Challenges and Prospects of Bilingual Education in Vietnam’s Ethnic Minority Contexts: Insights from the Khmer Community in the Mekong Delta

This study provides insights into the challenges and prospects of bilingual education in Vietnam’s ethnic minority contexts. Data for this study were collected from 993 Khmer students across 20 schools in An Giang province via surveys, observations, and writing analysis. Key identified challenges in implementing bilingual education include language barriers, a mismatch between student needs and monolingual instructional methods, a shortage of qualified bilingual teachers, and limited exposure to Vietnamese in the home environment. Despite these obstacles, Khmer students exhibit high oral bilingual proficiency and demonstrate flexible language use across various social domains, suggesting strong potential for effective bilingual education. These patterns of functional bilingualism provide a foundation for building literacy and academic success through culturally responsive pedagogy. The study concludes that context-sensitive bilingual education can bridge language gaps and enhance educational outcomes for ethnic minority students, offering policy and pedagogical recommendations to support inclusive and sustainable bilingual education models in Vietnam.