Compulsory English teaching from grade 1: Three concerns of schools in mountainous areas

The Government’s approval of the project to make English a compulsory subject from grade 1 shows a long-term vision for human resources. This decision has brought great excitement to the community but also caused great concerns about facilities, programs and especially the teaching staff.

This concern is even more amplified for those who work in management at schools in mountainous areas, where students are all ethnic minorities. To see the difficulties in making English a compulsory subject from grade 1, PV of PNVN Newspaper had an interview with Ms. Ngan Thi Lam, Principal of Hang Kia A Secondary School ( Phu Tho ):

- Madam! How will the school implement the compulsory teaching of English from grade 3 according to the 2018 General Education Program, starting from the 2022-2023 school year?

According to the 2006 General Education Program, English is only an elective subject in schools. Therefore, English is not chosen to be taught at Hang Kia A Secondary School due to lack of teachers and facilities. From the 2022-2023 school year, with English being compulsory from grade 3 according to the 2018 General Education Program, the school has made efforts to overcome the limitations of human and material resources to meet the immediate need of helping students get in touch with English.

- Decision 2371/QD-TTg approving the Project "Making English the second language in schools for the period 2025 - 2035, with a vision to 2045" sets a target for general education, for the period 2025 - 2030: 100% of general education institutions nationwide teach English compulsorily from grade 1. What is your assessment of this policy?

At the age of 6-7, children are at the "golden time" to form a sense of phonemes, rhythm, intonation and natural reflexes. When organized properly, children learn through listening - speaking - movement, accumulating vocabulary in a fun, pressure-free way. Starting early helps build a solid foundation for the upper grades, creating the premise for continuing to learn integrated content in English.

Making English compulsory from grade 1 will also contribute to narrowing the gap in opportunities between regions. In addition, in the context of English being the international language of commerce, science , technology and global culture, early proficiency in this language will enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese learners, preparing them for integration and the future labor market. With the above viewpoints, I think making English compulsory from grade 1 is reasonable.

Ms. Ngan Thi Lam, Principal of Hang Kia A Secondary School.

- For a highland school like Hang Kia A Secondary School, what difficulties do you think will arise in making English compulsory from grade 1?

Hang Kia A Secondary School has 432 students, of which 55 are in first grade. These students are mainly Mong ethnic people, so when they first move from kindergarten to primary school, many of them cannot speak Vietnamese fluently. Therefore, it will be an obstacle for them to continue learning a new language.

The second obstacle of the school is the lack of teaching staff. Currently, the school has 2 English teachers in charge of teaching 22 classes, so the workload of the teachers will be very large. Due to the lack of staff, the school is forced to arrange 2-grade combined classes to optimize teaching.

In addition to the main campus, the school also has 3 satellite campuses about 7-8km away from the main campus, so teachers must also travel to teach. In order to be able to stably implement the compulsory teaching of English from grade 1, the school is expected to lack 2 teachers to teach English.

Another obstacle is due to geographical factors. Hang Kia A Secondary School is a highland school, many areas are not yet reached by telecommunication networks, so the process of implementing online English teaching and learning will encounter problems related to transmission factors.

- Given the above situation, what suggestions do you have to make English compulsory teaching from grade 1 in highland schools go smoothly?

In order for the implementation process to be effective, in my opinion, it is necessary to synchronously solve the following problems: The teaching staff must ensure both quality and quantity, have good expertise, especially in pronunciation, to avoid the situation of bilingual learning but the quality is not as expected.

To attract good human resources, the State needs to have an open mechanism, creating the most favorable conditions to attract teachers to work in schools in mountainous areas. In addition, the teaching staff also needs to be trained in depth to meet the purpose of introducing English into compulsory teaching from grade 1.

Along with that is supporting schools related to physical facilities to better serve teaching work.

Thank you!

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/day-tieng-anh-bat-buoc-tu-lop-1-ba-noi-lo-cua-cac-truong-vung-cao-20251113021701725.htm