Vietnam’s Politburo pushes integration of English as 2nd language

The Politburo, the key decision-making body of the Communist Party responsible for setting and guiding major policies and strategies in Vietnam, made the direction on Monday in its conclusion regarding the implementation of a resolution issued by the Party Central Committee in 2013.

The resolution focuses on “the fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training to meet the demands of industrialization and modernization in the context of a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration.”

Specifically, the Politburo requested promoting international integration, addressing the need to improve the quality of human resources in the new era, and concentrating on enhancing the foreign language skills of students, with the gradual introduction of English as a second language in schools.

Bui Thi Thanh Truc, a lecturer and Head of the Foreign Languages Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology, said once English becomes a second language in schools, it can be widely used in materials, textbooks, communication, and teaching in certain subjects.

Currently, many public schools in Hanoi, HCMC and several other provinces such as Bac Giang and Quang Ninh have been piloting teaching Mathematics and Science in English, rather than simply treating it as a foreign language subject.