SBC101 case – Social Business Creation

Glocal IELTS: Aiming to improve the English proficiency of students in Vietnam’s rural areas through the IELTS test

The question is what type of social innovation should Glocal IELTS follow? What impacts are they creating? What are the differences between their models and the current using model of IELTS teaching in other centers? Then, what more can the executives do to attract more people to the project? How can they distribute more value to more teachers and students? What should be the strategic part that they should focus on in the short term and long term?

What can Glocal IELTS do to sustain Tuan’s improvement in English? Is it possible for Glocal IELTS to design a classroom model based on the 4R’s of sustainability or the new buyerarchy of needs? What more can Glocal IELTS do to distribute more benefits to students like Tuan in other parts of Vietnam? How should they bridge the gap of practice and conditions in rural areas using only the Internet? What more can the executive do to guarantee the quality of the program and adapt it to the conditions of each specific area? Finally, what type of entrepreneur and social entrepreneur should they be following to improve Glocal IELTS?

How should they distribute their limited human resources to make sure that it can work effectively? Furthermore, how can they distribute the value equally to teachers and students in rural areas? How can IELTS test-takers in rural areas get access to quality materials and facilities for them to study and practice? Furthermore, how can the executives persuade these students and teachers to undertake IELTS training despite the fact that this certificate has little need for them in their daily lives? How can the marketing team distribute the value of the program to more teachers and students? Besides teachers and students, what are the stakeholders of the program and how can they benefit them equally? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, what should they do to maintain and sustain the project in the long term? As the project aims to bring sustainable value to rural teachers and students, they might need to reach the stage of self-funding in the future. If that is the case, then, what should they do to make sure the project will not only serve as a short-term program and more students will benefit from it?

Ever since the Doi Moi policy was established by the Vietnamese government in 1986, there has been an enormous effort to integrate into the world’s development. One of the most crucial bases of integration is language improvement. Therefore, the Ministry of Education in Vietnam has improved the teaching of English enormously, with an aim to equip students with proficient English to meet communication purposes when working in the international working environment.

Nevertheless, despite major investments, it is well-documented that the English proficiency of Vietnamese students and workers is still at a moderate level. Figures collected from a report (see Exhibit 1) in 2022 show that most students participating in the national high school graduation exam only received a below-average score in terms of the English test. On the international level, Vietnamese students also showed an average-level performance, which is evident by the average-level score they received on standardized English tests. For instance, Vietnamese students received an average score of 78/120 on TOEFL, 5.9/9 on IELTS, and 53.81 on the EPI test (see Exhibit 2, data provided by EF). Nevertheless, a factor that should be considered is that most English standardized test-takers have a significantly higher level of English proficiency compared to the authentic level of most students in Vietnam. This is because most of them need high scores on these English tests to meet certain criteria, such as for working and educational purposes.

Through analyzing the previous curriculum, the Ministry of Education found that the major problem of the program that needed to be addressed was the lack of practice in English lessons. In fact, the main concentration in the previous English program was the English constituents, comprising vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Therefore, although students could perform well in their classes, they usually struggled tremendously when facing major English exams that required students to perform well in the four basic communication skills, including speaking, writing, listening, and reading. In order to tackle the lack of practice in the previous program, the Ministry of Education proposed a significant change in the new curriculum. Specifically, more periods and activities focusing on the four basic skills. These activities are designed to integrate students’ opportunities of practicing English with their daily activities so that they can learn to use English instead of acknowledging English constituents passively. Another crucial point is that the new English program shall require students to work on a small project at the end of each unit. This shall give them more chances to practice English at a higher level.

Yet, this shall build the base for Vietnamese students to master English in a comprehensive way, but they still need a push to actually use English in academic contexts and integrate it into international education. Therefore, the Ministry of Education has allowed students to use the IELTS test as a means of getting into the university. Although the use of the IELTS certificates as a substitution for the national high school graduation exam has faced multifaceted critics in society, it is an undeniable effort to encourage students to study for international English standardized tests to meet international standards.

