Tài liệu A comparison of english language policy at secondary education level in china and vietnam

A Comparison of English Language Policy at Secondary Education Level in China and Vietnam Table of Contents Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 2 Current English language policy at secondary education level in China and Vietnam..2 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................. 5 Reference:............................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction Chinese English belongs to the Expanding Circle (Kachru, 2006). English language came into China in the late 19th century (Braine, 2014). From the early days, English language became part of the primary curriculum as the major foreign language for secondary schools. However, since the establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949, due to the socio-political situation at the time, Russian language had become the major foreign language for secondary schools. It was not until 1976 under the Open-Door Policy that English regained its status among other foreign languages in curriculum. The number of English learners as well as English teachers in China has ever since been increasing dramatically and rapidly. Jenkins (2009, p.158) predicts that ‘there will soon be more speakers of English in China than of any other English variety.’ The reason first lies in the need of information update for the purpose of modernizing the country after the Open-Door Policy, and this mission can only be fulfilled through English. Second, English means work opportunities and daily communication, especially after China joined global organizations such as WTO, UN, WHO... Language has been a key to the unity and identity of the Chinese nation. The government has to respond to pressures from above and from below, from transnational as well as from intranational developments (Pan, 2015). There was even protests over language policy in China (Barnett, 2009). As a result, there are a lot of contradictory policies that affect language use and practices in China. The Ministry of Education expects schools to teach English accordingly; meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture is actively encouraging the preservation of traditional cultural heritage and the purity of the language. China’s government holds the ideology of teaching English in a harmonious society – policy allowing sufficient space for regional development including the use of regional varieties of Chinese or dialects and learning English, promoting Chinese as an international language and balancing it with raising the standard of English language in China. Chinglish has been defined in Oxford English Dictionary as a mixture of Chinese and English, a variety of English used by speakers of Chinese or in a bilingual Chinese and English context. Chinese officials conducted campaigns to reduce Chinglish in preparation for the 2008 summer Olympics and in Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Current English language policy at secondary education level in China and Vietnam This paper presents an overview of basic English language policy in the People’s Republic of China in the current context of the twenty-first century. Policies on basic English language education in China have been chronologically linked to political, economic and social development in the country. The government’s language policies have played a vital role in the recent practice of English in China. In 1978, the Ministry of Education (MOE) issued the first unified secondary curriculum and the first accompanying draft of English syllabus in the modernization era (Hu, 2005). The curriculum launched foreign language education at Primary 3. In the curriculum, English was recognized as an important tool for the engagement in economic, commercial, technology and cultural exchange with the rest of the world. In 1985, the MOE issued a national secondary English syllabus, which allowed schools to start teaching English at Junior Secondary 1 or Senior Secondary 1. During the 21st century, China experienced the fast pace of economic development and social stability. The government continued to implement the opening up and reforming policies in economic, social and cultural and education domains. China’s government underwent the challenges of globalization and technological advances, which undermine national competitiveness and staged a new wave of educational reforms (as cited in Hu, 2005). In 2001, the MOE published the National English Language Teaching Guidance, which gave the update of the existing educational structure, teaching content and applying progressive thinking from innovating pedagogy in the world. The reform focused on individual development, creativity and exploration in education (Hu, 2005). The major goals of secondary English language teaching at this time were regarded as cultivation of communicative competence in English, fostering of learner autonomy and the development of intellectual abilities. In the 2001 Guidance, it stated that the course hours per week and total course hours during one school year in the secondary education level should be 5 per week and total course hours should be 280 per year. Also in this Guidance, at primary education level, teaching content should focus on English listening and speaking, at secondary level, English reading and writing are added. The English target at secondary level requires students primarily can understand the English words in the curriculum, students can recite the English alphabet orderly, can distinguish the spelling and the block of handwriting