From tests to tasks: how Vietnamese EFL teachers navigate washback through formative assessment practices

In Vietnamese English language classrooms, assessment has long been shaped by the weight of summative exams and the pressures of test-oriented instruction. Yet in the margins of this exam-driven culture, some teachers are beginning to reimagine assessment, not as a final judgment, but as a process embedded in learning itself. This study explores how Vietnamese EFL teachers respond to washback by adopting formative assessment (FA) practices following participation in British Council professional development (PD) programs. Drawing on a corpus of written reflections from diverse teaching contexts, the study examines how teachers reframe assessment, navigate institutional tensions, and improvise pedagogical strategies to support student learning. Using a thematic narrative approach, the analysis reveals a gradual shift from score-focused routines to more dialogic, responsive, and student-centered practices. Teachers described integrating informal games, peer feedback, and observation-based adjustments as ways of making learning visible without relying solely on tests. At the same time, they negotiated complex tensions between institutional expectations and pedagogical intentions, often making quiet, localized changes within rigid systems. The findings highlight teacher agency as a central force in shaping assessment reform and suggest that even modest acts of FA can create space for more inclusive and meaningful learning.