I-SHOU UNIVERSITY
MASTER PROGRAM OF APPLIED ENGLISH
Current Issues of English Teaching in Vietnam: An Analysis
of the Results of the Foreign Language Teachers’
Proficiency Report
A MASTER’S THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE
FALCUTY
In fulfillment of the requirements for the
DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS
By
Student: Truong, Thi Luu
Advisor: Liao, Pen-shui
Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
May 2015
i
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Professor Liao, Pen-shui, who has
been a tremendous mentor for me. I would like to thank him for encouraging my research and for
giving me precious advice. I would also like to thank Dr. Ching-Yi Tien, Dr. Chingya Chiu for
serving as my committee members. Special thanks go to my family: my grandmother, my parents,
and my siblings. They offer me great support for my goal. Last but not least, I would like to
thank all of my friends, both in Vietnam and in Taiwan, who have assisted me, in one way or
ii
Abstract
The study was derived from the surveyed results of the foreign language teachers’ proficiency in Vietnam. These surveys were conducted under the criterion of an on-going project with the title “Teaching and Learning Foreign Language in the National Education System, Period 2008-2020” (namely Project 2020). This project was launched by the Prime Minister of Vietnamese government and under the control of Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (Vietnamese MOET). Vietnamese MOET reported that the majority of foreign language teachers in Vietnam failed to reach the language proficiency as required by this national project. Thus, the study focused on investigating the reasons that caused such kind of problem, thereby providing possible solutions. By the way of using qualitative methods, especially complementing the interviews with ten English teachers in different high schools in Haiduong province, Vietnam, the study offered the reader with a meaningful understanding about the current issues of English teaching in Vietnam. Besides, the study also presented teachers/educators with various perspectives about the feasibility of the Project 2020, that is, the pros and cons.
Keywords: language proficiency, Vietnamese MOET, Project 2020, National Education
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments………...………i Abstract………....ii List of Tables………..vi List of Figures………..…..vii List of Abbreviations………....viii Chapter 1 Introduction……….1 1.1 Background of Research ... ………1 1.2 Purposes of Research ………...5 1.3 Research Structure………6 1.4 Research Questions ………...6Chapter 2 Literature Review ... 7
2.1 The History of Developing Foreign Languages in Vietnam ... 7
2.1.1 One Thousand Years under Chinese Domination ... 7
2.1.2 More Than Eighty Years under French Domination ... 7
2.1.3 The Independent in 1945 ………...8
2.1.4 From the Reunification 1975 to the Collapse of the Former Soviet Union in 1991….8 2.1.5 Foreign Language Policies and Related Problems in Vietnam since 1986 ~ 2000s...9
2.2 Opposing Viewpoints about the Project 2020 ……….10
2.2.1 Positive Voices ... 11
2.2.2 Negative Voices ... 13
2.3 Featured Views about Education System in Vietnam………..16
2.3.1 Pre-school Education ... 18
2.3.2 General Education ... 18
2.3.3 Professional Education ... 18
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Chapter 3 Methodology ... 20
3.1 Design Process ... 20
3.2 Data Collection………..22
3.2.1 Questions for Interviews………...……….….22
3.3 Data Analysis……….23
3.3.1 Interviews ... 24
3.3.2 Secondary data ... 27
Chapter 4 Discussion ... 32
4.1 Reasons and solutions ... 32
4.1.1 Teacher’s Attitude and Language Proficiency ... 32
4.1.2 Student’s Attitude and Language Proficiency ... 35
4.1.3 Textbook’s Program and Content Design ... 36
4.2 The Pros and Cons of the Project 2020 ... 37
4.2.1 The Pros ... 37
4.2.2 The Cons ... 37
4.2.3 The Feasibility of the Project 2020... 39
Chapter 5 Conclusion ... 41
References ... 45
Appendix A Frameworks for Converting Foreign Language Levels Issued by Thainguyen University , Vietnam………..50
English Framework……….…...50
Chinese Framework………51
French Framework ... 52
Russian Framework ... 53
v
Appendix C Common Conference Levels: Global Scale……….55
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table
Page
1. EF English Proficiency Index 2013………12
2. Number of FLSs registered students for graduate examination ……….…..…14
3. Fund budget for buying facilitative in certain educational units………15
4. Number of FLTs at level B2 in each high school………...……25
5. The predicted percentage of FLTs……….….…26
6. FLTs’ ideas in each school………...……..27
7. MOET and DOET’s Documents……….…28
8. Criterion for foreign language certificate, Vietnam’s MOET……….…………...28
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1 Structure of the National Educational System of Vietnam………...17
viii
List of Abbreviations
Abbreviations Meanings
DOET Department of Education and Training
CEFR Common European Framework of Reference
EF Education First
FLSs Foreign Language Subjects
FLTs Foreign Language Teachers
MOET Ministry of Education and Training
MPs Members of Party KNLNNVN BGDDT GDTrH QD-TTg SGDDT TB-BGDDT UBND-VP
Vietnamese Foreign Language Framework
Ministry of Education and Training
School Education
Decision -Prime Minister
Department of Education and Training
Notice-Ministry of Education and Training
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Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Background of Research
With the intensifying progress of globalization, using English has become popular in
most countries all over the world. Vietnam, an increasingly growing and innovating country is no
exception. Thus, those of the Vietnamese people who can speak fluently at least one foreign
language have the advantages in society, especially if they have good command of English. As
Graddol (2006) points out: “the availability of English as a global language in accelerating
globalization. On the other, the globalization is accelerating the use of English” (p. 22). To
connect and expand the process of integration between Vietnamese economy and global
economy, the Vietnamese government has set up plans to close the gap between localization and
globalization. In the education field, the Vietnamese government has approved Project 2020 with
the budget and fund accounting for 9.378 million Vietnam dongs (Decision No.1400/QD-TTg).
Project 2020 was issued by the Prime Minister of Vietnamese government in 2008
according to Decision No.1400/QD-TTg with the title “Teaching and Learning Foreign
Language in the National Education System, Period 2008-2020” (namely, National Project 2020,
or Project 2020 for short). The general goals of this project are:
to renovate thoroughly the tasks of teaching and learning foreign language within
national education system, to implement a new program on teaching and learning
foreign language at every school levels and training degrees, in which aims to
achieve by the year 2015 a vivid progress on professional skills, language
competency for human resources, especially at some prioritized sectors; by the
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colleges and university gain the capacity to use a foreign language independently
(Decision No.1400/QD-TTg, 2008, para. 1).
