English as a Second Language: A Roadmap for Bilingual Teacher Training

The Prime Minister has approved the Project to make English the second language in schools for the period 2025 - 2035, with a vision to 2045. To successfully implement this project, one of the key factors is the teaching staff. So how is this team being prepared?

According to information from the Ministry of Education and Training, to successfully implement the project, it is expected that about 12,000 preschool English teachers will be needed. At the primary level, to implement compulsory English teaching from grade 1, about 10,000 teachers are needed. In addition, it is necessary to train and foster English and professional and pedagogical skills for at least 200,000 teachers teaching in English from now until 2035 to meet the needs and goals of the project.

To prepare this force, universities said they have made many preparations, including teacher training.

Students of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education. This school currently offers bilingual Vietnamese-English pedagogical training programs for some subjects.

PHOTO: NGOC LONG

Strengthening training in academic and professional English skills

Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Thi Hong Hieu, Head of Training Department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, said that the school is training in English pedagogy, students (SV) upon graduation can participate in teaching at junior high and high school levels, with the enrollment scale in recent years from 200 - 225 students per year. In addition, the school's English language department also significantly trains a group of post-graduate human resources who can study pedagogy and TESOL to become teachers. In addition, the school has also built an elementary English pedagogy program, expected to expand enrollment in 2026. For preschool level, the school currently has a training program "Methods for children to get acquainted with English".

Similarly, the representative of Saigon University also said that the school is training many majors directly related to preparing the teaching staff to serve the project such as: English pedagogy, English language. In particular, students graduating from English pedagogy can participate in teaching English at high school, middle school, primary school and kindergarten levels. In addition, 15 majors training teachers of various subjects (preschool pedagogy, primary school pedagogy, math pedagogy, physics pedagogy...) are all being strengthened with training in academic English and specialized English, aiming at the long-term goal of bilingual teaching or teaching in English.

Open many bilingual teacher training programs

Regarding the training of teachers to teach other subjects in English, Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Thi Hong Hieu informed that Ho Chi Minh City University of Education is currently training a mathematics pedagogy program taught in Vietnamese and English. Other subjects are also in the process of being developed and implemented to ensure careful preparation and effective response.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Education will supplement the content of the pedagogical training program to teach subjects in English so that graduates can perform the tasks required by the project.

PHOTO: NGOC LONG

The school has developed a program to teach other subjects in Vietnamese and English such as: primary education, natural science education , physics education, chemistry education, etc. These programs will be implemented this year if there are enough class quotas and a suitable number of interested students. In the coming time, the school will continue to develop programs to teach other subjects in English.

In addition, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education has also developed a pedagogical training program for teachers teaching subjects in English, helping teachers of other subjects know how to organize teaching specialized content in English. This program will be widely organized for teachers working in high schools. "For students studying at the school, in addition to paying attention to foreign language training as before, the school will also soon add the content of the pedagogical training program to teach subjects in English to help students graduate to be able to perform the tasks required by the project," Associate Professor Hieu added.

To meet the project's requirements, a representative of Saigon University said that the school is reviewing and adjusting the English teacher training program to increase the number of courses on English teaching methods at primary and preschool levels, in order to expand the scope of professional applications of students after graduation. The school also plans to build more training programs for teachers teaching in English, initially piloting the math and natural science teacher training programs in the 2026-2030 period.

The school also focuses on increasing the duration of non-specialized English courses and specialized English courses in the training program; increasing the use of bilingual or English textbooks and reference materials; strengthening policies to support pedagogical students in improving their foreign language skills in general and English in particular; and organizing English proficiency training classes for teachers at high schools.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Ho Van Thong, Principal of Dong Thap University, the school has updated and developed training programs for teachers in primary and preschool education in the direction of integrating bilingual training. This aims to help primary and preschool students form and develop English proficiency through general learning activities, not just through studying English separately.

"The school also develops a specialized English pedagogical program for preschool and primary schools. Some measures will be implemented such as updating content related to teaching methods integrating language and content, applying technology and AI in teaching English to students; increasing guest lecturers from English-speaking countries to participate in some modules/topics of training programs," said Associate Professor, Dr. Thong.

Priority is given to candidates with English proficiency.

To implement the project, Dong Thap University is one of 14 key higher education institutions in training 22,000 English teachers in preschools and primary schools by 2030. Associate Professor, Dr. Ho Van Thong informed: "The school has researched, thoroughly grasped and made appropriate adjustments in the current admission and training programs to ensure effective implementation of the project's objectives."

Specifically, regarding admission, the school will propose that the competent authority consider increasing the admission quota for the English pedagogy major, and consider giving priority to candidates with English proficiency, through IELTS, TOEFL, VSTEP scores, etc. In addition, there will be incentives for admission from areas lacking teachers to ensure reasonable human resource allocation.

Dr. Nguyen Huu Tri, Vice Principal of An Giang University (Ho Chi Minh City National University), said that the teacher training majors at the school always have higher admission scores than the standards set by the Ministry of Education and Training, with some majors reaching more than 27 points. In the coming years, the school will promote the use of international English certificates in admission to contribute to improving the English proficiency of the school's students in general and pedagogical majors in particular.

Regarding the output standards for students majoring in education, Dr. Tran Huu Duy, Vice Principal of Dalat University, said that the school is building a roadmap to apply the output standard of international certificates with scores that will be calculated to match the project's goals.

Currently, Dong Thap University stipulates that the foreign language output standard for students majoring in education is level 3 according to the 6-level foreign language competency framework. To achieve this, all teacher training programs of the school arrange 12 foreign language credits; in addition, it also supports students by finding and organizing English training courses with preferential tuition fees.

To prepare the teaching force to meet the Project of making English the second language in schools, universities have made many preparations from teacher training.

Photo: Ngoc Long

Increase English training credits

Dr. Nguyen Huu Tri said that An Giang University will increase specialized English and English-taught courses. Currently, all teacher training programs of the school have specialized English courses with a duration of 2-3 credits. Some majors have added specialized courses taught in English, such as preschool education, primary education, physics pedagogy, natural science pedagogy, etc.

"Over the past years, the school has been teaching entirely in English, in a few subjects or selected topics taught in English. Many lecturers have actively participated and achieved good results such as math pedagogy, geography pedagogy, history pedagogy... This is the initial foundation for the school to continue developing specialized teaching in English, moving towards training in English in a number of majors in which the school has strengths", Dr. Nguyen Huu Tri shared.

Dalat University is also researching to issue regulations on teaching pedagogical students in English.

Upgrading lecturer standards

In addition to training full-time students in English pedagogy, primary education, and preschool education to meet the project's requirements, Dong Thap University will also have English proficiency training programs for general education teachers through short-term and long-term training courses...

Meanwhile, Dr. Tran Huu Duy, Vice Principal of Dalat University, said that most of the lecturers teaching specialized subjects of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology at the school were trained abroad, so their English is very good. However, lecturers teaching specialized subjects such as psychology, education, and teaching methods were trained domestically, so their English ability is limited. "The school will support funding for lecturers to study to get an English certificate, and the regulation is that they must obtain the certificate within a certain period of time. Raising the standards of lecturers is extremely necessary to carry out teacher training to meet the requirements of the project," Dr. Duy commented.

At An Giang University, teachers of pedagogy will also have to improve their English proficiency to meet the standards. Accordingly, the minimum proficiency for teachers teaching integrated foreign language courses is level 5 according to the 6-level foreign language proficiency framework for Vietnam or equivalent.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tieng-anh-thanh-ngon-ngu-thu-hai-lo-trinh-dao-tao-giao-vien-song-ngu-185251201193843228.htm