Making English a Second Language in Schools in Vietnam

Photo caption — English class of students at Ly Thai To High School, Bac Ninh province. Photo: Thanh Thuong/VNA

The objective of the Project is to make English the second language in schools in Vietnam; English is widely, regularly and effectively used in teaching, communication, management and educational activities of schools, forming an ecosystem of English use in educational institutions from Level 1 to Level 3. Improving the quality of English teaching and learning, teaching in English to contribute to building a generation of global citizens to meet the requirements of Vietnam's international integration.

Preschool education: Helps children experience and become familiar with English; aims to form and develop English communication skills, preparing well for learning English at secondary school level.

General education: Helps students form and develop their capacity and skills in using English in developing their thinking and qualities, learning capacity of subjects, educational activities, exchanges, experiences inside and outside of school, contributing to the comprehensive development of Vietnamese people in the era of deep international integration.

Higher education: Develop an environment for effective English use in teaching courses, modules, and credits in training programs; in training and fostering teachers and lecturers. Develop higher education into a pillar leading the country in the English ecosystem with the capacity for deep integration, knowledge transfer, and innovation in English.

Vocational education: Improve English communication skills and career orientation to meet the requirements of the domestic and international labor market. Develop an effective English-speaking environment in vocational education institutions.

Continuing education: Improve English proficiency for continuing education learners, diversify the forms and contents of English learning to meet the diverse needs of society, contributing to improving the quality of national human resources.

8 key tasks and solutions

To achieve the above goals, the Project sets out 8 key tasks and solutions that need to be implemented, including: Raising awareness of the whole society about the role of English in education and integration; building and perfecting institutions and policies to make English the second language in schools; developing the team and improving the quality of training and fostering managers, teachers, lecturers teaching English and teaching in English, ensuring sufficient quantity and consistent quality; building and implementing programs and learning materials for teaching English and teaching in English; innovating teaching methods, testing, assessment methods, promoting the building of an English environment as a second language in schools; promoting the application of advanced technology, artificial intelligence (AI), enhancing facilities and equipment to ensure quality for the development of educational activities, teaching English, teaching in English, prioritizing disadvantaged and especially disadvantaged areas; Strengthen international cooperation, promote socialization in improving the quality of English teaching and learning, teaching other subjects in English, organizing educational activities in English; launch emulation movements, practical and effective rewards, as a driving force to promote the implementation of the Project nationwide.

There is a preferential policy for students with outstanding English skills.

Specifically, to develop the team and improve the quality of training and fostering of managers, teachers, lecturers teaching English and teaching in English, ensuring sufficient quantity and consistent quality, the Project will conduct surveys and assess English proficiency for teachers, lecturers teaching English and teaching other subjects in English at all levels, majors and training levels. On that basis, build, complete and promulgate an appropriate English proficiency framework for each subject, as a basis for training orientation, fostering and career development.

Develop a team of teachers and lecturers to ensure compliance with the orientation of implementing English as a second language in schools; organize training programs and professional development for teachers and lecturers teaching English and teaching in English.

Improve and standardize the capacity of training institutions for teachers, English teachers, teachers, lecturers teaching other subjects and majors in English; promote the building of a linkage model between pedagogical universities, specialized language universities with preschool, general education, vocational education, and continuing education institutions in training and providing professional support for teachers, especially English teachers and teachers of subjects, and organizing educational activities in English.

There should be a mechanism to detect and reward students with outstanding English skills; there should be a policy to attract new graduates with good English skills and support English teachers to work in disadvantaged areas; there should be a research on mechanisms and policies for foreigners who are proficient in English to teach at public educational institutions...

Project to develop a system of programs, curricula, textbooks, documents, and learning materials for teaching English, teaching other subjects and majors in English at all levels, majors, and training levels; build and develop an open online learning materials system, increase the application of technology, and online training on a national scale, ensuring that all learners can easily and conveniently access high-quality programs, subjects, and majors in English.

There are effective solutions to improve English proficiency for learners to proactively access global knowledge and advanced technology to help improve competitiveness in the international labor market in the new era...

Innovation in teaching methods, testing and examination methods

In order to innovate teaching methods, testing, assessment and evaluation methods, and promote the development of an English environment as a second language in schools, the Project implements the organization of teaching all four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, focusing on developing listening and speaking skills; diversifying teaching methods both inside and outside the classroom; creating an environment for maximum English use for learners; enhancing experiential activities, exchanges, and developing a culture of reading in English.

At the same time, continue to innovate examination, testing and assessment methods; design a diverse, flexible and practical assessment system, promote English teaching and learning, and teaching in English naturally, linked to the real-life environment; build a system of processes and tools to assess English proficiency, professional and vocational competencies in English in higher education, vocational education and continuing education according to output standards in a synchronous, interconnected manner, approaching international competency-based assessment standards...

The project promotes the application of advanced technology, artificial intelligence (AI), enhances facilities and equipment to ensure quality for the development of educational activities, English teaching, and teaching in English, with priority given to disadvantaged and especially disadvantaged areas in the direction of: Investing in the development of digital learning platforms, applying artificial intelligence (AI) capable of analyzing the level and needs of learners to organize educational activities, English teaching, and teaching in English in a personalized, appropriate and effective manner.

Strengthen teaching equipment, information technology infrastructure and material conditions for organizing English teaching and learning, teaching in English in schools to ensure quality and effectiveness; prioritize investment in information technology infrastructure for areas with difficult and especially difficult socio-economic conditions, ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, remote areas to ensure fairness in access to education...

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/dua-tieng-anh-thanh-ngon-ngu-thu-hai-trong-truong-hoc-o-viet-nam-20251029203603304.htm