The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) issued an official document in February-end urging kindergartens to desist from teaching foreign languages to children and not popularise the related curriculum.

The MoET also does not approve the use of tutorial software for foreign languages.

But, it is a known fact that when there is demand, then supply will certainly exist.

Many teachers and parents have protested against this decision, saying that the schools should continue teaching English to kindergarteners.

Huynh Thu Ly, a mother in Tay Ho District, strongly stated that the MoET’s decision was nonsense.

“I pay VND10 million (about US$460) as tuition fees each month, only for my daughter to have access to English and the native teachers. I am not ambitious that she can communicate well, but just want her to become familiar with simple English words, so that she can communicate with foreigners. I feel it is an accomplishment for me if my daughter has access to English,” she noted.

Nguyen Ha Phuong, a kindergarten teacher in Ha Dong District, shared this viewpoint, saying that notwithstanding the MoET decision, her school has already actively created an environment for children of all age groups to familiarise themselves with foreign languages.

“The aim is help children recognize the difference between their mother tongue and foreign language and to stimulate their mentality and learning skills during school hours. This is just to get the children familiar with English,” she added.

Others argue that children should be allowed to learn English as it is their parents’ wishes.

But, many other parents actually did not let their children learn English at kindergartens for the simple reason that the children still do not fluently speak Vietnamese, so why do they have to…

Read more | english.vietnamnet.vn

Photo credit | Kindergarten is fun by woodleywonderworks on Flickr