Minister of Education and Training Phung
Xuan Nha had said earlier this month that the ministry has created a
roadmap to achieve the goal starting this academic year, and urged
universities to improve their English teaching methods.
He asked universities to apply the latest technologies in teaching
English, teach students about the importance of globalisation and expand
international links to promote the use of the language.
He said students would be required to make all presentations and hold
all discussions in English, while the staff would speak English at their
meetings.
They would then be published to solicit public opinion before the ministry tweaks its education and training plans, he said.
Other universities needed to review and report the challenges they face in making English the second language and suggest solutions, he said.
The ministry said it would assist pedagogy universities in training capable English teachers through new programmes that focus on training in remote areas like the north-western, Central Highlands and south-western regions.
Nha said it would also improve the curriculum, materials, textbooks and testing.
Foreign language plan
At the beginning of this year the ministry
announced that English would be a compulsory subject from grade three
onwards starting in 2018 as part of its foreign language teaching plan.
English is currently only mandatory from grade 10 onwards.
Under the plan, from 2018 students in grade three and above will have four English lessons a week.
English is now only an optional subject in primary schools, with one or two lessons a week.
The ministry reported that around one 10th of primary school students do
not learn English since the country has a shortage of some 7,700
teachers.
Besides, only a third of English teachers at primary and high schools meet teaching standards, according to the ministry.
In the recent national high school graduation exams, students fared
worst in English out of the eight compulsory subjects, with an
overwhelming number scoring 2-3.5 out of 10.
The public was shocked when the results were announced, but both the
students and teachers admitted they reflect the candidates’ true
ability.
Prof Tran Xuan Nhi, a former deputy education minister, said children
should study English in kindergarten, adding that they are capable of
learning new languages at a very early age.
Experts said that since Vietnam aims to compete in the global
marketplace through the recently launched ASEAN Economic Community,
improving its level of English is crucial.
Vietnam ranks 29th on the Education First’s English Proficiency Index, and fifth among Southeast Asian countries.
According to the ministry, a second language refers to one that is used
in daily life and learnt by students without the need for lessons, while
a foreign language is learnt in school but rarely used in daily life.
In Vietnam, English is becoming more and more common, especially in big
cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and tourists destinations.
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