VietNamNet Bridge – Science subjects have been taught in
English at many general schools in big cities, where students can start
learning English very soon and have good basic English skills.
The guests, who attended the
mathematics lesson at the Luong The Vinh High School in district 1 of HCM City
on November 8, all said that they were so surprised when seeing the lesson
going so smoothly. Both the teacher and students communicated in English with
no trouble.
Nguyen Minh Chau, MA, a mathematics
teacher of the school, when students learn mathematics in English, their
foreign language skills can be improved quickly. This would help the students
read math materials at their suitable levels.
Hong Vinh, a 7th grader of the
school affirmed that he understood what the teacher said. When the teacher
raised questions, a lot of students raised their hands.
Sixth and seventh graders of the
school have one math lesson in English a week. Meanwhile, 10th graders have two
math lessons in English a week. Besides, physics and chemistry have also been
taught in English.
The schools’ leaders admitted
that it is really a difficult job to teach in English, therefore, the school
began preparing for the program in 2006. To date, only 10 high schools in HCM
City teach mathematics and other science subjects in English in the classes
gathering 1600 students.
An official of the HCM City
Education and Training Department said that the aim of the program is to
improve the English skills of students. He also said that this is an optional
subject, not compulsory, while the result of the learning would not be referred
to when teachers assess students’ capability.
Cao Huy Thao, President of the
Vietnam-Australia International School, said teaching science subjects in
English at general schools is completely a “reasonable decision” which can help
Vietnamese students improve their foreign language skills.
What curriculums to be used?
To date, there has been no
official guidance from the Ministry of Education and Training on the
curriculums, class organization and teaching staff. General schools choose
teachers, curriculums and do everything themselves after consulting with
experienced educators.
The board of management of the
Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School in district 3 in HCM City said the teachers
here have to read documents and improve their English skills to be able to
teach students.
Regarding the curriculum, the
teachers follow the lesson plans compiled on the basis of Australian textbooks
for mathematics, Australian and American textbooks for physics.
Meanwhile, at Luong The Vinh
School, the teachers follow the curriculums of College Mathematics.
The representatives of the 10
high schools have agreed at a meeting gathered by the HCM City education
department that they all would use Cambridge’s curriculums.
The educators said Cambridge’s
curriculums have 80 percent of the content similar to the content in Vietnamese
textbooks. Therefore, this is really a reasonable choice.
However, it is the teaching
staff, not curriculum, which is the biggest problem for schools. The English skills
of the majority of Vietnamese teachers remains weak, while the teachers have
not been retrained.
Dr Nguyen Dong Hai, Deputy
Director of NSETC, a foreign language center that provides teachers to the high
schools running the program on teaching science subjects in English, said the
center has just finished the training of eight physics teachers. Meanwhile, the
other 60 teachers are following the training courses at the center, whose
English skills are at different levels.
NLD
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