On March 5, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) held a workshop to provide comments on the draft national project "Gradually introducing English as a second language in schools" for the period 2025-2035, with a vision to 2045. Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong chaired the workshop.
Conference scene
Attending the workshop were leaders of units under the Ministry of Education and Training, a number of higher education institutions, representatives of a number of pioneering general education institutions piloting English as a second language in schools, corporations, businesses and international organizations.
The sooner it is implemented, the better beneficiaries will be the students.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong stated: The implementation of the Project to Gradually Make English the Second Language in Schools is good news, an opportunity for the education sector, for teachers and learners, because foreign languages are extremely important tools for deep and wide integration with the world, especially English.
According to the Deputy Minister, the workshop was held in great joy for the Education sector when it had just received a very humane decision, showing the concern of the Party and State, which is to exempt tuition fees for all public school students from the 2025-2026 school year.
Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong said that right after the Politburo issued Conclusion No. 91-KL/TW on continuing to implement fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training, including the content of making English the second language in schools, the Ministry of Education and Training coordinated with the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City to organize a workshop to discuss solutions to achieve the above goal.
Based on the workshop, the Ministry of Education and Training has consulted and proposed to the Government to develop a national project. In the past time, units under the Ministry of Education and Training have actively developed a draft project, initially seeking advice from all parties, meeting the increasingly high requirements, both in depth, breadth, quality, and training of skilled human resources. Therefore, the sooner and more widely and practically the comments on the draft project are made, the sooner and best beneficiaries will be our students.
Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong speaks at the workshop
Affirming the importance of assessing the current situation in implementing English teaching and learning in Vietnam, the Deputy Minister said that with a large number of learners, the strong development of international schools, teaching joint programs in general schools, and the development of IT and foreign language centers have facilitated the implementation of the movement.
“However, difficulties such as differences between regions, many difficult areas… we must also learn from international experience to choose suitable to the characteristics of Vietnamese education, effective in using resources, teacher training, international cooperation, investment in facilities, attracting socialization to implement the project sooner, faster, with better quality, more effectively”, the Deputy Minister emphasized.
Promoting existing conditions, supplementing effective resources
According to the draft Project, English as a second language in Vietnamese schools is English taught and learned in schools where the official language is Vietnamese and the main language used is English, in which English is a subject and English is used to teach and learn other appropriate subjects/majors, and in daily work/communication at school.
The draft project stipulates 6 levels of schools implementing English as a second language in Vietnam with the common goal of English being widely and regularly used in communication, study, research, and work , to gradually become the second language in schools. Improving English proficiency to meet the needs of study and work, enhancing the competitiveness of human resources in the new era , contributing to the development and advancement of the country .
Specifically, for preschool education, by 2035, strive for 100% of preschool educational institutions to have sufficient conditions and implement English as a second language for preschool children; implement the English as a second language program for 100% of preschool children (from 3 to 5 years old). By 2045, strive to implement the English as a second language program for 100% of preschool children (nursery children and kindergarten children).
Head of the National Foreign Language Project Management Board Nguyen Thi Mai Huu informed about the draft Project
For general education, by 2035, strive for 100% of general education students to study English as a second language (from grade 1 to grade 12) and implement English as a second language programs at Level 1, Level 2, Level 3. By 2045, strive for 100% of general schools to implement English as a second language programs at Level 4, Level 5, Level 6.
At university level, strive for 100% of universities to implement English as a second language at Level 4, Level 5, Level 6.
Vocational education: Strive for 100% of vocational education institutions to implement English as a second language program, 100% of vocational education institutions to implement English with career orientation, 50% of vocational education institutions to implement part of other subjects and/or some other subjects in English.
Continuing education, by 2030, strive to complete the development of English teaching and learning programs, teaching and learning in English in continuing education to basically meet the diverse needs of society.
The draft project also clearly states the tasks and solutions for implementation such as researching and perfecting institutions; strengthening communication, raising public awareness; developing and training, retraining, and fostering teachers and lecturers; promulgating and implementing programs, curricula, textbooks, documents, and learning materials; innovating exams, tests, and assessments; promoting the application of technology platforms, artificial intelligence, and improving facilities; promoting international cooperation, socialization, and strengthening the organization of emulation and reward activities...
Early completion of the Project with full scientific and practical basis and ensuring feasibility
At the workshop, representatives of universities, primary, secondary and high schools piloting the Project to Gradually Introduce English as a Second Language in Schools discussed, commented and proposed the contents of the draft Project.
Delegates attending the workshop
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Trao, Vice Principal of Hanoi National University of Education, said that the Project needs to clarify the role and planning of the university education system, the role of key pedagogical schools, including developing programs and documents to train teachers and pedagogical students; strengthening facilities for teacher training schools; having specific plans for enrollment targets, funding to support teachers, students, and experts working together in English training majors.
Chairman of the Board of the University of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi Do Tuan Minh said that immediately after Conclusion 91-KL/TW was issued, the school held a meeting and included the content of "gradually bringing English into the second language in schools" in the school's Resolution, and at the same time, compiled a set of documents guiding how to bring English into the second language in schools. It clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of not only teachers and learners, but also related subjects; guides the integration of English into schools at each level, for each different subject.
According to Mr. Do Tuan Minh, to improve the effectiveness of the Project, it is necessary to approach English as a culture and a school environment. It is necessary to inherit the achievements of the previous National Foreign Language Project and draw lessons from experience. At the same time, create space for localities and educational institutions, depending on their conditions, to carry out appropriate and effective work, in accordance with their roles and responsibilities.
Dr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, has some notes on the roadmap for implementing the Project, including considering the accessibility of students in remote areas, the rate of qualified teachers in different provinces and cities; mobilizing social resources and different resources to serve consulting, building tools to support effective implementation.
Ms. Mary Beth Polley, Counselor for Culture and Information of the US Embassy in Vietnam, said that although there are many challenges with different implementation resources in localities, one of the important things that needs to be determined is a common awareness of language. English is not only for communication, but also the language of economics, trade, research, global exchange, learning and using English well is an important step towards international integration. The US Embassy in Vietnam is ready to support experts in this field to help localities and schools effectively implement the project.
Representatives of higher education institutions exchanged at the workshop
As one of the primary schools implementing the Project on teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system, period 2017-2025, teacher Le Thi Thanh Huyen, Chau Son Primary School, Ba Vi, Hanoi highly appreciated the effectiveness of the project in the recent past. In recent years, students' English learning results have changed significantly, new and modern learning models and methods have brought excitement to students; teachers are constantly innovating in teaching methods, creating an effective English-using environment.
In his concluding remarks at the workshop, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong highly appreciated the opinions discussed at the workshop. The Deputy Minister hoped that the progress of the development and implementation of the Project “Gradually introducing English as a second language in schools” would be completed soon with full scientific and practical basis and ensuring feasibility.
Emphasizing the role of teachers and lecturers, the Deputy Minister stated that in order for the Project to be implemented effectively, successfully and sustainably, the human factor is the most important, and it is necessary to focus on training a qualified team.
The Deputy Minister also noted the application of digital transformation and information technology in teaching to address regional gaps and save time and human resources.
Noting the role of educational institutions implementing the pilot, the Deputy Minister said that the pilot has a very important mission, not only to try and model but also to promote and effectively replicate models and lessons learned nationwide. Promoting models that have been done and successfully implemented, not only in convenient places but also in difficult places to do and pilot.
Source: https://moet.gov.vn/tintuc/Pages/tin-tong-hop.aspx?ItemID=10346
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