The specific goals of this project include four main points. In the (a) section, it aims at
implementing an education program which foreign language is compulsory for students from
grade 3 to grade 12. The plans for this goal are divided into three periods of school years
(2010-2011, 2015-2016, and 2018-2019). From 2010-(2010-2011, the government would “implement
language teaching in accord with new curriculum for about 20% of 3rd graders and gradually expand the scale to about 70% in school year 2015-2016, aiming to reach 100% in school year
2018-2019” (Decision No.1400/QD-TTg, 2008, para. 1).
In the sections (b) and (c), the targets for vocational education (training centers,
professional vocation training schools) and undergraduate education in supplementing “a foreign
language enhancement training program” (Decision No. 1400/QD-TTg, 2008, para. 2) are 10%,
60%, 100% of students respectively in school years 201002011, 2015-2016, and 2019-2020. The
last point in the (d) section has plan to set up a target for “language level 3 and above for 5% of
staff, clerk and officials from governmental agencies by the year 2015 and reaching 30% by the
year 2020” (Decision No. 1400/QD-TTg, 2008, para. 4). Among the task of this project are to
identify “English and other language as foreign language subjects to be taught and learned at
education institutions that belong to national education system” (Decision No. 1400/QD-TTg,
2008, para. 1); to construct and issue “a detailed and unified language proficiency framework
which consists of six levels” (Decision No. 1400/QD-TTg, 2008, para. 2). The framework on
titled “Khung nang luc ngoai ngu Vietnam” (KNLNNVN) is based on the criteria of Common
European of Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and some other international
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medium and high grade) with six different levels, in which level one is the lowest ranking.
KNLNNVN aims to “define clearly certain requirements for competency, capacity in listening,
speaking, reading and writing” (Decision No. 1400/QD-TTg, 2008, para. 2, section. 2). The
requirements are basically compatible with levels in CEFR. CEFR is considered the main
reference framework for learners to check the equivalent levels not only in English, but also in
other languages such as French, Russian, Chinese, etc (see the Appendices A & B of this study).
Another task of this project outlines a specific term for foreign language levels with such kinds
of primary, secondary, and high schools within national education system. From this point, “a
new program on compulsory language training at different schools levels” (Decision No.
1400/QD-TTg, 2008, para. 1, section. 3) are constructed and implemented to guarantee for
learners who can hold “qualify KNLNNVN level 1 when graduating primary school; qualify
KNLNNVN level 2 when graduating secondary school; qualify KNLNNVN level 3 when
graduating high schools” (Decision No. 1400/QD-TTg, 2008, para. 1, section. 3). This is
important task of the project. It also has caused many complicated problems since the project
was executed. To achieve these criteria, the core sources should be foreign language teachers
(FLTs), mostly in English, at different levels. These teachers need to hold the CEFR certificates
at least two levels higher than the graduating levels they teach. For example, FLTs who are in
primary and secondary schools need to pass the tests of CEFR at level B2 (60 FCE, 525 TOEFL
on paper, 5.5 IELTS, 45 CAE), and others such as in high schools, continuing education centers,
colleges, or training schools are required of CEFR standard at level C1 (80 FCE, 575 TOEFL on
paper, 6.5 IELTS, 60 CAE).
In 2012, Vietnam’s MOET conducted the surveys about foreign language teacher
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surveys were reported by Vietnam’s MOET on the Working Conference Implementing National
Foreign Language Project 2020 at the University of Danang (UD), period 2011-2013. According
to Nguyen Ngoc Hung, the Chief of the 2020 project, there were 97% of high school and 93% of
elementary and secondary school FLTs within 30 provinces and cities who failed in reaching the
KNLNNVN standard required by Vietnam’s MOET (Thannien News, 2012). Worse still, the
number of elementary school FLTs who achieved the level at the beginning are up to 17%.
Especially in Mekong Delta City of Cantho, few out of 181 elementary school FLTs passed the
required level, in the view of Tran Trong Khiem, Director of the city's education department.
Even in Ho Chi Minh, the biggest city and considered as the hub of Vietnam, the rates were more
than 84% out of 1,100 surveyed FLTs. In Hanoi, the capital city, only 28 out of 150 surveyed
FLTs passed. According to Hung, the surveys would be continuously conducted at other
provinces and cities nationwide.
Meanwhile, Haiduong province’s surveys on June, 2014 announced FLTs (mostly
English) gain level C1 at 31 percents with 89 FLTs in high schools; level B2 at 52 percents with
338 FLTs in secondary schools and 26 percents with 85 FLTs in primary schools (Haiduong
Committees, No. 1593/UBND-VP). Some other results for testing language teacher qualification
shown in Laichau, Backan, Caobang, Hungyen, Ninhbinh provinces (the parts in the north of
Vietnam) were not very satisfactory figures. For example, the numbers of downfall in turn were
98.5% and 100% of FLTs in Laichau and Backan provinces. There were eight high school FLTs,
19 elementary FLTs passes the tests in Ninhbinh province, but none of FLTs in secondary
schools achieved the B2 level in this region (Tue, 2014).
In the view of Hung, there are three main points accounting for these low rates. First of
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unofficial course offered by universities and colleges, but some of universities and colleges are
not quality ones. The second thing is teacher recruitment factors. The criteria for teacher
recruitment are based on certificates, expertise in teaching skills, etc. And the last one is
academic programs which focus on vocabulary and grammar only. Thus, teachers have less
chances to practice and reinforce their speaking and listening skills. But the CEFR tests cover all
the language skills. It is not easy to ask all teachers to meet international standards (CEFR) while
their training programs as well as teaching programs were designed under Vietnamese standards,
the idea from Vu Van Xuan from the HCMC-based Le Quy Don Secondary School, one of the
teachers who passed the tests. On the other hand, Nguyen Ngoc Vu, Dean of the Foreign
Language Department at the HCMC University of Education argues that teachers probably have
good listening and speaking skills upon graduation, but the environment of teaching at schools
does not allow them to practice those skills, which become lost gradually after a few years
(Thannien News, 2012).
1.2 Purposes of Research
The research focuses on investigating the reasons that cause the gaps of English teachers
in reaching the standard of CEFR. By the way of using qualitative methods, such as collecting,
analyzing the data, collection, and consulting the ideas of related authors, the research proposes
feasible solutions as the references for educators to overcome the weakness situation of English
teacher qualify. Besides, the research also presents in detail teacher/educator perspectives about
the feasibility of the national project 2020, that is, their pros and cons. There are some limitations
of time and other resources, so Haiduong province is selected as a typical model of research, and
6 1.3 Research Structure
This research includes five chapters. The first chapter mainly presents the purposes of the
study. The second chapter is the literature review about former theories and related aspects. The
third chapter deals with the method used in it. The fourth chapter involves the discussion. The
last chapter is conclusion, summarizing the key points in this study.
