The new English
programme for sixth graders will be tested this year at some junior high schools
that meet the national standards, the Ministry of Education and Training has
said.

At a workshop held
in HCM City yesterday, June 7, to solicit opinions for its draft, Dao Ngoc Loc,
head of the Viet Nam Institute of Educational Sciences’ Foreign Language Office,
said the programme would be based on an English teaching programme for
primary-school students introduced last year in 18 provinces and
cities.

It would be
similar to the common European framework of reference for languages and require
students to understand sentences and frequently used expressions, communicate
about simple and routine tasks, and hold an exchange of information on familiar
and routine matters, he said.

It would focus on
listening and speaking skills, he said.

Deputy Minister of
Education and Training Nguyen Vinh Hien said the ministry had received the list
of schools that agreed to pilot the programme.

But it would
screen them for quality standards, he said.

The ministry was
compiling textbooks which would be ready by September when the school year
began, he said.

Nguyen Hoai
Chuong, deputy head of the HCM City Department of Education and Training, said
the biggest difficulty was the shortage of qualified English teachers.

The ministry
should also offer incentives to attract and retain teachers.

Dr Vu Thi Phuong
Anh, head of the HCM City-based Viet Nam National University’s Centre for
Educational Testing and Quality Assessment, asked more training courses for
English teachers to improve their skills in areas like drafting
curriculums.

Tran Dinh Nguyen
Lu, English specialist at the city department, said the ministry should increase
the number of English classes for sixth-grade students.

The programme
required them to study three classes per week, but since it was not enough for
them to practice listening and speaking or learn all their lessons, the
frequency should be increased, he said.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News