CURRENT STATUS OF EXPLOITING LOCAL CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN STEAM PROJECTS TO DEVELOP VIETNAMESE COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR 5-6 YEAR OLD ETHNIC MINORITY CHILDREN IN TUYEN QUANG PROVINCE

Tóm tắt

Developing Vietnamese communication skills for ethnic minority children is a paramount task to prepare a solid foundation for them before entering first grade. This article analyzes the current status of exploiting local cultural elements in organizing STEAM projects at three kindergartens in ethnic minority areas of Tuyen Quang province. Through a survey of 35 teachers and 10 administrators using questionnaires combined with in-depth interviews, the results indicate that although teachers have a correct perception of the role of integrating local culture (Mean = 3.99), the actual implementation remains very modest (Mean = 3.03), mainly occurring at the "occasionally" level. Elements such as culinary culture and typical festivals are implemented more frequently than historical-cultural relics and folk performances or music. This discrepancy stems from a lack of specialized instructional materials, financial difficulties, and the absence of specific tools to assess communication skills. Based on these findings, the author proposes orientations for capacity building in integrating local culture into STEAM projects to create a practical linguistic environment, helping ethnic minority children confidently communicate in Vietnamese based on their cultural identity.