Some 70 delegates on site in Hanoi and approximately 100 online, representing the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), provincial departments of education (DOETs), universities, teachers and others from Viet Nam’s ELT community, participated in a two-day event (20-21 February) to explore issues around the future of English in Viet Nam.
Organised by the Viet Nam Institute of Educational Sciences (VNIES) and the National Foreign Languages Project (NFLP), the event is part of British Council Viet Nam’s consultancy project to support these two key MOET agencies who are tasked with developing a road map for ELT development in the coming period (2025-2035, with a vision to 2045). This task has been made all the more urgent by the Government’s recent decision (August 2024) to pursue its ambition of adopting English as the second language of instruction in Vietnamese schools.
The policy dialogue provided a platform for English language experts, researchers, education managers, school leaders, and teachers to exchange expertise, discuss ideas, and comment on initial recommendations covering three key topics: teaching quality, student attainment, and the role of English as a medium of education (EME), all of which are foundational to any future implementation of English as a second language in schools in Viet Nam.