Surveys have demonstrated that UK business performs relatively
poorly compared to their European counterparts in respect of language
strategies, acquiring staff with language skills, employing external language
professionals … A range of such latent skills gaps and shortages in“
relation to foreign languages are interfering with business transactions
and leading to loss of business” (CILT, 2008). It was suggested that UK
organizations are losing their competitive edge, and often only operate in
English speaking nations due to the language barrier.
Another example of the importance of foreign languages can be seen in the
United States, the hot pot of different languages and cultures. The US State
Department in particular has a large demand for foreign language
ability. Annually, it provides more than 450 courses, including instruction
in 70 languages, to more than 50,000 employees from the Department,
over 40 other government agencies, and the U.S. military (State.gov).
Given the importance of foreign language in the labor market,
Recommendation of the European Parliament on key competences for lifelong
learning has identified communication in foreign languages as one of the
eight key competences and suggest that learning curricula should include“
the study of at least one foreign language of international use to prepare…
for international employment and multicultural working environments”
(EC, 2009).
Concerning education policy in terms of foreign languages, our discussion
also reveals what the 2004 APEC report calls the emerging regional
consensus that professional development of FL [foreign language]“
teachers is one of the most important and challenging issues that all
economies face ” (APEC, 2004).
5
In this context, we can not overlook the very local impact of language
policies on access to economic resources, to policy-making institutions,“
and to political power ” that Tollefson (1991, p.142) has described. In
transforming language use and language education into commodities for
a global marketplace, we have to take a particular stance with regard to
what Pennycook (1994) calls the cultural, political, social and economic“
implications of language programs. ”
Demands for foreign languages in the Vietnamese
labor market
As we know, in 1986, Vietnam started its doi moi policy to integrate into
the world community. As the country developed, the situation started
changing and foreign languages began to be more necessary. The situation in
Vietnam is more or less similar to those in many countries, especially in
the Asia Pacific region. A 2002 UNESCO report on curriculum changes
in the Asia Pacific region notes that: Facing the challenges of“
globalization trends, curriculum of countries in the region have paid
special attention to foreign languages, first and foremost it is English.”
(portal.unesco.org)
As English has become the most common medium for communication in a
global world, it is the language that provides job opportunities, access to
higher education and a broader flow of information, as well as facilitates
diplomatic discussions and business negotiations. Just the same, a focus on
the teaching of English language appears to have become institutionalized
in curriculum thinking throughout the Asia Pacific region, as, in most
language policy statements, the ability to speak English has been linked to
6
knowledge and skills necessary for economic competition, rendering it
as a type of human capital. “ ” (PIFS, 2004). English will become more
important as a means of internal cohesiveness and unity and external“
participation in the modern global community.” (PIFS, 2004).
Currently in Vietnam, up to 97.5% of students chose to learn English,
the total of students who choose to learn the other three languages
accounts for only less than 3% (moet.gov.vn). This situation in Vietnam is in
many ways similar to that in many parts of the world, including EU, where
90% of all pupils in secondary education choose to learn English (CEC, 2007).
One explanation for the fact is that English competency is a prime
qualification for those who wish to have better chances to study. A large
number of Vietnamese students have chosen to go to English-speaking
countries for their further studies. According to a report by the Institute of
International Education (iie.org), by the end of 2008, there were around
10,000 Vietnamese students in Australia, 8,000 in Britain, 6000 in
America. The numbers are increasing rapidly; for example, the number
of Vietnamese undergraduates and graduates who are pursuing their
studies in Australia has increased to 10,000 (vietnamnet.vn). Most of the
countries which receive Vietnamese students require these students have an
IELTS or a TOEFL score of a desirable level. In fact, according to statistics
of the IELTS agency, in 2007, Vietnam was among the 20 countries and
territories with the biggest number of students who sat at IELTS tests.
Another reason is economic development. Take tourism as an example: the
number of foreign visitors to Vietnam has been increasing rapidly, and the
international language for communication is naturally English. This leads to
the fact the Tourism Bureau of Vietnam has revealed: at present, 32% of
the labor force in the tourism industry can speak English while only 3.2%
7
speak some French and 3.6% speak some Chinese
(vietnamtourism.gov.vn).
However, other reasons and facts have recently made some other
languages more important than before. The learning of other languages is
no doubt of direct relevance to economic growth, competitiveness,
employability, external relations and foreign affairs; education and training;
higher education, science and research; culture; social rights; regional and
local development; tourism; among other things.
As we can see, on the one hand, English learning and teaching has
helped Vietnam in the new era of integration. On the other hand, the
learning and teaching of English at the expense of other languages is
posing serious issues.
We should first look at diplomatic relations. At the present time, Vietnam
has established diplomatic relations with almost all countries and territories.
To strengthen relationships, promote trade and cultural exchanges,
among other affairs, with countries other than English-speaking
countries, learning their languages is obviously necessary.
