HUST currently consists of 16 schools, 3 faculties, and 10 research centres and institutes, comprising a wide range of academic and research disciplines in the fields of science and technology, including the School of Foreign Languages. It hosts a vibrant Dynamic Lab of Innovation and Transformational Entrepreneurship.
A short introduction to the ViVEXELT project by Marina Orsini-Jones
Meet The Team
Professor Marina Orsini-Jones
Associate Head for Global Engagement and Research Associate in the Centre for Global Learning
Coventry University (UK)
Role in ViVEXELT: co-Principal Investigator and ELT tutor
Dr Thuy Thi Ngoc Bui
Deputy Head of the External Affairs Office at Hanoi University of Science and Technology (Vietnam).
Role in ViVEXELT: co-Principal Investigator
Mr Minh Tuan Phi
English language lecturer at Thuongmai University, Hanoi (Vietnam)
Role in ViVEXELT: consultant on e-learning, social media and translation
Dr. Thi Thom Thom Nguyen
Lecturer/teacher educator at Vietnam National University, Hanoi
Role on ViVEXELT: ELT consultant and tutor
Mrs Farida Butt
ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) manager at the Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre
Role on ViVEXELT: ELT consultant and ‘expert student’ participant
Mrs Jenny Wells
Lecturer in ESP and EAP at Coventry University (UK)
Role on ViVEXELT: research assistant

Miss Rachael Dew
Role on ViVEXELT: Design Consultant