ABSTRACT
Despite Vietnam’s recent education policy for raising learners’ creative and critical thinking, the teaching of English literature here still emphasizes transmitting a teacher-centred understanding of a text for examination purposes. This teaching results from the influence of a mixed Confucian and Soviet-style education and from an ongoing, far-reaching impact of colonialism in global times. This teaching can be enriched through connecting the learner and the text using reader-response theory. Appropriating this theory in Vietnam involves using diverse strategies including interactive activities and assessment designs that nurture learners’ experiential engagement with English literary texts.
