Localised politics in language education: untold stories

This study explores the political impact on English-language education in the historical context of Vietnam in the 1980-1990 period. Based on data collected from three participants' narratives concerning their experience of learning English, the study indicates that English-language education, at that time, embraced a wide range of political dimensions specific to the geopolitics of Vietnam. The political factors include learners' family background, mainstream concepts in the local community, materials for teaching and learning, ideologies of language teaching, historical events and socio-political discourses. These factors constituted three layers of politics embedded in English-language education in Vietnam. The findings of the study provide new insights into the themes pertaining to politics in English-language education, which are often associated with the spread of English as a global language. From an educational history perspective, the study makes a contribution to understanding and developing second-language education in relation to local geopolitics.