1.4 Research Questions
The research questions are designed in support of the purposes of the study. There are
three significant questions in this study. The first point is intended to find out reasons that cause
ordinary foreign language teachers in Vietnam to have failed in reaching the standard levels of
CEFR. The second one is raised to seek the possible solutions to solve problems as references for
educator. Besides, the study also discusses some features of Project 2020 based on Vietnamese
teachers’ pros and cons. Haiduong province, in the north of Vietnam, is chosen for this
experimental research. Ten high schools English teachers there are selected as the objects of
study. Three research questions are outlined as follows:
1. What are the reasons that caused the majority of the English teachers in high schools of
Haiduong province to fail the tests of CEFR to achieve the goals of Project 2020?
2. What are feasible solutions for high schools English teachers in Haiduong province to
matching Project 2020 regulations in terms of foreign language proficiency?
3. What are the pros and cons of Project 2020 and the prediction for the feasibility of it by
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Chapter 2 Literature Review
The literature review will take a look at the foundation and development of foreign
languages teaching in Vietnam. Along with the renovation of economy, the government policy
has changed significantly during the process of building and developing the country. In that
sense, foreign languages play an important role in daily life of Vietnamese citizens, and also in
the political sphere in terms of the government strategies.
2.1 The History of Developing Foreign Languages in Vietnam 2.1.1 One Thousand Years under Chinese Domination
For centuries, Vietnam had been considered a part of China. Thus, the history of
Vietnam’s development is linked tightly with the language education system (Hac, 1995). Under
Chinese domination for one thousand years, language used for administrative system was
Chinese. Chinese was a construction language for training children with some basic subjects. At
that time, Chinese was taught for children to be able to read and write Chinese characters that
served for mandarins’ office to do clerical works (Thang, 1994; Giap, 2006; Hac, 1995). Until
AD 983 when Ngo Quyen won the victory in the battle with Han Dynasty, Vietnam claimed to
be a totally independent country. Because of the historical factors, the Vietnamese language had
been influenced by the Chinese language until now.
2.1.2 More than Eighty Years under French Domination
In 1858, when French people fired a first shot to occupy Vietnam in Danang’s habor
(Ngoc, 2006), the language system in Vietnam has also been changed since then. At that time,
‘Quoc Ngu’ which was introduced in Vietnam with the purpose of proselytizing of the Western
missionaries (the period of the late 16th century), became a popular language spoken by a group of ‘Kinh’ people (Chinh, 1972). But French was proclaimed to be the official language in
8
education, even in higher education. French gradually replaced Chinese and became a top
priority in comparison with Quoc Ngu language. People spoke French, thought in French and
lived in the Friench style (Giap, 2006).
2.1.3 Independence in 1945
The role of Quoc Ngu had been changed since the success of August Revolution. Under
the leadership of President Ho Chi Minh, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was born in 1945.
And Quoc Ngu officially became the national language (Vietnamese) which was spoken by 85%
of Kinh people among 54 ethnic groups who spoke 108 different languages (Levis, 2009).
Vietnamese became a common language (Giap, 2006). The Independence declaration of
Vietnam was also written and proclaimed in Quoc Ngu or Vietnamese. And Vietnamese was the
instruction language of the governmental, administrative, and business documents. Chinese and
French were marginalized and considered as foreign languages with much fewer learners.
2.1.4 From the Reunification in 1975 to the Collapse of the Former Soviet Union in 1991
In the early 20th century, when American businessmen came to Vietnam, they needed translations which underwent at least four stages. Vietnamese was first translated into French;
then, French was translated into English, and vice versa (Toan, 2010). In 1955, some English
teachers were sent to Saigon, Vietnam, to teach English for government officers and training
officers as a part of Colombo Plan (‘Australian to teach in Asia’, 1955). Since Americans
withdrew from Vietnam in 1975, English has lost its important role and the number of people
studying English became less and less (Thinh, 2006). Vietnamese economy was isolated by
American Trade Embargo since many countries did not dare cooperate with Vietnam. They
feared the political punishment from the United State (Shapiro, 1995). Vietnamese people,
9
seemed to become the language of the enemy. In 1985, the number of students who registered in
training programs at a university in Ho Chi Minh City was only a dozen. This number was one of
six times as much as the time before 1975 (Thinh, 2006). The Russian language became the
priority language as a foreign language for several decades (after independence in 1945 and
reunification in 1975). After 1975, Russian was a privileged and favored foreign language in
Vietnam. There were 60% of learners who chose Russian as a foreign language to study in high
schools, 25% of them selected English, and there were only 15% of them studying French
(Derham, 1992).
2.1.5 Foreign Language Policies and Related Problems in Vietnam from 1986 ~ 2000s
Since 1986, Vietnam has implemented the so-called “Doi moi” (renovation) to build up
and the develop country’s economy (Quynh, Lam, & Han, 2003). Along with the improvement
of dynamic diplomacy and the normalization with United State in 1995, this affected all aspects
of society, including, of course, education (Abuza, 1996). English has become a significant
foreign language in Vietnam. English centers were set up everywhere to serve for the need of not
only children, but also for adults (Thinh, 2006). English is considered as a tool that promises for
a good job in the future.
The Vietnamese government has issued many Decisions/Regulations that encourage and
develop the study of foreign languages in the country. At the beginning, English was not
confirmed as a priority foreign language. For example, in 1968, the former Prime Minister Pham
Van Dong signed a construction 43-TTg/VG about learning and teaching foreign languages in
national education system, and Russian and Chinese were the main foreign languages in all
levels of education. Another policy for foreign language competency was signed in 1973
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language teachers. According to the criteria, anyone could be foreign language teachers if they
had competence of one of those languages such as Russian, Chinese, English, and French.
According to the survey of group researchers (Van, Chi, & Hoa, 2006) with 41 high schools
across the country, most English teachers have no background of being trained in pedagogical
universities which are specialized in mentoring teachers’ competences in terms of not only their
knowledge, but also their pedagogy skills. Some of them were Russian teachers when they
shifted to teach English.
In 1994, the former prime minister Vo Van Kiet signed an instruction No 422-TTg that
enhanced training foreign language competences for the administrative staff and office staff of
the government in its line ministries. Following the terms of this instruction, each of state
administrators, officers, cadres need to know at least one foreign language (mainly English) to
serve for their job and their study. Even more, this announcement became a required standard for
their promotion, working condition, and studying overseas. Since then, the demand for training
and studying foreign language (mostly in English) has increased considerably. In some way, the
policies about foreign language being issued by the government raise up the trend of the study of
foreign languages in the citizen life.
