Vietnam - Chinese teaching plan meant for Chinese minorities

A recent draft proposal for teaching Chinese to elementary and middle school students is applicable to those of Chinese ethnic groups in Vietnam only, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) said Wednesday in a clarifying notice on its website.

On Monday, the ministry posted the proposal, together with a draft guiding document explaining how to implement it, on their website so that the public can help perfect the ideas.

Local media and netizens misunderstood MoET and thought the ministry wanted to teach Chinese to all Vietnamese elementary and middle school students, a controversial intention if it had been the case.

The ministry immediately revised the guiding document by saying the draft proposal is intended exclusively for students belonging to Chinese minorities in the country, a clarification that was not included in its original version.

Chinese will be taught to them as an optional subject, the watchdog adds.

All this may follow confusion and disappointment among the general public, who read from the proposal that it aims to nurture a passion for Chinese learning among elementary school kids and encourage middle school students to preserve and develop Chinese ethnic groups’ language and culture.

According to the proposal listening and speaking skills will be the the focus in elementary school, where students will learn basic aspects of the Chinese language, while reading and writing will be taught in middle school, with a view to expanding students’ knowledge of Chinese ethnic groups.

A certificate will be conferred on those who successfully finish their courses.

English or French is currently taught as a foreign language to most Vietnamese elementary and middle school students.

VIET TOAN

Tuoi Tre

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