Nevertheless, there are lots of issues that need to be addressed when this policy is executed. First, as students from rural areas shall face more difficulties to access this standardized test, will this policy deepen the inequality in education between the rural and urban areas? Second, as the IELTS test focuses a lot on using English in the academic context, how can students in rural areas handle this kind of test regarding their struggling to study normal English? Finally, as great IELTS teachers usually refuse to teach in rural areas, will the fact of accepting the IELTS test as a means of getting into universities creates more difficulties for rural students to pursue higher education? The Glocal IELTS was born to address these issues.

A brief history of the Amazing Group

In 2016, Le, a girl who was born and raised in a poor family in a rural area in Vietnam, received a scholarship for the Dream Project Incubators, which offered her a chance to study and work at Harvard University and MIT. Her project was really simple to start with. She dreamed of creating an English practicing community for Vietnamese youngsters to practice English. In fact, she applied for the scholarship a year ago. Yet, her idea was too simple to be accepted by the scholarship council. Nevertheless, she was one of the few students to show dedication, passion, and improvement in her re-application profile. An alumnus of the program who worked with her profile said:

We decided to choose you because of three reasons. First, you were the one who directly experienced the drawbacks of the lack of practice in learning English. Therefore, more than anyone, you want to create the change, to help other students find an environment to practice English. As a result, we have faith that you will show your dedication to your project and program. Second, you were one of the few students to actually travel a long distance just to listen to the reasons for your failure. This showed your seriousness and longing to make your dreams come true, which we greatly appreciated: There would not be many people who are ready to understand why they failed to get a scholarship, but you did. This showed that you truly want to have your project established and bring true value to other students. Therefore, you want to know why you failed and how you could improve. Finally, we could see your improvement in your second attempt. This showed that you are dedicated to your dream, and that is really praiseworthy.

Seven years later, Le has become the founder and manager of the Amazing Group, an organization specializing in training English and soft skills to make students become global citizens with a distinguished cultural identity. She was one of the few students from the program who actually maintained her dream until now, creating an English practicing environment for students to practice their English and polish their skills so that they could survive and thrive on international levels. Her program aims to support students in enhancing their English skills, and soft skills, thereby creating their confidence and boosting their chances to integrate and approach quality activities and work in this integrated world. Her centers focus on three pillars:

Amazing School: a center to teach English
Amazing Me: a center to teach transferable skills
Amazing Home: an environment for students to practice English and soft skills

At Amazing Group, the motto “Think global, act for locals” has been chosen as the main target for the center’s program and curriculum. In the center, students are educated to become “Glocal citizens” who are equipped with the mindset, knowledge, skills, and abilities at the global level and can act for their locals based on their knowledge of their hometown, cultures, and customs with a positive attitude and dedicated mindset. In order to achieve those opportunities, the Glocal citizens are expected to:

Be proficient in English – since English is the key to integrating into international education and the working environment. At the Amazing Group, English shall be trained at the Amazing School.
Be skillful in transferable skills – since they are bases for students to integrate, adapt, and locate themselves in society. At the Amazing Group, transferable skills shall be equipped at the Amazing Me.
Be able to use English and transferable skills (instead of just “acknowledging” them) – since knowledge and skills need to be used constantly to become students’ habits and values so that they can improve themselves solidly and certainly.

Through ten years of establishment, the Amazing Group has reported noteworthy data, with more than 2000 students participating in the programs, more than 100 students who have achieved a score of 6 in IELTS and above, and 99% of students who are satisfied with the overall state of the center. Furthermore, each year, the program also attracts many students who want to participate in the Amazing Glocal Camp, a program for students to study, work, and experience an international working environment, thereby polishing their English skills and enhancing their soft skills. In July 2022, the Amazing Camp was recognized by the International Camping Fellowship (ICF) – an organization specializing in executing and managing summer camps around the world. With support from ICF, the Amazing Glocal Camp has proved its reliability and quality in creating summer camps for students to work, study, and experience English spoken environment.

Based on the aforementioned details, The Amazing Group has shown its dedication to education, specializing in teaching English and soft skills to students in Vietnam, as well as its potential and a promising prospect. Yet, the Amazing Group still wants a push to improve its programs and reputation. Based on the core value of the center and the practical need to improve the English of rural students, the Amazing Group decided to establish “Glocal IELTS” to improve rural students’ English proficiency. Through the program, the Amazing Group aims to create significant value by teaching students IELTS, through which they hope that students’ English skills and abilities will be improved in general.