2.2 Opposing Viewpoints about the Project 2020
Recently, the project 2020 has caused a lot of conflicting discussions about the feasibility
of it. There are two opposite sides for these discussions. Some educators give optimistic ideas
that support the national 2020; meanwhile, other point of views presents the doubt to this matter.
During the process of conducting the Project 2020 as of 2015, there appeared a number of
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distributions to each academic/school unit (Long, 2013; Dien, 2013; Vuong, 2013; Tue, 2014;
Minh & Thu, 2014; Hanh, 2014; Phu, 2014; Mai, 2015; Son, 2015).
2.2.1 Positive Voices
Positive voices were from the opinions of many participants of the Working Conference
Implementing National Foreign Language Project 2020 at the University of Danang (UD),
during 2011-2013. According to Ms. Vu Thi Tu Anh, Deputy Director of Secondary Education,
Deputy Head of the Standing Management Project, the project has gained many positive results.
It is creating changes in social awareness about the significance of foreign languages for quality
human resources for the country in the international integration period. As the result, the sense of
teaching-learning, self-study, using foreign languages of teachers, pupils and students, workers
are significantly improved (Vuong, 2013). In the view of Nguyen Hoang, Deputy Director of the
Department of Education and Training in Nghean province, after attending many training classes,
although the standard has not really been improving teachers have a positive self-study
component, not rely on payroll as before. Nguyen Hong Anh, Rector Quynhon also believes that
the project has brought a new trend in teaching and learning foreign languages in his university.
His students are more active in the exploration, research, and exchanging of the foreign language
skills. These supply the advantages to find a good job for students after they graduate (Vuong,
2013). Besides, the rank level in English proficiency of Vietnamese is increasing. This
announcement is informed by EF Education First, a private educational institution which was
founded in 1965; which now has 400 offices and schools around the world, operating in 16 fields,
12 Table 1: EF English Proficiency Index 2013
13
According to the survey results of the EF in 2013, Vietnam has promoted the English
language for 6 years and was ranked 28th among the 60 countries and territories. Earlier, in 2012,
Vietnam ranked 31/54 (Hanh, 2014). Table 1 above is a rating summary based on EF English
Proficiency Index (EFEFI).
2.2.2 Negative Voices
In Vietnamese education system, foreign language subjects (FLSs) are considered as
non-required subject for Vietnamese students enrolling their high school graduate examination. In
contrast to the MOET’s efforts which point out the important role of foreign languages through
2020 project, only 16% of high school students register FLSs for their subject graduation (Tue,
2014). This number is giving a question mark about the inadequacies in teaching and learning
foreign languages (mainly English) in Vietnam. For example, in Laichau province, there are
nineteen high school students who choose FLSs to take part in graduation exam, but seventeen of
them are in the only magnet school of the province. Other high schools still use old English
textbook (which was designed for three years of the 10th, 11th, and 12th grade classes) instead of using new programs (a continuity program from class 6 to class 12). In addition, the English
subject in elementary/primary schools is considered as the elective one which is not related to the
process of assessment or clarifying the studying qualification of students. Thus, both learners and
teachers haven’t set up the goal for their English teaching and learning (Tue, 2014). Another
main cause is due to the disparity of registered candidate rate between the central areas and the
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Table 2: Number of students registered as candidates FLSs for graduate examination
Cities/provinces Registered candidates Non-registered candidates
Hanoi 20.040 76.151 Hochiminh 23.475 57.544 Laichau 19 2.645 Backan 140 3.183 Caobang 170 5.143 Hagiang 52 6.621 Source: www.thannien.vn
Table 2 shows the great difference between the rates of registered candidates for high
school graduated examination for FLSs in Hanoi, Hochiminh cities and other mountainous
provinces such as Laichau, Backan, Caobang, Hagiang, 2014 (Tue, 2014). There are 20.040
registered candidates out of 76.151of students in Hanoi, and 23.475 of a 57.544 in Hochiminh. In
contrast, the statistics in turn are 19/2.645 - 140/3.183 - 170/5.143and 52/6.621 in Laichau,
Backan, Caobang, Hagiang provinces.
Furthermore, the number of English teachers who reach the required standard levels in
CEFR are quite low. As the surveys of the MOET (2012), 98,5% of the surveyed teachers failed
in Laichau province, and 100% in Caobang (Tue ,2014). With such impressive figures, it’s
reasonable for some negative voices predicting the impracticability of the project. After giving
some examples about learning English nearby countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, Dr
15
unlikely to achieve. It should be called 2030 project. And Dr Vu P T Anh, Deputy Center
Director of Training and Supporting the Educated Quality Vietnam, comments that it’s too high
to reach the goals of 2020 project compared to Vietnamese ability. Other negative voices also
mention the inadequacy in applying the international framework (CEFR) for Vietnam at the
current time (National Assembly member (MPs) in Hanoi), and using a huge budget (9000
million Vn dong) for this while the public debts are increasing (MPs in Hochiminh) (Minh &
Thu, 2014).
In the parliamentary interpellation session (2014), Nguyen Vinh Hien, Deputy Minister
of Education, Vietnam, stated that Vietnam’s MOET was rebuilding the plans of conducting
2020 project more suitable to the practical situation (Tue, 2014). This statement is based on the
inefficiency in the usage and distribution invested capitals to each academic/school unit. For
example, with five units such as the pedagogical Quangninh, Dienbien, Hue, Gialai colleges and
Baclieu university, the capitals used for buying facilitative are different under the one unit of
investment (2 million):
Table 3: Fund budget for buying facilitative in certain educational units
Units ( pedagogical colleges/university) VND( million)
Quangninh 1.0 Dienbien 1.4 Hue 1.5 Gialai 1.23 Baclieu 1.06 Source: www.thanhnien.vn
16
Deputy Minister of Education, Vietnam also explained that educational units did not appreciate
the importance of the review and retraining of teachers’ competences. Therefore, funding for
retraining of teachers’ had not been previously set up.
The Dispatch No. 7842/ BGDDT-CSVCTBTH (Vietnam’s MOET, 2013) points out that
the allocation of funds is unbalanced between expenditure categories, using waste budget,
specifically at the stage of equipment procurement. Purchasing new equipments is without
reviewing and inventorying the available equipments, or purchasing informative technology
equipments is without software (only hardware). Thus, application features of the devices were
not used or not fully exploited.
