Teaching English over a 10-year period: Still weak and lacking.

(Baonghean) - In Nghe An province, by the end of the 2015-2016 school year, the 10-year English program had only been implemented in over 28% of secondary schools throughout the province.

Foreign language class for students at Thanh Khai Secondary School (Thanh Chuong).

The National Foreign Language Project, launched in 2008, aims to comprehensively reform the teaching and learning of foreign languages ​​within the national education system. Specifically, it will implement a 10-year education program, starting with the third grade as a compulsory foreign language subject in all levels of general education. Simultaneously, it will gradually reform teaching and learning methods, improve the foreign language proficiency and competence of foreign language teachers at all levels of education and training; and invest in building foreign language classrooms, audiovisual rooms, and multimedia learning facilities for schools at all levels.

In Nghe An province, by the end of the 2015-2016 school year, the 10-year English program had been implemented in 44 schools (358 primary schools, 83 secondary schools, and 3 high schools) - accounting for just over 28% of the total number of general education schools in the province (1,575).

In addition, the quality of teachers still has many limitations. For example, in 2015, the Department of Education and Training collaborated with a foreign language center to organize training to improve the foreign language proficiency of 210 English teachers, including 46 primary school teachers, 104 lower secondary school teachers, and 60 upper secondary school teachers.

However, the number of English teachers receiving certification is too low, not even reaching 50%. Specifically at the high school level, only 18 out of 60 teachers were certified. In reality, organizing training courses is difficult because many teachers find ways to avoid participating in the department's capacity-building training. Instead, teachers register to take foreign language proficiency exams at universities to meet qualification requirements.

Tra Lan High School is a leading school in Con Cuong district and the western mountainous districts of Nghe An province. English has been a strong point of the school for many years. However, despite being considered a "model" school, it has not yet implemented the 10-year English program as per the National Foreign Language Project 2020.

According to regulations from the Ministry of Education and Training, English teachers at the lower secondary level must have at least a B2 level English certificate. However, two teachers at Tra Lan School only have a B1 level certificate. Mr. Trinh Dang Khoa, the school's Vice Principal, shared: "Under current conditions, improving the English proficiency of teachers is very difficult because teachers don't have much time for training. Furthermore, teachers in mountainous areas often have limited communication skills, making it difficult for them to pass exams to improve their proficiency."

Besides the shortage of teachers, the lack of facilities for teaching English is also a major problem. During English lessons for class 7A2, although students have a dedicated English classroom, the only difference from a regular classroom is the projector and wall-mounted speaker system. Otherwise, there are no booths for practicing listening and speaking skills, no pens or interactive whiteboards for students to engage with the lesson…

Teacher Pham Quoc Hung, an English teacher, said: "Currently, Tra Lan school only has one English classroom, so it is often overused. In many classes, due to overlapping schedules, students are still having to learn without a classroom setting."

Foreign language lesson for students at Chi Khe 1 Primary School (Con Cuong).

In Con Cuong district, although there are 34 schools (14 secondary schools and 20 primary schools), only 17 schools currently offer English classes for students (including 14 secondary schools and 3 primary schools), and only Mau Duc Primary School teaches English to students according to the 10-year program (English classes starting from grade 3).

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, head of English at the Con Cuong District Department of Education and Training: Currently, the district has a shortage of English teachers and they do not meet the required standards. Obtaining certifications is also difficult, and to date, only 10 out of 29 English teachers have B1 or B2 certificates. This also affects the quality of teaching and learning, as the average score for secondary school students entering grade 10 is only around 4 points. High-achieving students are mainly found in top-performing schools and more privileged areas.

In Thanh Chuong district, despite being in a relatively favorable area, investing in equipment for teaching and learning English still faces many difficulties. At Thanh Khai Secondary School, to organize practical English lessons for students, teacher Nguyen Thi Hoai had to equip herself with a mini speaker, a phone with Bluetooth capabilities, and a power bank. However, even with the speaker turned up to maximum volume, due to the large classroom size and crowded class, the sound quality is not guaranteed, making it difficult for students to hear and hindering effective teaching and learning.

According to statistics for Thanh Chuong district, only 15 out of 81 schools are currently equipped with language classrooms that meet the required standards. Furthermore, only 21 out of 42 primary schools teach English according to the 10-year program. One of the reasons for this is that the district only has about 50% of the required English teachers, the number of teachers with B1 and B2 level certifications is still low, and the infrastructure is inadequate.

These shortcomings have also led to the fact that the results of foreign language teaching and learning in our province are not yet high. In recent years, the average scores in the high school entrance exam and the National High School Graduation Exam have been much lower than other subjects (the average score in the National High School Graduation Exam is only about 10%), and there are still significant disparities between regions. This result also shows that achieving the goals set out in the foreign language project is still very difficult, and without real effort and striving, the goal of improving the quality of foreign language teaching and learning will be hard to achieve.

My Ha