English proficiency survey of 73,000 teachers: Hastily done for 'marketing'?

Many teachers are upset with the English proficiency survey that the Ho Chi Minh City Departmentof Education and Training is conducting - Photo taken from the Tuoi Tre newspaper page on April 25

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training's survey of foreign language (English) proficiency for 73,000 teachers across the city is causing frustration and concern about the hasty implementation, lack of clear purpose, and difficulty in achieving real results.

"Gradually making English the second language in schools in the period 2025 - 2035, with a vision to 2045" is a policy and innovation orientation with the common goal that English is widely and regularly used in communication, study, research, work... However, there needs to be a roadmap and careful preparation steps, it cannot be hasty or arbitrary.

Need to prepare carefully and have a roadmap

Surveying teachers' English proficiency is a correct and necessary policy. However, the way it is implemented is showing many shortcomings.

Firstly, the survey subjects are teachers in all subjects, taking the same survey with two parts: Reading (90 minutes) and Listening (45 minutes). That is, a common survey for all teachers to assess English proficiency according to the European standard reference framework CEFR (from A1 - C2). So what is the assessment threshold of the survey, what is the required level?

According to many teachers, the English test is too difficult and not suitable for general assessment. I think that in the near future, the Department of Education and Training should announce the content of the test and the score distribution of the test.

Second, the English content of the test is not appropriate or up to standard. In the Reading section, there is a given passage and the user is required to choose answers with many questions from the passage.

Instead of dividing the screen into two windows so that teachers can read the passage while comparing the questions, the survey system puts the passage and the questions on the same page, forcing teachers to continuously move the mouse up and down to read the questions and then compare the passage, which is very unprofessional and disadvantageous to teachers.

Some teachers asked native English teachers to refer to the Listening section, but they said they were not sure about the answers because the content was difficult!

Third, the implementation was rushed and unprepared. Why didn’t the department conduct the survey, training, and coaching during the summer break, but instead chose the end of the second semester when teachers and students were busy reviewing? Also, the online survey was related to poor information processing systems and signal transmission, leading to network congestion when teachers were taking the survey or unable to access it.

"Marketing" is offensive

It is worth mentioning that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training's "marketing" of the Department of Education and Training's Foreign Language - Information Technology Center through Notice No. 1897/TB-SGDĐT dated April 15, 2025 with regulations on each level of tuition and fees is offensive and somewhat an abuse of power.

Just recently, at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, administrators, teachers, and education staff must all take the "HCM - Digital Transformation Knowledge Survey" on the website https://chuyendoiso.hcm.edu.vn. Teachers who have not passed must attend courses organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training with time slots in the morning, afternoon, and evening on Saturdays and Sundays, which has caused some difficulties for teachers.

Is it necessary to attend these computer classes to be considered "qualified"? Does the "digital transformation" roadmap require teachers to carry their schoolbags to be successful?

With the project "making English the second language", is it true that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training is being hasty and lax in management, leading to many problems in the implementation process?

I think the department should consider and learn from the experiences of partners and educational policies of other countries to carefully choose appropriate directions and, most importantly, go along with the flow of the education sector nationwide.

Be bold but don't be impulsive!

According to the announcement of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, in order to develop the project "Gradually making English the second language in schools", the department organized a survey on the English proficiency and capacity of civil servants and public employees in the education and training sector of the city.

At the same time, the department also informed about foreign language and information technology training classes for managers, teachers and employees in the education and training sector in the area with a tuition fee of 4.2 million VND for English 3 training class equivalent to level 3 and level 4 according to the Vietnamese foreign language competency framework and an exam fee (certificate issuance) of 2 million VND of the Foreign Language - Information Technology Center of the Department of Education and Training.

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LAM VU CONG CHINH (TEACHER IN HCMC)

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khao-sat-nang-luc-tieng-anh-73-000-giao-vien-lam-voi-va-de-tiep-thi-2025042608484399.htm