2.3 Featured Views about Education System in Vietnam
According to the book edited in 2013 by Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training
with the title “Education in Vietnam in the early years of the 21st century,” Vietnam education system is divided into two types of education, regular and continuous, including four levels of
17
Figure 1: Structure of the national educational system of Vietnam
18 2.3.1 Pre-school Education
Pre-school education contains nurseries and kindergartens. This kind serves for children
from 3 months to 6 years old. The objective of pre-school education is to develop the initial
qualities of children’s personality such as the physical, emotional and intellectual. There are
three types of institutions in this education: nursery schools/groups (which provide the childcare
for children from 3 months to 3 years old), kindergarten schools/ classes (for children from 3 to 6
years old), and the combination for both nursery and kindergarten (for children from 3 months to
6 years old). “The objective of Pre-school Education is to help children develop physically
emotionally, and intellectually, forming the initial quality of their personality, thus preparing
them for grade 1 at primary school” (Vietnam’s MOET, 2013, p. 28).
2.3.2 General Education
General education includes primary, lower and higher education. It takes five years at the
grade from 1 to 5 and the age for enrolling is 6 years old in primary education. Lower education
takes fours year from grade 6 to 9. The age for entering this kind of education is 11 years old.
Higher education lasts shorter with only three years from grade 10 to 12 and age entering is 15
years old. “The objectives of the general education are to assist students with moral, intellectual
and physical development; to develop basic skills, personal capacity, dynamism and creativity, to
form responsible Vietnamese citizen, to prepare students for further study or to join the labor
market, and take part in building and defending the country” (Vietnam’s MOET, 2013, p. 36).
2.3.3 Professional Education
Professional education consists of two types, the secondary professional and vocational.
It takes 1 to 2 years for students who have secondary certificates (graduating level at high
schools). And it takes 3 to 4 years to whom with lower secondary certificates (graduating level
19
education, and 1 to 3 years for secondary or college. “The objectives of professional education
are to train laborers who obtain knowledge and various levels of professional skills, with moral
and work ethics, discipline awareness, industry-related practices and physical health, thus
providing them with employability, self employability or the ability to further study to improve
professional workmanship and qualifications, meeting the needs of socio-economic development,
national defense and security” (Vietnam’s MOET, 2013, p. 60).
2.3.4 Higher Education
There are four levels at higher education. The first one is college education. This takes 2
to 3 years for students who hold secondary education certificates, and 1 to 2 years to whom with
secondary vocational certificates. The second one is university education. Students need to spend
4 to 6 years for this with their secondary education certificates, 2.5 to 4 years with their
secondary vocational education certificates, and 1.5 to 2 years for their college diplomas. The
third one is master’s level education. The students who have bachelor degrees can attend this
level with the period of time from 1.5 to 2 years. And the last one is doctoral level education.
This kind of education takes 4 years for students with their bachelor degrees and about 2 to 3
years for those with master’s degrees. Higher educational aims “ to develop high quality human
resources, to raise people’s knowledge levels to foster the talented, and to create new knowledge
and products, which is, in turns, contribute to national socio-economic development and
country’s international integration” (Vietnam’s MOET, 2013, p. 74).
Besides regular formal full time/training education system, there is a continuing
education system that provides opportunities for people while working. The type of education
institutions includes both public and private schools. Public schools are established and
20
Chapter 3 Methodology
For the purposes of seeking in detail the reasons that cause the survey results introduced
in the previous parts, the qualitative research is a proper choice to proceed with the study.
Qualitative research indicates “any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by
means of statistical procedures or other means of qualification” (Strauss and Corbin, 1998, pp.
10-11). It is also considered as “a research technique, method or strategy that seeks to observe,
describe, and interpret activities, events or individual in their natural settings” (Mohammad,
2015, p. 3). It specially emphasizes in explaining the meanings that participants adhere in social
contexts, and “acknowledge the complexity and dynamism of the social world” (Mohammad,
2015, p. 3). According to Hoepfl (1997) and Barbie (1986), the qualitative research has some
charateristics clarified, including: natural contexts such as observations, descriptions and
intepretations which are fundamental and dominant sources of data; interpretive charater implies
the meanings events for those have experience in them; searching for the unique, human
intrument, descriptive research, emergent character, trust and entry, and duration. These
charateristics will be applied and selected properly during the process of conducting the
research.
3.1 Design and Process
The design and process of the qualitative research is illustrated in Figure 2. The study
will follow the following steps in order: develop research question, select appropriate methods
and sample, collect and analysis data, develop baseline analysis summary and confirm analysis,
disseminate findings. The first step sets up research questions which deal with the purposes of
the research. The second step modifies the appropriate methods and sample. In this case,
21
The third step is the process of data collection and analysis. The following steps focus on
analysis to disseminate the findings.
Figure 2: Basic qualitative research design & process
22 3.2 Data Collection
According to Siverman (2000): “qualitative methods, such as interviews, are believed to
provide a “deeper” understanding of social phenomena than would be obtained from purely
quantitative methods, such as questionnaires” (p. 22). Interviews prefer listening what
participants have to say than acquiring about the knowledge of the study topic (Kvale, 1996).
Therefore, interviews are most appropriate where little is already known about the study
phenomenon or where detailed insights are required from individual participants. They are also
particular appropriate for exploring sensitive topics, where participants may not want to talk
about such issues in a group environment. From these views, the study is prone to use interviews,
simultaneously combined with in-depth interviews and documents analysis methods in the
process of data collection. Thus, interviews with ten English teachers who come from different
high schools in Haiduong province are carried out through internet media and audio-recorded.
And the languages used for interviews are either Vietnamese or English.
3.2.1 Questions for Interviews
The qualitative research interviews are clarified into three types: structured,
semi-structured, and unstructured. Structured interviews are designed with a list of predetermined
questions. And these kinds are verbally administered questionnaires with very little or no
variation for follow-up questions, and limited participant responses (Grill, Stewark, Treasure, &
Chadwick, 2008). Reversely, unstructured interviews do not express or explain preconceived
theories, and are perform with little organization (May, 1991). In such cases, predetermined
questions with guidance are lacking, so the interviewees easily find them confusing and
unhelpful. Semi-structure interviews include several key questions, which defines the areas for
23
an idea or response in more detail” (Britten, 1995, p. 252). With the consulting the different
types of interviews, the research chooses interview questions based on combination among
structured, semi-structured, and unstructured. Specially, semi-structure interviews are chosen as
the typical kinds for designing a list of questions. This supports for the process of conducting and
finding the research results, and the multiple of information supplied by opened-question.
