Schools in Nghe An province are innovating in teaching and learning English.

Creating an English-speaking environment in schools.

EnglishEnglish is not an advantage for students at Quynh Luu 2 High School. However, recognizing the importance of this subject, from the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, the school launched the "Bringing English into Schools" program, with the goal of improving English proficiency among its students.

Regarding this, Mr. Le Van Duyen, Deputy Head of the Foreign Language Department of the school, said: "Our school's English entrance exam score for the last cohort was 4.99 points, and we are striving to achieve an average score of 5.5 points upon graduation. This is not easy, because the school's enrollment area is quite far from the city center, and teaching and learning conditions are still challenging. However, with the determination to improve students' English abilities, we have gradually changed our teaching and learning methods. For example, in the school's advanced and specialized foreign language classes, we can teach some experiential and career-oriented lessons with about 50% of the time used in English, increase practical lessons, organize English club activities, and change the way we test and evaluate."

In addition to the above solutions, Mr. Nguyen Ba Tinh, Principal of Quynh Luu 2 High School, also stated: "We recognize that the teaching staff plays a crucial role in improving foreign language proficiency. Therefore, the school has developed a plan and implemented it in stages, prioritizing the improvement of English language management skills for teachers and administrators."

"

The school encourages teachers and staff to engage in self-study, gradually moving towards organizing some lessons in natural sciences and social sciences such as Mathematics and Computer Science to be taught in English. In addition, English-language questions will be included in some tests and assessments across various subjects.

From the students' perspective, the school diversifies educational activities, creating an environment where students can confidently communicate in English in the classroom and on campus, and organizes competitions with bilingual content.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Tinh - Principal of Quynh Luu 2 High School

With the advantage of being a key school, the teaching and learning of English at Ho Xuan Huong Secondary School in Quynh Luu commune has seen positive changes over the years. In class 8C, the first class to implement the enhanced English program, after 3 years, 2 students have obtained IELTS certificates, one of whom achieved a score of 7.0. In addition, 4 students have obtained the international B2 certificate and 10 students have obtained the B1 certificate.

Through her experience teaching English, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Hoa – English teacher and homeroom teacher of class 8C – shared: "The advantage of our class is that from the moment they enter 6th grade, the students are assessed based on their English certificates from elementary school and their English proficiency test results. Furthermore, when parents enroll their children in the enhanced English class, it means they are interested and willing to invest in improving their children's foreign language skills. Therefore, after three years of schooling, thanks to enhanced English learning, including native-speaking teachers, the quality of English teaching and learning has significantly improved in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing."

Createopportunityequality for students

For the past two weeks, in addition to her regular school classes, every Wednesday afternoon, Ms. Dang Thi Ngoc Trang – an English teacher at Vinh Tan Primary School in Truong Vinh Ward – has been teaching four online lessons to third-grade students at Na Ngoi 2 Ethnic Boarding Primary School in Na Ngoi Commune. In the initial lessons, unstable camera connections made it difficult to monitor the class effectively, resulting in less than optimal interaction between teacher and students.

Sharing more about this, teacher Ngoc Trang said: "Before implementing online teaching, I anticipated several situations that might arise. Therefore, in addition to preparing a lesson as usual, I had to create the entire lecture on PowerPoint so that students could easily watch, listen, and understand. During the lesson, there were times when the internet connection was unstable, and both the teacher and students had to overcome these issues to continue the lecture as best as possible."

With 24 in-school lessons plus 4 online lessons, teacher Ngoc Trang teaches 5 extra lessons per week than required. Despite this, Ms. Trang says she is still willing to volunteer to teach online, not for the sake of achievement or increased income, but for the sake of her students.

"

I teach third grade, and all the students are new students from remote villages who moved to the main school starting in the 2025-2026 school year, so they've never been exposed to English before. Therefore, seeing their enthusiasm when I teach them, I'm truly moved.

Ms. Dang Thi Ngoc Trang - Vinh Tan Primary School, Truong Vinh Ward

In the 2025-2026 school year, for the first time, the Nghe An Department of Education will deploy 82 teachers from 52 primary schools across the province to participate in inter-school English teaching through online learning.

These teachers mainly come from schools in more developed areas such as urban centers, central communes, and plains like Minh Hop, Thanh Binh Tho, Yen Thanh, Dong Thanh, Yen Xuan communes, Truong Vinh, Vinh Hung, Vinh Phu, and Thanh Vinh wards. They will directly support English language teaching in many schools in disadvantaged areas in communes such as Tri Le, Thong Thu, Muong Quang, Nam Can, My Ly, Na Ngoi, and Huu Kiem.

Previously, according to a summary by the Department of Education and Training, despite teacher rotation at the beginning of the school year, as of September 30, 2025, there were still 23 primary schools without English teachers, mainly concentrated in mountainous areas, ethnic minority regions, and areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.

Strengthening the teaching staff to ensure that schools in mountainous areas have enough teachers is also a solution for the Nghe An Education Department to implement the plan of making English a second language in schools, increasing equal opportunities for accessing English across different regions. Since the previous school year, in accordance with Resolution No. 17/2024/NQ-HĐND, many schools in mountainous districts have introduced subjects such as English, Informatics, Life Skills, and STEM education... into enhanced programs with the aim of helping students in mountainous districts develop comprehensively.

According to Mr. Thai Van Thanh, Director of the Department of Education and Training, Foreign language proficiency not only determines an individual's educational and employment opportunities but also contributes to enhancing the competitiveness of localities and the nation in the era of globalization. Therefore, the goal of education in Nghe An in the coming years is to create favorable conditions for students in all regions to access the same knowledge base, and to develop self-learning and self-training skills in the four English language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.