VietNamNet Bridge – It’s very difficult for English teachers to
meet the international standards, and it would be not easy for the Ministry of
Education and Training to standardize the English teaching staff. Meanwhile,
experts believe that meeting international standards should not be an
imperative requirement.
English teachers also have to learn English
Hong Hanh, an English teacher of
the Cat Linh Primary School in Hanoi, has been recognized as meeting the B2
standard after following the 3-month intensive training course organized by the
Hanoi Education and Training Department (HETD).
Hanh said she is one of the
luckiest teachers who passed the English skill test. She attended a lot of
training courses to improve the knowledge, including overseas ones.
Therefore, Hanh had met B1
standard before going to the HETD’s training course. After the course, where
she made a lot of exertion, Hanh and some other colleagues have met the B2
standard.
An English teacher at a high
school in HCM City said that it would be not too difficult for primary and
secondary school teachers to obtain FCE (First Certificate in English) of the
Cambridge University, which is equal to 6.0 IELTS. However, it would be a
difficult task for high school teachers, especially the old ones, to obtain 7.5
IELTS.
It would be not a big problem for
the teachers who have just finished university education. Meanwhile, the old
teachers, who have lost some knowledge over the last many years, would find it
difficult to review lessons for attending exams.
Dung, a teacher of the Thanh Cong
B Primary School in Hanoi, said she has been teaching English for the last 20
years, during which she attended a lot of training courses. However, she
admitted that she would have to learn very hard to have B1 degree.
A primary school teacher in HCM
City said she feels worried stiff about the upcoming exam to obtain FCE,
because the knowledge she received at school proves to be not enough for
English communication.
Is it necessary for teachers to meet international standards?
This is the question raised by
Hoang Ngoc Hung, a teacher of the High School for Talented Students under the
HCM City National University.
Analysts have also agreed with
Hung that the goals of the foreign language teaching program by 2020 prove to
be overly high, while the conditions for teaching English in Vietnam remain
very poor.
The teachers and students in
rural and remote areas are also required to speak standard English, while they
may not have any opportunity to meet and talk to any foreigners in their lives.
Should they be required to have standard English?
“I think the goals of the program
are far away and they seem to be a little bit luxurious in the Vietnamese
conditions,” he said.
He believes that in order to
upgrade the teachers’ English skills, it would be better to follow a long term
plan to improve the situation step by step, instead of providing crash training
to teachers, thus putting them under a hard pressure.
The list of the lecturers who
still cannot meet B2 and C1 standards has been posted on the website of a
faculty of the Hanoi National University. Fifteen out of the 27 lecturers who
attended the English skill test on May 28, 2011, could not meet the B2 and C1
standards.
So, is it necessary to require
general school teachers to meet international standards, while the lecturers,
who once trained the teachers, still cannot meet the standards themselves?
Nguyen Hien
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