According to Britten (1999), open-end questions are considered as good questions which
encourage answers with more than a yes/no response. Besides, using neutral and understandable
questions are also priority selections. It is suggested to ask participant questions from simple to
complicated gradually. This can help to building up interviewees’ confidence and enrich the
relationship among related parties.
It is imperative to ask questions which have much information related to yield of
researching, both aims and objectives (Britten, 1999). Thus, the contents of questions for
interviews are required to fulfill criteria in the research question section that related to Project
2020 and survey results of FLTs. The factors about FLTs’ background, experience, or foreign
language proficiency level are also concerned. The scope of research is limited in Haiduong
province and there certain features of foreign language education which differed to other
provinces/cities are also mentioned. Furthermore, the interviews are conducted with ten English
teachers from different high schools, which implicate the participants of research including ten
high schools. The lists of questions are designed in the Appendix D of this study.
3.3 Data Analysis
The process of data analysis is followed by Ellen and Marcos (2003) classification with
five steps in order: (1) to get to know the data, (2) to focus the analysis, (3) to categorize
24
contain two main branches: from interviews and from secondary data such as statistic numbers,
the Official Letters, Notices, Dispatches which are related to the Project 2020 and posted on the
websites authorized of Vietnam’s MOET, Haiduong provincial People's Committees and the
Department of Education and Training of Haiduong province. Besides, the study also refers to
the comments from students, teachers, and professionals in the education sector through other
supporting documents.
3.3.1 Interviews
Interviews were conducted with ten English teachers in various high schools in the
province of Haiduong for a period of one month from mid-May to mid-June 2015. Each
interview lasted 45 minutes with the fundamental questions presented by the content of the
research questions. The language used in the interview was primarily in Vietnamese, English,
was taped, then transcribed into English by interviewer. The interviews were conducted face to
face or through the visual media like telephone, skype, facebook or other supported software.
Specially, interviewees were emailed about the content of the interviews and the basic questions
a week before the interviews took place. And the interviewed teachers were female and aged of
thirty to forty years old. Six of them reached C1 level, while other teachers reached the level B2.
During interviews, the teachers were free to speak their opinions. The interviewer made the
probing questions, or the open-questions, but these also had a few questions to verify information,
such as questions about the number of English teachers in their schools, and the number of
teachers who pass or fail in language proficiency tests at the request of the Vietnam’s MOET.
25 Table4: Number of FLTs at level B2 in each school
Schools FLTs Level B2 Level C1
A 8 1 7 B 5 4 1 C 4 2 2 D 9 3 6 E 6 3 2 F 5 1 3 G 7 0* 7 H 7 1 6 I 5 2 2 J 9 2* 7
Table 4 shows that almost all schools have English teachers who have reached C1 level
and B2 level. Besides, there a few elderly teachers do not participate in the survey. English
teachers who reach the level B2 are listed to participate in training courses up to obtain C2 level
according to the Official Letter No 629/ SGDDT-GDTrH issued by the Department of
Educational and Trainning of Haiduong province issued in June, 2015. During the school year
2013-2014, there is an English teacher of a school who is supported the finance to study overseas.
The highest number of English teachers of a school is 9, and the lowest number of them is 4.
And their education backgrounds show that they are trained via either distance, unofficial or
official courses in colleges and universities in Vietnam. As to teaching facilities, there is a school
equipped with the audio-visual room, but some others with only one disk radio for each English
teacher. And when English teachers were asked about the percentage predicting the feasibility of
the scheme (the Project 2020), the highest prediction is 70%, while the lowest is 40% as shown
26 Table5: The predicted percentage of FLTs
English teachers Prediction (%) Level
A 50 C1 B 40 B2 C 60 C1 D 50 C1 E 50 B2 F 40 C1 G 70 B2 H 50 C1 I 60 C1 J 50 B2
Total English teachers : 10 Means: 52% C1: 6 B2: 4
(Note: English teacher A comes from school A)
In general, the interviewed English teachers mention three key issues in their answers
about why most of them do not pass the teachers' competency survey required by the scheme in
2020. The first reason is due to the teachers themselves (R1). The second one is the students’
attitude and foreign language competency (R2). And the last one is the weakness in the
combination among three factors: the content of textbook design, teaching schedule distribution,
27 Table 6: FLTs’ ideas in each school
FLTs R1 R2 R3 A √ √ √ B √ C √ √ D √ √ F √ √ √ G √ H √ I √ K √ J √ √ √
The majority of interviewed teachers agree with the selection in the Column R1. But they
also mention the reasons in the Colum R2&3 which lead to the results of R1. Besides, they
emphasize that it is necessary for Haiduong’s DOET to organize the training courses for English
teachers to help them improve their language competency. However, Haiduong’s DOET has
organized many training courses for English teachers (the Notice No. 798/SGDDT-GDTrH is an
example), but the interviewers recognize that many of their colleagues still cannot reach the level
as required. This concerned matter, the pros and cons, is specified in scope of the Project 2020,
the pros and cons.
3.3.2 Secondary data
The second data sources are exploited mainly based on the Notice No. 826/TB-BGDDT,
the Notice No. 896/TB-BGDDT and the Dispatch No. 2653/BGDT-GDTrH of Vienam’s MOET;
combined with the Dispatch No. 825/SGDDT-GDTrH, Official Letter No. 629/SGDDT-GDTrH,
and Document No. 631/SGDDT-GDTrH of the Department of Education and Training (DOET),
28 Table 7: MOET and DOET’s documents
Dispatches/Notices/Official Letters/Documents Numbers
No. 826/TB-BGDDT 1 No. 896/TB-BGDDT 2 No. 2653/BGDT-GDTrH 3 No. 825/SGDDT-GDTrH 4 No. 629/SGDDT-GDTrH 5 No. 631/SGDDT-GDTrH 6
These dispatches are related closely and coded as Table 7. All dispatches of Haiduong’s
DOET are issued based on the dispatches of Vietnam’s MOET. For example, the Dispatch No.
