Bac Giang bolsters English teaching at local schools

Implementing an English teaching programme for 1st and 2nd graders at primary schools (Source: bacgiang.gov.vn)

Bac Giang (VNA) - Northern Bac Giang province is set to bolster English teaching at local schools, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

Bac Giang province aims to deploy a 10-year English teaching programme at all local schools by 2025, while encouraging the introduction of English modules at qualified kindergartens and in Grades 1 and 2 at 20% of local primary schools. The province encourages specialised classes at gifted schools teaching natural science subjects like maths, physics, chemistry and biology in English. Bac Giang also sets a target of all English teachers at local schools meeting national foreign language capacity standards by the 2024-2025 academic year.

In order to realise these goals, the provincial Department of Education and Training in cooperation with relevant agencies has hosted training classes to improve the English skills of teachers, inviting native speaking experts and high-quality foreign language training centres to train local teachers. The province has also mobilised social resources to build schools and classrooms for English training. The education sector has also allocated part of the provincial budget to equip specialised English-teaching classrooms at schools currently lacking them.

In the time to come, Bac Giang is determined to speed up the reform of teaching methodology, aggressively apply information technology in teaching and learning, build standardised schools for English teaching at all levels, and enhance extracurricular programmes for English practice among students, such as speaking contests, debates, and outings, etc. Such activities are expected to improve the quality of English teaching in the province.

Coupled with assessing the English capabilities of final-year students at each school, the Bac Giang provincial Department of Education and Training will also focus on expanding international cooperation to improve English teaching and learning quality.

The province’s Scheme for Transforming English Teaching and Learning in Local Schools in the 2016-2020 Period proved effective, posting several encouraging outcomes. The goal of universalising the 10-year English teaching programme has been basically met, with English now a compulsory subject from Grade 3.

English teachers are trained and added every year, meeting the required number and quality in accordance with national foreign language capacity standards. They are regularly sent to training classes with native speakers, from which their English communications capacity and teaching methods are greatly improved.

An Engligh teaching class by a foreign teacher (Source: bacgiang.gov.vn)

Improvements in English teaching quality can be easily observed through the achievements of local students at national contests. Indeed, the number of Bac Giang students participating in national English contests has increased and their rankings are also rising. Local students enjoy the subject and are more confident in English communications.

Bac Giang has upgraded six local schools to the provincial level in English teaching and uses their activities as role models for other local schools. Apart from such schools, each city and district within the province has also developed a model for English teaching at the primary and secondary school level.

All primary schools in the province have hung up bilingual banners, have English corners inside and outside of the classroom, and have English clubs for teachers and students. Many schools also organise extracurricular activities in English, to create an environment for teachers and students to practice their skills. Activities include but are not limited to school gatherings every Monday, English speaking, debate, and singing contests, and English speaking days, among others.

During the 2016-2020 period, the Bac Giang provincial Department of Education and Training also cooperated with several international organisations to organise voluntary English classes within the province.

A project to use foreign teachers for teaching English was implemented at primary and junior and senior high schools in Bac Giang during the 2016-2017 academic year.

Part of the national plan on reforming the teaching and learning of English in general schools to 2020, the project aimed to create an environment to help students better practise their language skills, contributing to improving the quality of English teaching and learning.

Foreign teachers are permitted to teach extra-curricular classes and students are encouraged to enrol on a voluntary basis.

Local schools also joined hands with eligible English training centres to implement the project. All foreign teachers are managed by authorised agencies./.