A brief history of Glocal IELTS

As mentioned above, one of the three pillars of the Amazing Group was teaching English. As IELTS is one of the most popular English certificates in Vietnam, the Amazing Group soon included IELTS as one of the main concentrations in curriculum development. Nevertheless, as the Amazing Group emerged, they realized that most IELTS test-takers resided in urban areas. This has accidentally widened the gap in IELTS proficiency between rural and urban students. When the Ministry of Education decided to include IELTS in the process of college application, many students from rural areas were afraid that this policy might lean the opportunity of getting into college forward to urban students since they have more conditions to study for the IELTS test.

When taking this policy into fair consideration, this policy will be beneficial for Vietnamese students in the long term since they will be more motivated to take the IELTS test, thereby approaching academic English at the international level. Nevertheless, currently, this policy has caused some disadvantages for students in rural areas. This is due to the fact that most renowned IELTS centers are located in major cities such as Ho Chi Minh and Ha Noi. Therefore, students in urban and suburban areas have fewer chances to approach quality IELTS teaching and curriculum. Hence, the Amazing Group decided to bring authentic values to students in these areas by providing quality, affordable, and accessible IELTS programs. They hope that, through teaching IELTS, students will be able to access quality English programs at international levels as well as acknowledge the 17 Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the United Nations.

In terms of format, Glocal IELTS is an online-based English program with an experienced instructor working as a teacher or a mentor. The guaranteed minimum score that students will get shall be 4.0, which shall be equivalent to 10/10 of the English national high school graduation exam based on the policy of the Ministry of Education. Through the IELTS test, the program aims to teach students to be more fluent in English, raise awareness of SDGs and nurture their ambition to solve their local issues based on SDGs and give rural students more career path choices and further develop their local communities. The program consists of three levels:

Pre-IELTS, which shall merge the secondary school English curriculum with the IELTS test. The program hopes that students can master the official English program of secondary school in three months and build their foundational knowledge of the IELTS test.
U15 IELTS is an eight-semester program with the aim of formulating students’ English mindset and reflexes through mastering the four fundamental skills according to the IELTS criteria.
U18 IELTS is a fast-paced IELTS program in one year for students at the high school level, with a guaranteed score of 4.0, equivalent to the graduation criteria for high school students.

In Glocal IELTS classes, students shall study on the Internet platform. As Vietnam has finished establishing an Internet connection on a national scale, students should be able to access the lessons regardless of their geography. Lessons shall be designed in the form of video lessons which can be viewed by students at their appropriate times. Then, students will do the practice exercises on the Glocal IELTS platform, with the aim of helping them practice using their knowledge in their daily lives. Finally, an assigned personal trainer will help them build a personal learning strategy based on their results, strengths, and weaknesses. It is expected that students can earn their target scores by mastering their knowledge, practicing using English instead of just knowing it, and getting a personal path designed by an experienced trainer.

However, even with a proportion of 100% of students earning their desired score, Glocal IELTS has not fully exploited its potential. In the long term, the executives of the project need a sustainable strategy to help distribute more value to students in rural areas. Though the higher levels of the project are dedicated and passionate, the human and financial sources are still limited and cannot meet the requirements to bring significant changes to the English proficiency of rural students. Therefore, they have decided to establish a new direction, a strategy to bring significant transmutations to students’ English levels in rural areas in a sustainable way.

Glocal IELTS’ strategy to create the base of improvement for rural students

The executives of the projects decided to choose IELTS as the main concentration of the program instead of other standardized English certificates because of numerous reasons as follows:

IELTS is certified to be used as a substitution for the English exam in the national high school graduation exam.
IELTS is one of the most popular standardized English tests in Vietnam. attracting around 10000 candidates each year (Top 20 in terms of the number of test-takers).
IELTS is built on the basis of the Cambridge standard of English proficiency. Therefore, the executives hope that students can approach international English standards through the IELTS test.
IELTS focuses on students’ practical usage of English instead of their knowledge. Therefore, by learning for the test, students shall be given more chances to actually use English instead of just learning it.
The IELTS test does not require students to perform a combination of skills. For teachers and mentors, it is easier for them to design the curriculum based on their target concentration, which is to integrate SDG 17 into the project’s curriculum.
The format of the IELTS test is more comprehensible compared to other tests (see Exhibit 3)

