Vietnam to make English the second language in schools
WVR - The Prime Minister has just approved the plan “Making english the second language in schools for the 2025-2035 period, with a vision to 2045”.
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| English becomes the second language in schools. Illustrative photo. (Photo: Nguyet Anh) |
The plan aims to raise awareness and create social consensus on the initiative to make English the second language in schools, contributing to the comprehensive development of Vietnamese people and promoting international integration in education, culture, and the knowledge economy during globalization.
Simultaneously, the plan aims to enhance the quality of English teaching and learning, build an English language ecosystem in schools, and create the most favorable environment for English to become the second language in schools.
English language ecosystem in schools
The goal of the plan is to make English the second language in Vietnamese schools, widely and effectively used in teaching, communication, management, and educational activities, thereby forming an English language ecosystem in educational institutions from Level 1 to Level 3.
The plan also aims to improve the quality of English teaching and learning, teaching in English, contributing to building a generation of global citizens meeting Vietnam’s international integration requirements.
Preschool Education: Helps children experience and get acquainted with English; aims to form and develop communication skills in English, well preparing for English learning at the general education level.
General Education: Helps students form and develop the ability and skills to use English in developing thinking and qualities, learning capacity in subjects, educational activities, exchanges, and experiences inside and outside the school, contributing to the comprehensive development of Vietnamese people in the era of deep international integration.
Higher Education: Develops an effective English usage environment in teaching modules, credits in training programs; in training and fostering teachers and lecturers. Develops higher education into a national leading pillar in the English language ecosystem with deep integration capabilities, knowledge transfer, and innovation in English.
Vocational Education: Enhances English usage capacity in communication and career orientation, meeting the demands of the domestic and international labor market. Develops an effective English usage environment in vocational education institutions.
Continuing Education: Enhances English proficiency for continuing education learners, diversifies forms and content of English learning to meet the diverse needs of society, contributing to improving the quality of the national workforce.
8 Key tasks and solutions
To achieve these goals, the plan outlines 8 key tasks and solutions to be implemented:
1- Raise societal awareness of the role of English in education and integration;
2- Develop and complete institutions and policies to make English the second language in schools;
3- Develop and enhance the quality of training and fostering management staff, teachers, and lecturers teaching English and teaching in English, ensuring sufficient quantity and consistent quality;
4- Develop and implement programs and materials for teaching English and teaching in English;
5- Innovate teaching methods, examination, and assessment methods, promote building an English environment as the second language in schools;
6- Promote the application of advanced technology, artificial intelligence (AI), enhance physical facilities, and equipment to ensure quality for educational activities, English teaching, and teaching in English, prioritizing difficult and especially difficult areas;
7- Strengthen international cooperation, promote socialization in enhancing the quality of English teaching, teaching other subjects in English, organizing educational activities in English;
8- Launch practical and effective emulation and commendation movements as motivation to promote the nationwide implementation of the plan.
Policies for students with outstanding english proficiency
Specifically, to develop and enhance the quality of training and fostering management staff, teachers, and lecturers teaching English and teaching in English, ensuring sufficient quantity and consistent quality, the plan will conduct surveys and assessments of English proficiency for teachers and lecturers teaching English and other subjects in English at all educational levels, fields, and training levels. Based on this, develop, complete, and issue appropriate English proficiency frameworks for each target group, serving as a basis for training, fostering, and career development.
Develop a team of teachers and lecturers suitable for the orientation of making English the second language in schools; organize professional and vocational training programs for teachers and lecturers teaching English, teaching in English.
Enhance and standardize the capacity of teacher training institutions, lecturers teaching English, teachers, and lecturers teaching other subjects and majors in English; promote the establishment of link models between pedagogical universities, language universities, and preschool, general, vocational, and continuing education institutions in training and professional support for teachers, especially English teachers and those teaching subjects, organizing educational activities in English.
Implement mechanisms to identify and reward students with outstanding English proficiency; have policies to attract newly graduated students with excellent English skills and support English teachers to work in difficult areas; research mechanisms and policies for foreigners proficient in English to participate in teaching at public educational institutions...
Enhancing English proficiency for learners
The plan implements the development of a system of programs, curricula, textbooks, materials, and resources for teaching English, teaching other subjects, and majors in English at all educational levels, fields, and training levels; build and develop an open online resource system, enhance technology application, online training on a national scale, ensuring all learners can easily and conveniently access high-quality programs, subjects, and majors in English.
Implement effective solutions to enhance English proficiency for learners to proactively access global knowledge and advanced technology, improving competitiveness in the international labor market in the new era...
Innovating teaching methods, examination, and assessment
To innovate teaching methods, examination, and assessment methods, promote building an English environment as the second language in schools, the plan organizes teaching all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with a focus on developing listening and speaking skills; diversifies teaching forms both inside and outside the classroom; creates a maximum English usage environment for learners; enhances experiential activities, exchanges, and develops a reading culture in English.
Simultaneously, continue to innovate examination, assessment methods; design a diverse, flexible assessment system suitable to reality, promoting natural English teaching and learning, teaching in English associated with real usage environments; build a system of processes and tools to assess English proficiency, specialized and vocational proficiency in English in higher education, vocational education, and continuing education according to output standards in a synchronized, interconnected manner, approaching international competence assessment standards...
Promoting advanced technology and artificial intelligence application
The plan promotes the application of advanced technology and artificial intelligence (AI), while enhancing physical facilities and equipment to improve the quality of English teaching and learning, teaching in English, especially prioritizing difficult and especially difficult areas.
Specifically, the plan focuses on investing in developing digital learning platforms and AI applications capable of analyzing learners' levels and needs to organize personalized, suitable, and effective English teaching activities.
Simultaneously, enhance equipment, IT infrastructure, and physical conditions for teaching, prioritizing investment in remote, mountainous, and ethnic minority areas to ensure quality and equity in educational access.
