English class for Rural Homestay owners in Tan Hoa village

Oxalis Empowerment Center has recently organized a special English class for local Rural Homestay owners in Tan Hoa. This village is known as the “Best Tourism Village in the World,” not only for its stunning nature but also for the warmth of its people. The goal of the class is to improve service quality and help international visitors enjoy a better stay.

In Tan Hoa, there are 10 Rural Homestays built on floating houses. These homes welcome a steady number of visitors from cave exploration tours. In 2025, the village received more than 13,000 visitors, most of them international. Many homestay owners were farmers before. Now they work in tourism. They are friendly and caring, but language is still a challenge.

To meet this need, OEC created a short course focused on practice. The main goal is simple. Help owners greet guests, introduce themselves and their families, and guide guests in using homestay services in a professional way.

English training program for Rural Homestay owners in Tan Hoa

The class includes 10 learners, aged from 35 to 56. At this stage of life, learning a completely new language is not easy. However, the learning atmosphere at Tu Lan Lodge, where the classes take place, is always full of energy and laughter.

To match their busy schedules, classes are arranged flexibly with two sessions per day over six days. This allows learners to manage guest services while reviewing what they have learned.

The English class is held at Tu Lan Lodge.

The lessons follow real guest service situations:

• How to warmly welcome guests when they arrive
• How to guide guests to pick up bicycles and find their way to the homestay
• How to explain room facilities such as air conditioning, hot water, and Wi-Fi
• How to inform guests about meal times and check-out procedures
• How to support extra services like laundry

Simple and practical teaching methods:

• Learning through images and songs: Instead of only memorizing vocabulary, learners look at real objects in bedrooms and bathrooms and join word-filling games.
• Pronunciation practice with AI and teachers (shadowing): Learners listen to correct pronunciation from AI, then repeat and receive detailed correction from teachers to make sure guests can understand them.
• Role-play: This is the most exciting part, where learners take turns acting as demanding guests and friendly hosts to practice handling common situations.

When each homestay owner become a “tourism ambassador”

The program does not stop in the classroom. Teachers also visit each homestay to practice directly in the real working environment.

In the first days, challenges are unavoidable. Many learners worry about their local accent or feel they do not speak English well. They are also busy with housework and hosting guests, so they have limited time to review lessons. Some even feel shy and afraid of making mistakes.

Homestay owners practice real guest reception situations with OEC's teacher.

However, their positive attitude and hard work are very clear. They attend all classes on time and actively ask questions about new words to serve guests better. This shows the strong commitment of Tan Hoa people to improving local tourism services. Before the course, many could only smile and use gestures. After the course, they can confidently greet guests, explain services, and inform guests about meal times.

This English class helps bridge the language gap. It allows international visitors to better feel the warmth and sincerity of the people of Tan Hoa. With more confidence, each homestay owner can become a true tourism ambassador and help bring the image of Tan Hoa further onto the world tourism map.

A real-life simulated situation at a Rural Homestay.

From the very beginning, one of the three main pillars of Oxalis Adventure has been community participation, with a strong focus on local development. This English class is part of a long-term strategy to support livelihood transformation in Tan Hoa. When local people can communicate confidently, they are no longer standing on the sidelines of tourism. Instead, they can take ownership of services and directly share the cultural stories of their hometown with international visitors.

Oxalis also supports local people to join the tourism supply chain. This includes guiding them to operate weather-adaptive homestays, supporting the use of local agricultural products from cooperatives as food for adventure tours, and providing professional communication training. Every step aims to help the community achieve economic independence and sustainable growth.

The Oxalis Experience.