Initially, the executive of the project aims to provide rural students with a quality English teaching program with SDG 17 as the main concentration of the curriculum. Their major concentration can be described as follows:

Integrating the English curriculum of Vietnam secondary program into the IELTS test. The executive hopes that students will be able to master the English program of Vietnam secondary schools and acknowledge the format of the IELTS test. As the essentials of English knowledge remain unchanged, this integration can allow students to perform well in their classes and create a basic foundation for students to understand the format, the concentration, and how to do an IELTS test.
Using the IELTS format as a basis for students to practice using English instead of knowing English. As mentioned above, the main scope of the Amazing Group has always been to create an effective English-practicing environment. Therefore, the project aims to use the IELTS test to create a basic platform for students to practice English efficiently through a series of exercises, activities, and projects assigned by teachers, tutors, and mentors.
Integrating SDG 17 into the main curriculum. The executives of the program realize that rural students have fewer chances to approach SDG 17. Therefore, besides teaching for the IELTS test, the academic analysts are tasked to align the program focus with SDG 17. The executives hope that students can acknowledge issues related to SDG 17 in their hometowns through the programs. Hence, they will be able to provide solutions in the long term by researching how to solve their hometown problems through SDG 17.

The project executives wished to integrate the 4 R’s of Sustainability in the curriculum and teaching program. The first step shall be rethinking the current English teaching systems and assumptions in Vietnam. Though the Ministry of Vietnam has tried hard to make English more practical, the overflowing of theory, vocabulary, and grammar in the curriculum claims students’ practicing time. We intend to help students improve their practices of English authentically by the flipped teaching model and personalizing their study path based on their needs and conditions. When doing so, we hope to reduce the theoretical teaching time, reuse each other’s English knowledge, and use habits. However, we still hope to create a recycling circle of teaching and learning to improve the English proficiency of both students and teachers.

We also intend to create new learning needs based on the new buyerarchy model: First, teachers and students shall learn to use, instead of merely knowing, the English knowledge that they have already had. Then, we hope that, through each class, students can learn to “borrow” knowledge from each other. Then, students will not only learn from teachers but also from their friends. If possible, they can even “swap” their habit of using English to improve their range of ideas and vocabulary. Yet, by the end of the day, they must “thrift” their knowledge to use their English effectively. The final two stages shall be to “create” and “buy” new knowledge, which can be defined as what they completely have no idea of before. We hope that our students can learn to use English instead of just knowing them by learning to exchange knowledge and ideas with each other before learning new things from teachers.

Nevertheless, once again, the managers of the project realized that they lack human and other essential resources to distribute more value to more students. Therefore, they decided to transmute their target from teaching IELTS for students to teaching IELTS for trainers. Through this transformation in the target strategy, the projects aim to:

Equip rural teachers with a trustworthy tool. By earning an IELTS certificate with an acceptable score, teachers should be able to prove their English proficiency to students and their parents. Hence, their students should have more faith in them.
Distribute more value to students through training local teachers in SDG 17 through the IELTS curriculum. As teachers should not only teach English and knowledge but also inspire students to work on their hometown’s issues, more students will be able to acknowledge SDG 17 and be inspired by how to solve their hometown problems through these sustainable development goals.

In order to execute this strategy, the Glocal IELTS managers decided to work with a renowned IELTS-teacher center, the Handy English Workshop (HEW) center – an official sub-franchise representative of INTESOL Worldwide UK in Vietnam. Their strategy can be summarized as follows:

Cooperating with the HEW center to provide quality English-teacher training programs. The trainers shall distribute the value and reputation of the program to the rural areas through two channels: The number of teachers participating in the program provided by HEW and their students. The managers of the project hope that more teachers and students will acknowledge and participate in the project to enjoy the benefits of the projects.
The academic team shall concentrate on creating a program focusing mostly on SDG 17. Based on the available materials and courses they undergo, they undertake the responsibility to align the program with SDG 17 by designing tests with SDG-17-related content, lessons that suggest students solve problems using SDG 17, and supporting materials with SDG 17 as the main focus.
Distributing the project’s value and reputation through numerous channels such as social media. Through social media, the executives of the project hope to attract teachers who share the same goals and views as the project. Hence, more teachers and students should be able to acknowledge the vision, target, and contribution of Glocal IELTS.