English words, students can read English words, sentences and the texts in correct pronunciation and tone, and students can make simple conversation in given contexts, and finally students can use punctuation correctly in English in normal formats. In order to implement the huge English teaching program at national scale, China’s government launched a series of supporting programs, millions of English teachers joined in training courses in the period of 2001-2008. However, due to the lack of qualified trainiers, participants’ lack of English teaching and English linguistic knowledge and skills, the program came to an end without reaching the expected outcomes. Approximately 80% of secondary English teachers are not qualified. (as cited in Zhang, 2012). As a result, there were few students can reach such level requirements when they finished the courses. English was only taught in foreign language classes. As I mentioned above, due to the lack of qualified teachers and also equipment, English was not a medium of instruction. English teachers have to translate English into Chinese for students ‘s better understanding. Tests and assessments also attract vast attention from scholars and all the society. However, funnily as it could be, as test-oriented education system, in most Chinese schools, the main goals of English teaching is to help students pass English examinations, not to improve students’ English language proficiency (Zhang, 2012). The English language in Vietnam is social-politically, ideologically and economically bounded. (Bui & Nguyen, 2016). At the early stage of the teaching of English, it was mainly promoted by the U.S. forces in the South of Vietnam in the school system. English gained its privilege in Vietnam after 1986 when the Vietnam’s government launched ‘Doi Moi’ (Renovation). Since 1990s, English has been introduced at all levels of education in the country. At secondary education level, English occupies 3 periods of 45 minutes a week and 105 periods a year. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, namely in 2000 and 2001, the government initiated general curriculum and English language policy reforms to urgently develop and implement the curriculum nationwide to meet the needs of the country’s modern development (Decrees Nos. 40/2000/QH 10 and 14/2001/CT-TTg) (as cited in Davis & Phyak & Bui, 2012). The reform focused on student-centered pedagogy, stimulating students’ creativity. The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) applied a new series of Westernoriented and self-study approaches and textbooks at secondary education level regardless of students’ different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. In 2008, the government implemented another foreign language reform, the National Foreign Language Project 2020, which emphasized that young Vietnamese citizens are to be equipped with English language skills to increase work opportunities in the global job markets, especially when Vietnam has joined WTO and ASEAN. The Project requires secondary school leavers with the English proficiency level of B1 in Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Decision 1400/QD-TTg planned to train 80 000 English teachers in public schools throughout Vietnam. Those teachers are expected to have B2-CEFR at lowersecondary level and C1-CEFR at upper-secondary level. Conclusion In the 21st century, China’s government began to launch a series of documents in curriculum reform so as to catch up with the step of curriculum reform around the world, which includes new national English teaching guidance, curriculum and textbooks. However, English in Chinese textbooks is largely constructed for China’s economic and political utility, which is consistent with the policy construction of the language without reflecting an endogenous variety of Chinese English (Wenfeng & Gao, 2008). China’s government implemented English language policy at secondary level is quite different from region to region due to the complexity of cultures, economic situations and political developments as discussed in the Introduction part. There are more and more common Chinese people started to accept English as their major foreign language and more and more young Chinese people started to learn English as well. From the discussion above, both China’s and Vietnam’s governments pay huge attention to English language education, due to a series of official documents, standards and programs launched, a series of training courses for English language teachers. National textbooks are both revised and updated as well as renewed. The documents and programs covered both macro and micro sides in English language education. However, the teaching of English mainly targets examinations. Reference: Barnett, R. (2009). The Tibet protests of spring, 2008. China Perspectives, (3), 6. Braine, G. (Ed.). (2014). Teaching English to the world: History, curriculum, and practice. Routledge. Bui, T. T. N., & Nguyen, H. T. M. (2016). Standardizing English for educational and socio-economic betterment-a critical analysis of English language policy reforms in Vietnam. In English Language Education Policy in Asia (pp. 363388). Springer International Publishing. Davis, K. A., Phyak, P., & Bui, T. T. N. (2012). Multicultural education as community engagement: Policies and planning in a transnational era. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 14(3). Hu, G. (2005). English language education in China: Policies, progress, and problems. Language policy, 4(1), 5-24. Jenkins, J. (2009), ---. World Englishes. 2nd ed. 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