Foreign English teachers: 'Loose' management, 'letting go' on quality

(Baonghean) - Learning English with foreign teachers is being implemented by many high schools and English centers in the province. However, choosing "qualified teachers" is not easy, especially when supervision and inspection are not done regularly.

Needs of parents and students

Huynh Thuc Khang High School is one of the pioneering schools in using foreign teachers to teach English. After 2 years, the school now has 16/28 classes in grades 10 and 11 applying the method (all of which are classes of students registered for blocks A1 or D). Foreign language lessons by foreign English teachers usually take place in the afternoon and are part of the elective program according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training.

According to Mr. Cao Thanh Bao - Principal of the school, the policy of inviting foreign teachers to teach English classes is supported by students and parents and is considered an opportunity for them to improve their foreign language skills. However, during the implementation process, the school also encountered many difficulties because it could not be proactive in recruiting teachers.

Foreign language class of students at Phuong Hoang High Quality High School. Photo: My Ha

In fact, in the first school year of implementation (2015 - 2016), the school cooperated with Vinh University of Industry to invite foreign teachers to teach, but due to the lack of teachers, the program was only implemented for one semester and then had to be abandoned. After this incident, the school learned from experience and cooperated with a foreign language center in the area.

For effective teaching, the school requires the center to provide teachers with standard qualifications, complete legal procedures and teachers must teach the program approved by the foreign language department. After 2 years of implementation, the combination of foreign teachers in foreign language classes has also brought certain results.

However, teacher Cao Thanh Bao also said that because this is the wish of parents and students and due to practical requirements, the school "boldly" implemented it, but as for the procedure: "We also asked for the opinion of the Department of Education and Training, but the Department said that there is no policy yet, we have to "wait". However, we do not know how long we have to wait"!

To improve the quality of the Foreign Language Teaching Project until 2020, in recent years, many schools in the province have piloted the use of foreign teachers to teach English. As for parents, identifying foreign languages ​​as one of the important subjects, they are still quite excited even though they have to pay extra tuition for their children to study outside of school hours with foreign teachers. Not only that, there are parents who invest in their children to study bilingual programs from preschool level even though the tuition is 5 or 6 times more expensive than public schools.

Need to tighten management and inspection

Recently, at a meeting to give opinions on the National Foreign Language Project for the period 2017 - 2020, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Chi - Director of the Department of Education and Training also said: "The Department encourages schools to coordinate with foreign teachers to teach foreign languages ​​to students. However, the implementation process must have the opinion of the Department of Education and Training and must follow the correct procedures."

Foreign language class of students at Phuong Hoang High Quality High School. Photo: My Ha

That is the policy, but currently the management mechanism of the Department of Education and Training is still unclear and slower than in practice. Currently, to organize foreign language teaching, most schools cooperate with foreign language centers to invite foreign teachers to teach. In the coordination process, the school only contracts with the center, while the quality of teachers, processes and legal procedures are implemented by the center and depend entirely on the center.

This also affects the quality of teaching, because foreign language teachers at the centers are unstable, the contract is usually 6 months - 1 year, the longest is 2 years. Therefore, it is difficult for teachers to follow students closely throughout the school year.

As in the case of teacher William Craig Dixon (Clever Learn English Center), who has been in Nghe An for 6 months and is currently teaching extra classes for students at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. When asked if he wants to stay in Vinh city for a long time, Mr. Dixon said: "I will only teach for about 1 year and next year I will go to Malaysia to teach."

On the other hand, the management of foreign teachers teaching at foreign language centers is facing many shortcomings. For example, in terms of quantity, according to statistics from the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, as of April 20, 2017, the whole province has 50 foreign workers teaching at centers and units in the province. Of these, 16 people only signed labor contracts for less than 1 year, 34 people signed labor contracts for 1-2 years; native teachers from English-speaking countries such as the UK, the US, and Australia only account for about 50%; the rest mostly come from countries where English is not an official language such as the Philippines, Uganda, and South Africa...

But according to statistics from the Department of Education and Training, up to that point, there were only 34 foreign teachers teaching at 13 centers located in Vinh city and the districts of Do Luong, Thanh Chuong, and Nam Dan.

Talking to Mr. Nguyen Huy Cao - Deputy Head of Vocational Education - Continuing Education Department, Department of Education and Training about the "inconsistency" in the above data, Mr. Cao admitted: "The inspection of the activities of foreign language centers is not currently being carried out regularly. During the operation, many centers have not promptly reported on the number of staff, making it difficult to monitor."

The laxity in inspection and supervision has created a “loophole” for centers to “circumvent the law”. In fact, instead of using teachers with university degrees, teaching certificates and having to go through a rather complicated process to obtain a license, centers often hire teachers who are foreigners who come to Vietnam as tourists for a short working period.Due to lack of understanding, parents cannot distinguish between “authorized” and “unauthorized” teachers, “native” teachers, and teachers “from countries where English is the second language.”

Director of Asem Vietnam English Center, Mr. Tran Vinh Quy shared: “Previously, when it first started operating, due to limited knowledge, the center was “whistled” for using short-term labor without a license. This also greatly affected the center’s operations in a short time. Therefore, to create fair competition, the Education sector and related units need to strengthen management. Particularly for the teaching staff, it is necessary to require the centers to publicly disclose all information such as degrees, certificates, and nationality, to avoid the current “ambiguous” situation.”

To keep up with the trend and in line with the direction set by the province, the education sector needs to soon have specific and clear policies and regulations on the use of foreign teachers in teaching programs. Regarding teacher management, it is also necessary to closely monitor and resolutely not let unqualified teachers participate in teaching.

Parents, students and schools also need to consider and choose reputable and quality centers to cooperate with. Moreover, it is important to find the right teachers with qualifications and experience according to the law to ensure the quality of teaching and learning.

My Ha