Nevertheless, it is undeniable that there are still more channels and methods to distribute the project’s value, concentration, and vision. Being able to solve these questions, the project can emerge tremendously, thereby contributing to the development of the English proficiency of Vietnamese students through teaching IELTS and SDG 17, especially for students in rural areas.

A successful student – proof of Glocal IELTS’ potential and bright future

As Tuan returned from his school after a long day, he decided to sit at his table and chill out: He only got a few minutes to do so before the long day began with his extra classes. As he takes a quick look around his residential area, he finds it a beautiful city: Though he was born in Quang Nam, he is now residing in Dak Nong Province, which belongs to the Highlands of Vietnam. However, different from what people might imagine from the Highlands, what once was a mountainous area is now an urban area. Though there are not any skyscrapers yet, this location can still be called a small city with a clear city structure. The combination between the natural landscapes and artificial buildings, though not enormous, is still a blessing to every tourist’s eyes who travels there.

Nevertheless, even with electricity and major investment from the government hoping to improve the lives of local people, the education gap between the mountainous and urban areas is still a challenging issue that the authority struggles to combat. Looking at the harsh reality, there are not many talented teachers who can be convinced to take a trip there and teach students. In most cases, the majority of talented teachers assigned here merely consider it a volunteering trip, which they will make use of as a step to study abroad or return to the urban areas to look for better opportunities. Furthermore, there are just a few international companies taking place there. Therefore, even with a considerable number of foreign tourists traveling there, the use of English is still so limited that the local residents find it unnecessary to learn English. Hence, those who are serious about studying English often face the issue of the lack of practice, a quality studying environment, and a reliable program. The geographical features also hinder the support of international volunteers and quality English programs to arrive and bring significant changes to the English program there.

Yet, despite numerous difficulties, the development of the city’s infrastructure, thanks to the government, also brings some basic advantages to the local students. Currently, with the help of the Internet, local students are able to access many English programs and pages online. However, students still need a reliable source of English learning programs that can help orientate a good way of studying. Tuan was undoubtedly one of them.

Just like many other students in Vietnam, Tuan wanted to study English to, at least initially, be able to communicate with international friends and serve as an important tool for their education. It is obvious to him that English can be a key for him to open the door to the world of opportunities. However, what he has long been looking for is a quality program that allows him to use English instead of merely knowing it. He decided to study for the IELTS test, and later participated in a course of Glocal IELTS due to that reason. Thankfully, when the Ministry of Education decided to include the IELTS certificate as a substitution for the English exam of the national high school graduation exam, Tuan found IELTS to be useful in both the short and long term. Initially, he learned IELTS to improve the four basic skills. Now, he hopes that, through the IELTS certificate, he can surpass the graduation exam in the short term and earn a good career chance in the long term.

Nevertheless, everything was extremely difficult for Tuan in the beginning. Tuan struggled even with the most fundamental use of English such as grammar and pronunciation. It might be understandable for Tuan to struggle with pronunciation as it is not a concentration in Vietnam’s English program. Yet, it might come as a surprise to teachers as the secondary curriculum focuses on grammar a lot. Nevertheless, to experienced teachers, they could find the reasons behind Tuan’s struggle with grammar use. This is because the English program in Vietnam pays too much attention to structure, rather than the use of grammar in daily life. Therefore, students might grasp the essence of grammatical forms and structures. Yet, due to the fact that different structures are used differently under different circumstances, students who are not taught carefully about the conditions of using particular structures will inevitably use grammar inaccurately. Hence, they will be confused and lose their confidence when choosing structures to use next time. In terms of pronunciation, although it is one of the three basic constituents of English, only a few teachers in Vietnam, and most are teaching in cities, actually focus on this part of English. Those who are well-trained are reported to be even fewer. As a result, students might be confused when teachers do not pronounce words accurately. Or even worse, they might have spent years learning the incorrect ways of pronunciation. Then, when they watch movies and videos online, they find speakers’ pronunciation tremendously different from what they learned. Consequently, they could not understand what they are listening to. This would confuse them significantly. Though Tuan belongs to the first group, it is undeniable that the second group might be a critical issue for future generations of English teachers to address.

