Nurturing love for homeland through Local literature lessons

Local Literature Education (LLE) is a compulsory component of the 2018 General Education Program, with 35 periods allocated per school year. Although the framework is centrally designed, each province or centrally governed city is responsible for developing its own LLE materials. As a result, following administrative mergers, the newly formed provinces and cities must reconstruct appropriate LLE content.

Students from Ly Tu Trong Secondary School (Trang Bom Commune) gain practical experience in a local gardening area as part of the Local literature education curriculum. Photo courtesy of the school

In the new LLE curriculum implemented in Dong Nai, the Literature subject accounts for nine periods per school year, the highest proportion among the six subjects that integrate LLE content, including Literature, History, Geography, Music, Arts, and Citizenship Education (secondary level) or Law and Economics Education (high school level). The integration of LLE content into Literature (the Local Literature Education section) not only helps students acquire practical knowledge about local literature but also contributes to fostering love and pride for their homeland, Dong Nai.

Comprehensive overview of Dong Nai literature

Immediately after the provincial merger, the Dong Nai Department of Education and Training convened core teachers and members of the Local Literature Education (LLE) curriculum development teams from the former Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc provinces to align the new LLE content. The selection of exemplary literary texts for inclusion in the program was made through careful and thorough deliberation among team members. Previously, Binh Phuoc allocated 6 out of 35 periods to the LLE program, while Dong Nai allocated 9 out of 35.

After careful consideration, the Editorial Board agreed to allocate 9 out of 35 periods for the Local Literature Education (LLE) component within the new curriculum of Dong Nai province. The content is structured according to the historical progression of literature, covering genres from oral folk literature to written literature before 1975, and written literature from 1975 to the present. Regarding folk literature, the oral traditions of the S’tieng ethnic group were prioritized because their tradition is considered the richest and most diverse compared to those of other ethnic groups residing in Dong Nai province.

The Local Education content, as stipulated in Circular No. 32/TT-BGDĐT dated October 14, 2018, which promulgates the General Education Program, clearly states: “The local education content comprises basic or current issues regarding the local culture, history, geography, economy, society, environment, career orientation, etc., which supplement the mandatory education content unified nationwide, aiming to equip students with knowledge about their locality, foster love for their homeland, and encourage students to research and apply what they have learned to help solve local issues.”

The specific topics within the LLE curriculum for secondary and high schools in Dong Nai include: Dong Nai Folk Tales (Grade 6); Proverbs and Folk Songs - Traditional Music of Dong Nai (Grade 7); Dong Nai through Poetry (Grade 8); Dong Nai Prose (Grade 9); Dong Nai Folk Literature (Grade 10); Dong Nai Written Literature before 1975 (Grade 11); and Dong Nai Written Literature from 1975 to the present (Grade 12). The selection of these topics aims to ensure that students grasp a solid understanding of the local literary history of Dong Nai.

Fostering homeland love through the subject

Currently, the Local Education Program (LEP) is not assessed using numerical grades, but rather through qualitative feedback (pass/fail). Therefore, it is inevitable that some students, and even some teachers, may regard it lightly, viewing it merely as a formality. Acknowledging this concern and aiming to support teachers with effective teaching methods for the Literature component of the LLE curriculum, the Department of Education and Training included this specialized topic in a training program for secondary and high school Literature teachers province-wide, held in early December 2025.

Ngo Dinh Van Nhi, a teacher at Luong The Vinh High School for the Gifted (Tam Hiep Ward) and a presenter at the training program, suggested three solutions for effective local literature teaching. These include: teaching local literature using the following model: 3 steps (understanding the context and prominent features; reading comprehension of specific texts based on genre characteristics; practice) – 3 processes (before teaching, during teaching, after teaching) – 3 levels (recognition – comprehension – application); integrating the Local Literature education (LLE) content to develop students' reading comprehension skills based on genre characteristics; and applying online platforms to enhance practice, broaden knowledge, and develop students' skills through the LLE curriculum's literature content.

Dinh Thi Quyen, Deputy Head of the Literature Department at Quang Trung High School for the Gifted (Dong Xoai Ward), shared that to teach the LLE content, the department held specialized meetings to study and design the allocated lessons within the curriculum, including elective topics. Specifically for the LLE program, the school assigned two teachers to oversee the thematic modules. Before instruction began, the department convened to unify the lesson content and teaching methods and organized trial teaching sessions to gather feedback and suggestions for adjustments, aiming to enhance the effectiveness of the lessons.

"During the specialized meetings, colleagues contributed additional methods and formats to make the LLE instruction more practical, vivid, and effective. The majority of teachers proposed real-life experience activities," Quyen added.

Tang Kim Hue, Specialist in charge of literature at the Department of Education and Training, expressed: "Teachers themselves must recognize the importance of the LLE content. They must understand that it is through this content that we educate students about love for the land they live on. Especially for literature, it is a subject that plays a crucial role in nurturing the soul and shaping character. If students fail to develop love for their homeland, it will be difficult for them to love greater things. And people cannot love what they do not understand. Teachers must teach so that students understand and feel proud of Dong Nai, thus loving this land".

By Hai Yen – Translated by Thuc Oanh, Minho