2653 /BGDDT-GDTrH of Vietnam’s MOET provisions on the criterions for evaluating language
skills of FLTs on May, 2013. For high school teachers, they must have minimum language skills
at level 5 (C1), and their accredited competences are based on one of the following elements:
Table 8: Criterion for foreign language certificate issued by Vietnam’s MOET
Number 3
Vietnamese English
1. Chứng chỉ tiếng Anh quốc tế như TOEFL
International; IELTS; CAE; FCE hoặc tương đương còn hiệu lực với trình độ tương ứng
1. English international certificates like TOEFL
International; IELTS; CAE; FCE or equivalent in force with a corresponding level
2. Chứng chỉ hoặc chứng nhận đạt yêu cầu do các đơn vị được giao nhiệm vụ đánh giá năng lực ngoại ngữ theo Thông báo số 826/TB-BGDĐT ngày 05/8/2011 và Thông báo số 896/TB-BGDĐT ngày 24/8/2011 của Bộ GDĐT
2. The diploma or certificate required by the units which are tasked to assess the language competency under the Notice No. 826 / TB-BGDĐT 05/8/2011 and Notice No. 896 / TB-BGDDT 24/8 /2011 of the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam
3. Kết quả khảo sát do Bộ GDĐT tổ chức 3. Results of the survey organized by the Ministry of
Education and Training, Vietnam
Source: Vietnam’s MOET, 2013
Similarly, the recognition of qualifications Levels 4 and 5 of FLTs in the Dispatch No.
29
Table 9: Criterion for foreign language certificate issued by the DOET of Haiduong province
Number 4
Vietnamese English
1. Chứng chỉ tiếng Anh quốc tế như TOEFL
International; IELTS; CAE; FCE hoặc tương đương còn hiệu lực với trình độ tương ứng
1. English international certificates like TOEFL
International; IELTS; CAE; FCE or equivalent in force with a corresponding level
2. Chứng chỉ hoặc chứng nhận đạt yêu cầu do các đơn vị được giao nhiệm vụ đánh giá năng lực ngoại ngữ theo Thông báo số 826/TB-BGDĐT ngày 05/8/2011 và Thông báo số 896/TB-BGDĐT ngày 24/8/2011 của Bộ GDĐT.
2. The diploma or certificate required by the units which are tasked to assess the language competency under the Notice No. 826 / TB-BGDĐT 05/8/2011 and Notice No. 896 / TB-BGDDT 24/8 /2011 of the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam.
3. Kết quả khảo sát do Sở GDĐT và Bộ GDĐT tổ chức.
3. The results of the survey organized by the Department of Education and Training (Haiduong province) and the Ministry of Education and Training (Vietnam).
Source: Haiduong ‘s DOET, 2014
There is a little difference in sections 3 of Numbers 3 & 4 in those above tables. In the section 3
of Number 4, the factor participates in testing FLTs competence including Haiduong’s DOET.
The sections 2 of both Numbers 3 & 4 also mentions about two Notices issued by Vietnam’s
MOET: the Notice No. 826/TB-BGDDT, the Notice No. 896/TB-BGDDT (Numbers 1&2). In
these Notices, there eight educational institutes are tasked to review the competence of English
teachers. The educational institutes include:
1. University of Languages and International Studies
2. Hanoi University
3. Danang University of Foreign Language Studies
4. Hue College of Foreign Languages
5. Ho Chi Minh University of Pedagogy
6. Thainguyen University
30
8. Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Training Center
( SEAMEC RETRAC)
The Official Letter No. 629 / SGDDT-GDTrH (Number 5) is promulgated by Haiduong’s
DOET on the 2nd of June, 2015. The main contents of the dispatch are about improving language skills for English teachers under the national scheme 2020. And this compiles a list of ninety
high school English teachers who participate in the refreshed courses about language skills. The
participants (English teachers) belong to forty different high schools (including ten different
schools in this research) in Haiduong province. Most of them reach language skills at level B2.
There are two of them at level B1 and one of them blanks the level section. And most of them
are aged 30 to 40. Few of them are above 45 years old. Generally, the oldest one is 50 and the
youngest is 26 years old. In particular, the top schools also have unqualified teachers (they reach
level B2 in the list).
The Document No. 631/SGDDT-GDTrH (Number 6) lists seventeen high schools whose
English teachers are selected to teach the ten-year English program (pilot program) in
accordance with the Project 2020, school year 2015-2016. None of these schools gets one
hundred percent of English teacher who are qualified enough (C1 level). Each school has at least
one English teacher who got the B2 level. Two of them have four English teachers who got the
B2 level. These figures are calculated based on the comparison with the list of English teachers
in Number 5. However, there are inconsistencies between the data from interviews with the data
in Numbers 5&6. In the table of interview section, the interviewer in G school confirms that
English teachers in her school get 100% at the level C1. Meanwhile, the data in Number 5 show
that there are two English teachers in her school who get level B2. And they need to take part in
31
occurs with J school. While the data in the interview informs that there are two teachers at level
B2, but the results in Number 5 are three. The answer should be looked at the data in Numbers
3&4. The language certificate of two English teachers in G school and one in J school are
certified by Hue College of Foreign Languages (terms in section 2 of Numbers 3&4). Meanwhile,
the DOET of Haiduong province only records but not recognizes for this kind of certificate.
According to the Report No. 1593/UBND-VP of Haiduong Committees on August 2014,
Haiduong’s DOET cooperates with the University of Languages and International Studies (not
Hue College of Foreign Languages) to organize courses and verify the certificate for English
teachers in Haiduong province.
It’s clear that there is lack of consensus on the approval of certificate proficiency for
English teachers among educational sectors. Besides, the predicted percentage for 2020 Project’s
feasibility is not high (52%, see Table 5). In addition, there at least one English teacher in high
school which is selected to teach the English pilot program (ten-year program) fails in reaching
32
Chapter 4 Discussion
The findings in the data analysis are consistent with the purposes of this research. The
data results also present reasonable clues that answer for the contents designed in the research
questions. Thus, this study suggests that three main factors that caused the majority of the
English teachers in high schools of Haiduong province to fail the language surveys as required.
These factors include teacher’s attitudes and language proficiency, student’s attitudes and
language proficiency, as well as English textbook’s program and content design. By way of
analyzing these factors, the research makes a combination between reasons and possible
solutions as the reference for educators. Besides, the prediction of this study for the feasibility of
2020 Project is solid with the result 52% in the data analysis section. From this result, the pros
and cons of this national scheme are discussed in detail.
4.1 Reasons and possible solutions
4.1.1 Teacher’s Attitudes and Language Proficiency
First of all, English teachers do not often have self-study to improve their knowledge in
the process of their teaching. Thus, while participating in the surveys of foreign language
capability, they do not have time and knowledge enough to perform well. These ideas can be
seen in Question 2 of Interviews:
Many teachers are not properly aware of the importance of the scheme so their
self-study and participation in training courses are not positive (Interview 1).
Some teachers are not focused on review to improve their professional
qualifications (Interview 2).
Because teachers do not often self-study their professional qualifications, when
33
Many teachers do not self-retraining frequently, many of them do not want to join
the training classes (Interview 5).