Moreover, another important challenge for Tuan, which, once again, could be blamed for the English curriculum in Vietnam, was the lack of practice, especially communication practice, in their study. This is because there are still many areas in Vietnam where students are unable to access the new English program. As a matter of fact, students have to continually learn the old and obsolete program, which is heavily theoretical. Furthermore, the fact that there are not any practicing environments in the region also serves as a significant reason why many students like Tuan lack the conditions to practice English. This is, in fact, a serious problem when the major reason why people learn English is to apply it in their studies and daily life. Therefore, if students cannot use English effectively, then their English study might be a total waste of time.

Ever since Tuan met Glocal IELTS, he admitted that his English has improved significantly. The official pronunciation program has helped him understand how to sound like a native speaker. When coming to the program, he had more chances to practice communicating in English, with effective feedback given by experienced mentors and teachers. Furthermore, he was instructed on how to self-study English by himself. By providing Tuan with pages, materials, and documents necessary to improve his English and prepare for his IELTS test, Tuan has set the goal to achieve IELTS 4, a score that could allow him to pass the English national high school graduation exam with a 10 in equivalence. Although this might seem to be an easy score to achieve, it is actually a challenge for a student in Dak Nong Province to claim due to his lack of conditions and practices.

Nevertheless, there are undoubtedly many other areas for Glocal IELTS to help Tuan improve his English. What can Glocal IELTS do to sustain Tuan’s improvement in English? Is it possible for Glocal IELTS to design a classroom model based on the 4R’s of sustainability or the new buyerarchy of needs? What more can Glocal IELTS do to distribute more benefits to students like Tuan in other parts of Vietnam? How should they bridge the gap between practice and conditions in rural areas using only the Internet? What more can the executive do to guarantee the quality of the program and adapt it to the conditions of each specific area? Finally, what type of entrepreneur and social entrepreneur should they be following to improve Glocal IELTS?

Challenges to the project’s ideals and questions that need to be addressed

Yet, despite the benefits and what seemingly is a bright future, there are inevitably many difficulties awaiting the project and its executives. How should they distribute their limited human resources to make sure that it can work effectively? It might be true that they have converted their concentration into teaching IELTS to teachers around Vietnam. Yet, there are 63 cities and provinces in this Southeast Asian country. Making sure that they can teach IELTS effectively for teachers in all regions is surely not a simple task. Furthermore, how can they distribute the value equally to teachers and students in rural areas? Trying to bridge the gap between rural and urban workforces has been a complicated task that the Vietnam authority has spent years accomplishing with a limited level of success. How can IELTS test-takers in rural areas get access to quality materials and facilities for them to study and practice? The academic team might be burning their midnight oil trying to make IELTS as comprehensive for the level of these students as possible. However, it is not an easy task, considering the gap in their knowledge and their lack of practicing English in real life. In addition, it might be complicated for these students to approach modern technology, including online platforms and applications, and other technological support for IELTS practice purposes. Furthermore, how can the executives persuade these students and teachers to undertake IELTS training despite the fact that this certificate has little need for them in their daily lives? IELTS might be important for students in cities who want to challenge themselves at the international level. Nevertheless, the same mindset might not apply to rural students when, except for the purpose of using IELTS as a substitution for the English exam in the National High School Graduation exam, they barely use this certificate for other uses. How can the marketing team distribute the value of the program to more teachers and students? In fact, it might be a risky move when using IELTS as a substitution for the English exam has already caused a controversial debate among graduation exam candidates. On the contrary, if the marketing does not work carefully, their plan of attracting more candidates to the program can backfire. Besides teachers and students, what are the stakeholders of the program, and how can they benefit them equally? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, what should they do to maintain and sustain the project in the long term? As the project aims to bring sustainable value to rural teachers and students, they might need to reach the stage of self-funding in the future. If that is the case, then what should they do to make sure the project will not only serve as a short-term program and more students will benefit from it?