22,000 teachers needed to make English a second language

The Ministry of Education and Training said that in order for English to become the second language in schools, it is necessary to add about 22,000 teachers and train at least 200,000 teachers capable of teaching in English by 2030.

The Ministry of Education and Training informed that recently, the National Council for Education and Human Resources Development held a meeting to solicit comments on the draft project "Making English the second language in schools for the period 2025 - 2035, with a vision to 2045".

Mr. Thai Van Tai said that at least 22,000 teachers are needed to make English the second language in schools.

PHOTO: MOET

Here, Mr. Thai Van Tai, Director of the Department of General Education (Ministry of Education and Training), shared the main content of the draft project and issues that need to continue consulting the council.

Accordingly, the project aims to make English the second language in the education system by 2045, widely used in teaching, management and educational activities. The implementation roadmap is divided into 3 phases (2025 - 2030, 2030 - 2040, 2040 - 2045) with a set of 7 assessment criteria for each level of education.

Key tasks and solutions include: raising social awareness; perfecting mechanisms and policies; developing teaching staff; building programs and learning materials; innovating exams, tests and assessments; applying technology and artificial intelligence; strengthening international cooperation and socialization; promoting emulation and rewards.

The project is expected to be implemented in the entire education system with nearly 50,000 facilities, about 30 million students and 1 million staff and teachers. Of which, it is necessary to add about 12,000 preschool English teachers, nearly 10,000 primary school teachers, and at the same time train at least 200,000 teachers capable of teaching in English by 2030.

Resources for implementation include the state budget and the participation and contributions of businesses, organizations and individuals. The Ministry of Education and Training affirmed that the success of the project requires social consensus and persistent implementation over 20 years, in order to contribute to improving national competitiveness and deep international integration.

Concerns about asking children to learn English too early

At the meeting, the Ministry of Education and Training asked for opinions from the National Council for Education and Human Resources Development on the implementation roadmap, scope of implementation and solutions to mobilize resources to complete the project and submit it to the Government in the coming time.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, Professor Nguyen Quy Thanh, Principal of the University of Education ( Hanoi National University), said that training English as a second language must be associated with training in thinking, the ability to receive and reflect on culture, and at the same time combined with rational thinking to create substantial changes.

According to Professor Thanh, the period from 4 to 7 years old is the "golden period" for learning a language, but if children learn English too early, it can affect their ability to master their mother tongue and their ability to absorb Vietnamese culture.

Professor Nguyen Quy Thanh raised concerns about letting children learn English too early.

PHOTO: MOET

Professor Huynh Van Son, Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, said that implementing it on a national scale for preschools is feasible, but it is necessary to consider making it compulsory, and at the same time, anticipate negative impacts related to culture and mother tongue language.

Regarding training and development, Professor Son suggested that it is necessary to re-examine the foreign language teaching force; in current conditions, human resources and technology can completely meet the demand if organized and exploited properly.

Mr. Lam The Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Tuyen Quang, commented that implementing the project in a locality with many ethnic minorities is a heavy task. Despite the investment of resources, teaching Vietnamese before entering grade 1 for ethnic minority children has not achieved the desired results. Students can understand but their ability to express is limited. In that context, implementing English as a second language is even more difficult.

Therefore, Mr. Hung suggested that there should be goals, roadmaps and required results suitable to the conditions of each region.

Concluding the meeting, Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuong, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, emphasized that the implementation roadmap until 2045 needs to be implemented flexibly: localities with favorable conditions can go first, creating a leading role; difficult areas will implement according to appropriate progress.

Regarding resources, Mr. Thuong said that the State plays a leading role, using public investment as a driving force, while encouraging social mobilization, but cannot rely solely on socialization. The division of universalization levels is appropriate for each region, starting from familiarization in preschool, moving towards wider universalization in primary school and the following levels.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/can-tuyen-22000-giao-vien-de-tieng-anh-thanh-ngon-ngu-thu-hai-185250923161553805.htm