Tourism poses another set of problems. Vietnam is now becoming
known as one of the safest and most attractive for international tourists, many
do not come from English-speaking countries. It is of course advisable for
the Vietnamese government to improve the language picture in tourism.
Visitors to Vietnam are mainly from China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, France,
Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia (more than 100,000 visitors each), Germany,
Russia (around 50,000 visitors each). The number of visitors, especially from
traditional markets of Vietnam, where English is not an official language, has
been increasing year on year. In 2007, the number of tourists from France
increased by 42% (with 183,000 turns of people), from Germany by 32%,
8
from Sweden 60%, Finland 46%. The market of North-Eastern Asia, which
includes China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, is still the most important, with the
visitors to Vietnam from these countries in 2007 totalling 1,200,000,
accounting for 30% of the total number for the year ((vietnamtourism.gov.vn).
To ensure a continuous and sustainable development of tourism, one of
the most urgent need for Vietnam is to improve language abilities of
tourism staff.
Another important aspect that should also be taken into consideration
is the rapid increase in the labor export. Since 2000, Vietnam has sent
70,000 workers abroad yearly. Most of them are working in countries where
English is not the mother tongue of the citizens or not an official language of
the state. At the present time, there are more than 400,000 Vietnamese
workers in 40 countries and territories. Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea and
Japan are among the biggest markets for the Vietnamese workers with
the total of Vietnamese currently working in these countries are 100,000,
90,000, 46,000 and 19,000 respectively. Another market of great potential for
the Vietnamese workers is the Middle-East. At present, the number of
Vietnamese workers in Qatar is 7000 and in UAE 3000. These numbers
will increase drastically along with the efforts of the Ministry of Labor, the
Injured and Social Affairs (Molisa) of Vietnam to expand these markets.
Molisa has signed an agreement with Qatar to send 100,000 Vietnamese
workers to this country in the period 2008-2010. Molisa is also negotiating
with other countries in the region such as Oman, Bahrain, and Libya. In the
world market, exporting labor is a type of exporting service with a special kind
of commodity, that is labor. The price for this commodity depends on many
factors, among them is the ability to communicate with the host people. As a
matter of fact, countries who accept Vietnamese laborers are now starting
9
to demand that the guest workers know their languages.‘ ’ In August 2005,
the Korean Ministry of Labor officially demanded that any Vietnamese citizen
who wishes to go to South Korea for working has to pass an exam to identify
their Korean language competence (molisa.gov.vn). Teaching Korean to the
10,000 people who have registered to go to South Korea for working is
now posing a great difficulty, mainly because it is not easy to find
teachers of Korean. Recently, countries in the Arab block have signed an
agreement to use only Arabic for economic and diplomatic purposes
(mofa.gov.vn). This will create great demands for languages other than
English in Vietnam. The problem will be greater with the ever-increasing
number of Vietnamese citizens going abroad to find job, and when the main
markets for Vietnamese laborers like Taiwan or Japan are likely to introduce
the same language requirements.
For the Vietnamese people who wish to go abroad for their study, one of
the biggest problem is also language. The Ministry of Education and Training
of Vietnam estimates that at the present time, there are about 60,000
Vietnamese students abroad, and many of them are not in English
speaking countries. There are now 6,000 Vietnamese students in China,
5,500 in Russia, 4,500 in France, 4,000 in Korea, 2,200 in Germany, 1,600 in
Japan.
Another important set of facts that should be taken into consideration
are those of trade between Vietnam and other countries, and with Vietnam
having become a WTO member, this is gaining a new significance. A
remarkable fact is that while English is the mother tongue of some important
partners like England (export turnover of Vietnam to this market in 2008 was
1.3 billion US dollars), many other important partners of Vietnam like
Germany (ET in 2008 was $US 1.85 billion), Holland (ET to this market in
10
2008 was $US 900 billion), France (ET in 2008 was $US 800 million) do not
use English as an official language. This may help to highlight the demands
for English as well as other less used languages. As language and“
intercultural skills were found to be relevant to success in export, and a
significant amount of business had been lost as a result of lack of
language skills” (CEC-2005), there may be a fall in export turnover value if
Vietnam does not look at the issue of language policy more seriously.
The supply of foreign languages and relevant
existing policies in vietnam
In Vietnam, there are now many foreign languages taught inside and
outside the education system. Promoting learning and teaching foreign
languages, especially English, is among the most important strategic tasks of
the government of Vietnam. The government has always been emphasizing
the need of an overall project for learning and teaching foreign
languages, especially English. At a regular governmental meeting session in
March, 2006, the Minister of Education and Training reported on a project for
the period 2006-2015 (Resolution 04/2006/NQ-CP). So far, the project has
been modified several times and now, the Ministry of Education and Training
(MOET) is considering a new version of it for the period 2010-2020, which
will call for an investment of $US 1 billion. Many hope that this project will
help Vietnamese people to be confident of foreign language proficiency by
2020. A key point of this project is that English will be a compulsory
subject for pupils from the 3
rd
grade.
