HCMC asks native English teachers to put away audiovisual equipment
Ho Chi Minh City has issued a list of regulations on teaching English in primary schools as many schools in the city are offering English courses taught by native speakers.
As requested by the city’s administration, native English teachers have to talk with their students instead of using audiovisual equipment such as cassette, CD player or interactive whiteboard so as to give students more opportunities to practice English.
For the same purpose, Vietnamese teaching assistants also have to speak with students in English.
Meanwhile, English nicknames are not allowed as the regulation specifically says native teachers have to call students by their Vietnamese names.
Schools that hire native teachers for English courses have to use private investments to pay for their salaries and seek agreements with parents before offering those courses to students.
In addition, these schools have to treat native teachers like their official employees by letting them join school activities and meetings.
English is an obligatory subject from secondary school across Vietnam, but in large cities, many primary schools demand high competency.
With job vacancies available all year round offering high salaries, Vietnam was ranked the second best place in the world to teach English earlier this year by TEFL Exchange, a community for teachers of English as a foreign language.
The site estimates that a foreign English teacher can earn between $1,200-2,200 a month in Vietnam, where the average annual income in 2016 was just $2,200.
They can find a job any time of year and the best places to do so are the country’s three largest cities: Hanoi, HCMC and Da Nang.
Candidates only need to hold a bachelor’s degree and a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate.
