ViệtSpeakOur voices must be heard
ViệtSpeak
ViệtSpeak is committed to making contributions in research and policy development towards language learning in the home, schooling and community settings. Our interdisciplinary team draws on diverse skills and capacities to foster the work of advancing multilingualism in the Australian context.
Policy development
The Australian Government’s 2025 Inquiry into Building Asia Capability in Australia provided an opportunity for us to advocate for the Australian Government’s 2025 Inquiry into Building Asia Capability in Australia through the education system and beyond. This was an opportunity for us to advocate for the valuing of languages prevalent in our communities and neighbourhoods. Long neglected by governments, community languages have historically been deprioritised in favour of ‘trade’ and ‘prestige’ languages, which research has shown to result in poor ‘return on investments’. For a meaningful and lasting impact, we argue building Asia capability in Australia means to foster Asian literacies already embedded in our communities. You can read our submission here or download the Inquiry’s report here.
The Victorian State Government held an Inquiry into the state education system in Victoria in 2023. With the research attained from our campaign work we outlined the ways the Vietnamese language has been historically neglected and poorly treated by the education system. Our submission can be read here and the Inquiry’s report can be found here.
Creative scholarship
Our first co-authored book, Crocodile và Unicorn Đi Chơi, included contributions from researchers Julie Choi and Liz Murray. Their participation culminated in a research paper published in The Language Learning Journal, where they write on “how creative, collaborative initiatives can transform deficit perspectives of ‘broken language’ into appreciation of multilingual resources while fostering positive identity development.” Read the article here.
ViệtSpeak’s creative projects have inspired language scholar Julie Choi’s reflections on the Gia Đình Đi Chơi Walking Tour. As a participant on the day Julie writes “Something happens when you walk through a neighbourhood listening to a language you don’t fully understand, following clues in a booklet you can only partially decode. Saturday morning in Footscray with ViệtSpeak’s Gia Đình Đi Chơi walking tour reminded me why I keep returning to questions about what language learning actually is, what it’s for, how it happens in the body and through movement rather than just in the mind through deliberate study.” You can read more of Julie’s insights from her arts-rich translanguaging pedagogy project here.
Bilingual education research
Our collaboration with researchers at the Western Sydney University and University of Melbourne to pilot a Vietnamese bilingual kindergarten program resulted in research findings published in the Frontiers in Education journal here. Led by Paola Escudero, the research team found “highly positive views of the program, noting increased interest and confidence in using Vietnamese, enjoyment of the sessions, opportunities for cross-cultural socialization and a strong likelihood of continuing participation.” This program was central to our efforts in helping establish the current government funded bilingual program at Cherry Crescent Preschool.