This project requires a radical change in the learning and teaching foreign
languages system of Vietnam. The amount of time assigned for English at
school will nearly double, from 700 hours to 1300 hours, and English will
11
be introduced in primary schools, at 3
rd
grade. In primary schools and
secondary schools, children will have 4 hours of English a week. In high
schools, students will have 3 hours of English a week.
As estimated by MOET, the number of English teachers needed will
double within the next 10 years. More specifically, for primary schools
alone, MOET has to ensure that 9,100 English teachers will be added in the
school year 2008-2009, and later on, 16,600 for the school year 2010-2011,
11,600 for the school year 2015-2016. In the period 2008-2016, the total of
English teachers added will be 44,000. Currently, the total number of
English teachers at schools nationwide is more than 60,000 people
(moet.gov.vn).
On morning 13
th
, March 2008, MOET announced its proposal to make it
soon compulsory for all secondary and high schools in Vietnam to teach
at least one subject in English. The Ministry of Education and Training
hopes this move, among other moves, will help to make the hope that by 2020,
most Vietnamese students will be fluent in English come true (vietbao.com).
MOET is now concentrating on training 2,000 English lecturers for
Faculties of English at universities and colleges nationwide, and this is
considered as the first step toward the targets. On morning 18
th
March, 2008,
at a conference on Financial Mechanism of Funding Capital Construction of
Universities and Colleges, the Vice Director of Financial Planning Department
of MOET Tran Duy Tao revealed that MOET is considering an other sub-
project for promoting English learning and teaching at universities and
colleges nationwide up onto 2012 (tinmoi.vn).
Reactions to the project among intellectuals are varied. While some
strongly agree with the proposals of MOET, others are worried about the
future of the language picture. Associate Professor Nguyen Loc, Vice Director
12
of the Educational Strategies and Programs Institute of Vietnam says this is
the only feasible project, given the financial shortage (tienphong.vn). Professor
Bui Hien, member of the Linguistic Society of Vietnam, has a different idea.
He says that the proposal to makes it compulsory for all school goers to
learn English is against the policy of multilingualism and diversification
of diplomatic relations of Vietnam (Hien, 2007).
Although this project causes much controversy, it receives supports from
top leaders of Vietnam. On morning 5
th
, March 2008, speaking at the
Vietnam-United Kingdom Forum of Enterprises, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung reconfirmed the idea of the Vietnamese leadership, saying that the
Vietnamese government will do its best to make English a strength of
Vietnam by 2020 (mofa.gov.vn). Most recently, in October 2008, the Prime
Minister has approved the project and urged relevant bodies to intensively
carry it out as soon as possible. The good news is that as an amendment to the
initial proposal, children now will be allowed to choose to learn another
foreign language (second foreign language) at their own will, beside English
as the compulsory foreign language (first foreign language), from grade six
(www.nhandan.com).
On the other hand, despite the need to learn and teach other languages
other than English, as discussed in the previous part, the current situation
does not encourage pupils and students to learn even major languages“ ”
like French, Chinese and Russian. Take French as an example, a recent
survey of the Ministry of Education and Training reveals that the numbers of
French teachers and learners have decreased sharply and continuously
over the years 2005, 2006 and 2007, 2008. The Education and Training
Department of Hue, a city with strong efforts to promote the learning and
teaching of French reported that despite great efforts of the Department over
13
the last 15 years, there are now only 50 French teachers with a total of 7.612
learners in 205 classes at 25 schools. The number of pupils who choose to
learn French accounts for only 3.1% of the total pupils, and the pace of
expansion is now zero. The numbers of French teachers and learners are likely
to decrease in the years to come (moet.gov.vn).
A large body of facts show that foreign languages learning and
teaching in Vietnam at present has not yet met the need of the labor
market in term of both quality and quantity. Regarding to the quantity, the
lack of qualified human resources with a desirable proficiency in a foreign
language in almost all branches, specially new branches has put businesses in
difficulties. This exist in almost all economic branches such as financial
banking, marketing, tourism. Regarding to the quality, we can say that at
present, the rate of students who can meet the requirements in terms of foreign
languages is very low as a large body of evidence and complaints have shown.
Recommendations
Teaching and learning foreign languages obviously has played an
important role in the development of Vietnam, particularly in this new era of
globalization in general and of Vietnam’s integrating into the world
community in particular.
In this context, an appropriate language policy is essential for any country,
as Pennycook (1994, p.19) argues, “language policies influence greatly broad
national and international structures and activities." Over the past years, we
have witnessed a substantial shift in national foreign language policies in
education systems worldwide.
There’s a widespread recognition that global citizens in the 21
st
century
need to have proficiency in various languages for communication in a variety
14
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