Beside, language skills of teachers may be very good after graduation. But after a period
of teaching in schools, some of their skills are eroded and most of their listening and speaking
skills are reduced because they do not really apply these skills in their teaching process: “what
they studied in university cannot be applied after graduation” (Interview 1, Question 2). This
cause is due to the low proficiency language of student that limits teacher promotion. In addition,
the CEFR is not totally reasonable for applying in real situation of teaching and learning English
in Vietnam:
The use of foreign languages as European standard is not really fair to the real
situation of Vietnamese students. So teachers’ knowledge is eroded gradually
(Interview 3, Question 2).
Student in Vietnam are still weak in the English language because the majority of
the continent’s rural areas, knowledge of the English teachers very easily falls in
oblivion (Interview 6, Question 2).
This point is related with the idea of Nguyen Ngoc Vu, Dean of the Foreign Language
Department at HCMC University of Education mentioned in the introduction part of this
study (Thanhnien News, 2012). Furthermore, after the teachers are involved in the
training courses organized by the MOET and DOET, the results are still not high. Some
interviewed teachers explain that the program and review time in the training courses are
not really reasonable. There are courses offered during the school year. When teachers
34
This makes it difficult for teachers to concentrate and arrange reasonable time for the
review to achieve good results:
The organization of testing and training classes is interspersed with teaching
activities, teachers find it difficult to arrange the time to participate (Interview 2,
Question 2).
Retraining courses are often interspersed with academic year (usually on
Saturday and Sunday) it is difficult for teachers to focus (Question 7, Interview 5).
Teachers are required to attend courses when they are teaching (Question 3,
Interview 3).
In addition, some teachers are not aware of the importance of the Project 2020, so their
participations in the retraining classes are superficial, not really positive. And this finding is
related to the research of Mai (2014): “the participants expressed their disappointment regarding
the focus and applicability of the course for their everyday teaching” (p. 351).
It’s necessary to have the exchange program, which creates chances for English teachers
to work with native languages teachers and English teachers in other schools. By this way, they
can get the knowledge from one another. Simultaneously, the MOET and DOETs keep on
opening more the retraining courses for English teachers which are not only for the purposes of
gaining C1 level, but also for pedagogical skills. Specially, the courses are better organized in the
summer or winter holidays to help them have much time to enroll. Furthermore, the schools must
regularly remind and supervise the teaching of teachers to make sure that teachers make efforts
35
4.1.2 Students’ Attitudes and Language Proficiency
Student’s foreign language proficiency is low. They are deficient in English competence
in lower grades: “student’s levels are low” (Question 7, Interview 6). This makes it difficult for
them to acquire knowledge at higher classes. They also find no motivation in studying English.
And this affects teachers’ attitudes. Teachers are not encouraged in searching or deepening the
knowledge for their teaching work. Because they find that it is difficult for their students to
comprehend most of what they convey: “student’s input is low in all aspects, especially in
English” (Question 6, Interview 2). The low student language proficiency is relevant with the
results of students choose English as graduation subject exam in the literature review (Tue, 2014).
Besides, Hung ( 2013) reports that “ students cannot communicate or use English in their study
after seven years at school and two more year at college( 900 hours)” (n.p). Moreover, teacher
quality is considered as the main factor affects student outcomes and behaviors (Foster, Toma, &
Troske, 2013). While, Van (2013) pointed out that most English teachers in lower grades are
disqualified, “(i) most of the English teachers, particularly those who are teaching at primary and
lower secondary levels are disqualified, (ii) most teachers, except some who are teaching at
tertiary level, have not had a chance to study in an English-speaking country, and that (iii) many
of them do not normally communicate in English and cannot sustain teaching that mainly
depends on communicative interaction” (p.15).
It is important to equip students with some language skills in their lower grades. In this
way, when they move to higher grades, they have abilities to study by themselves. There many
students are from poor families, so they do not have sources enough to learn foreign languages.
36
The families, schools, and society should be more concerned about students with difficult
situations to help them have better educational opportunities.
4.1.3 Textbook’s Program and Content Design
The program allocated in textbooks is not really reasonable: “new textbooks are heavy on
content, teachers find very difficult to implement in detail the contents of one lesson” (Interview
4, Question 9). There are parts as in the Writing section which are very short contents but
teachers must split into two lessons according to the schedule of MOET and DOET program.
Meanwhile, other parts such as in the Reading and Language Focus sections which are very long
contents, but the teachers are only deployed within one lesson. Moreover, the program contents
are too focused on literacy. Reading and writing are considered as the most important parts
because they are linked with the contents of examination system. That why it is not easy for
teachers to develop all language skills for their students and create real language environment in
applying these skills for themselves. This assessment is appropriate with Hung’s idea, the chief
of Project 2020 (Thannien News, 2012) in this research. Van (2013) argues that English learners
spend more time “on the development of reading comprehensive, vocabulary and structural
patterns for the purposes of passing the en-of-school and university entrance examination into
colleges or universities” (p. 16).
The research suggests that the new program (English ten-year program) should be related
to what they are trained in the supported courses. The designed program needs to guarantee to
develop simultaneously four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The
teachers hope that they can convey what they know for their students in each lesson. And what
37 4.2 The Pros and Cons of the Project 2020 4.2.1 The Pros
The Project 2020 has a considerable contribution in developing the foreign languages in the
education system of Vietnam. Due to this project, the foreign languages proficiency of Vietnam
people is improved. The English language rank of Vietnam is increasingly considerable from 31
to 28 within 6 years (Positive Voice section). The FLTs are proud of their careers that attract
learners’ interest. They also have the opportunities to refresh themselves and apply new methods
in their teaching process. They find that their students have more positive attitudes in studying
foreign languages, and the students’ parents regularly remind their children to study hard in
English: “teachers have the opportunity to improve teachers’ proficiency. Students and parents
raise awareness about the opportunities of English subject. Parents advice their children should
more actively study. All schools and social concern and make good condition to promote the
teachers’ ability” (Interview 4, Question 7).
These advantages are unanimous with the positive voice in the literature of this research
(Vuong, 2013; Hanh, 2014). Supporting for this point, Hoa (2015) has a research to prove that
the Project 2020 affect teaching and learning English in a better way with the title, “From the
National Project of Foreign Language 2020, Studying the Positive Impacts on English Teacher’s
Quality”. Mai (2014) also agrees with the advantages of the training program brings to English
teachers, it provides “teachers with a chance to revise what they have learned and, for many,
forgotten, from their pre- service education” (p. 351).
4.2.2 The Cons
The Project 2020 has caused some negative effects on high school English teachers’ life.