'English will retain its position as the world’s most widely spoken language over the next decade and teachers will continue to be at the heart of English learning, even in the face of increased automation, AI and machine learning' – these are two of many key findings in the British Council’s landmark research 'Future of English: Global Perspectives', published in April 2023. Download the free publication here.
Since April, a number of events have been held in Viet Nam to explore some of the themes posed by this research, with more planned over the next few months:
Panel discussion – On 13 June, British Council in Viet Nam and the University of Languages and International Studies (VNU-ULIS) co-hosted this event with Mr Scott McDonald, Chief Executive of the British Council, senior representatives from the Ministry of Education and Training as well as approx. 250 lecturers, teachers and students from more than 40 universities and institutions in attendance to discuss some of the key findings, including the trends driving the use of English as a global language, and the implications for English language teaching, learning and assessment in Viet Nam. Watch the recording here.
Webinar – On 11 July, Mina Patel, one of the publication’s authors, delivered an online webinar exploring some of the implications of the research on teachers. This webinar was held as part of the New Directions Series 2023 leading to the main regional conference in October, which will be held in Hanoi with the theme The Future of English Language Assessment in Learning Systems. Learn more and watch the recording here.
Future of English at VietTESOL International Convention (VIC) 2023 – Also, at the forthcoming annual conference for Viet Nam’s English language teachers, Ian Clifford, English Programmes East Asia Regional Director, will deliver a keynote address. Using the findings of the Future of English project, Ian will reflect on where we think we are in English language teaching now. Then, importantly, he will suggest implications for English language teachers to think about as we move forward into a world where the education space and the stakeholders have changed. Click here to learn more about VIC 2023 at which speakers from other British Council projects and programmes shall also be presenting.