Of the more than 60,000 students studying foreign languages other than English at school, the majority chose French and Japanese.
In the draft report summarizing 10 years of implementing Resolution 29 on fundamental and comprehensive education reform (2013-2023), the Ministry of Education and Training stated that foreign language teaching and learning have seen many positive changes.
To date, 61 provinces and cities have implemented the English language familiarization program for preschool children. All provinces and cities have taught English for 10 years, starting from grade 3. The number of students studying in the 10-year program increased by 39% compared to the 2013-2014 school year, reaching 68%, equivalent to approximately 12.2 million students.
Besides English, 41 localities offer foreign language instruction, with over 60,000 students enrolled. French is the most widely taught language, with nearly 30,800 students. Japanese and Chinese follow. These are also the foreign languages taught at all three levels: primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary.
The remaining foreign languages, including German, Korean, and Russian, are only taught in a limited number of middle and high schools.
Previously, foreign languages were not compulsory subjects in primary school but only in secondary and high school. According to the new general education curriculum (2018 curriculum), foreign languages are compulsory from grade 3 to grade 12. Besides English, the list of foreign languages also includes Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, French, and Russian.
According to the Ministry's guidelines, schools, based on their actual conditions and the needs of students and parents, choose one of the aforementioned foreign languages to teach as a compulsory subject (referred to as Foreign Language 1). In addition, schools may teach another foreign language to students (Foreign Language 2).
In reality, most schools choose English as their first foreign language. Some schools in border areas choose Chinese, while French, Japanese, and Korean are mainly taught in major cities.
In Hanoi , Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhung, Vice Principal of Lomonosov Secondary and High School, said that most foreign languages other than English taught in secondary schools will be as a "Second Foreign Language" - an elective subject, depending on the needs of parents and the conditions of each school.
At Lomonosov School, three second foreign languages are offered: German, Japanese, and Korean. German has been taught for a long time due to the school's partnership with the Goethe Institute, while Korean and Japanese were introduced at the start of the 2018 general education curriculum. The inclusion of these languages also aims to meet societal needs.
"We want students to have the opportunity to learn more foreign languages so they can access knowledge from around the world more easily, become global citizens, and work in many fields," Ms. Nhung said.
A class with a foreign teacher at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted (Ho Chi Minh City) in 2019. Photo: Le Nam
The Foreign Language 1 curriculum in general education has a total of 1,155 lessons. Of these, primary school students study 420 lessons (4 lessons/week), lower secondary school students study 420 lessons (3 lessons/week), and upper secondary school students study 315 lessons (3 lessons/week).
Second foreign language is an elective subject; schools can organize teaching starting from grade 6 and ending at any grade level, depending on student needs and the educational institution's capacity to meet those needs.
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