The Prime Minister has just issued Decision 2371 approving the Project "Making English the second language in schools in the period of 2025-2035, with a vision to 2045".
The goal of the Project is to improve the quality of English learning, form an ecosystem of foreign languages in schools, and contribute to building a generation of global citizens to meet the requirements of international integration.
This policy has received consensus from educational institutions. However, to effectively put it into practice, standardizing and improving the capacity of the teaching staff is still an urgent problem.
Mr. Cao Duc Khoa - Principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School (Ben Thanh Ward) - said that compulsory English teaching from grade 1 is appropriate in the context of integration and recruitment requirements of the labor market.
"Students who have early access to English will form more natural skills and be more confident when faced with an international environment," he said.
According to Mr. Khoa, Nguyen Du Secondary School currently has favorable conditions when the English teachers meet the requirements, and in the near future the school will implement teaching some subjects such as Math and Science in English.
However, to widely implement English as a second language, the requirement will not only stop at English teachers.
"Not just enough, teachers have to use English in communication and practical teaching. A number of older teachers or those trained under the old program still have limited listening and speaking skills, so training and upgrading standards is a key task," he emphasized.
Another principal in Ho Chi Minh City also believes that to make English the second language, teachers play a very important role, not only English teachers but also Math, Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography teachers... must have a minimum foreign language proficiency to be able to teach bilingual or teach completely in English.
"The project has been and we will implement it, but in a short time there will be a shortage of teachers. I am afraid that if I train urgently, it can affect the quality and put pressure on teachers," he added.
From the perspective of a teacher directly teaching, Mr. Vo Kim Bao - Literature teacher at Nguyen Du Secondary School (Ben Thanh Ward) - said that English not only needs students but also supports teachers in accessing international documents for professional purposes.
However, he said that many teachers will have difficulties due to lack of time and are afraid to start over.
"I hope to have a separate training class for teachers, with flexible timetables. Thus, teachers will be more flexible and confident in the process of upgrading foreign language proficiency standards," said Mr. Bao.
