ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN VIETNAM’S GENERAL EDUCATION: A BRIEF HISTORICAL SURVEY

Abstract

This paper presents a brief historical survey of English Language Teaching (ELT) in general education in Vietnam from 1954 to the present. The main purpose of the survey is to explore the progress achieved and the shortcomings that need to be addressed in ELT at this extremely important level of education. Using an adaptation and supplement of the prominent British applied linguist Peter Strevens’s “theoretical model of language learning and teaching process” as the analytical framework, the survey focuses on exploring ELT in general education in Vietnam across four periods: (1) 1954 to 1975, (2) 1975 to 2002, (3) 2002 to 2018, and (4) 2018 to the present. The findings show that, over time, ELT in general education in Vietnam has achieved remarkable success. However, there are still some problems that need to be solved at both policy and implementation levels to further improve the quality of ELT at the general level of education in Vietnam in the years to come.