Hanoi - 18 officers of the Vietnam People’s Army have completed the 2016-2017 English Language Training programme funded by the UK Ministry of Defence and provided by the British Council. The closing ceremony was held in Hanoi.
The training is part of a programme, funded by the UK Ministry of Defence, and provided by the British Council, for officers of the Vietnam People’s Army. The 18 officers studied for 400 hours across approximately 4.5 calendar months, with the aim of raising their English proficiency to participate in International Defence Training Courses in the UK.
Since 2012, more than 150 officers of the Vietnamese People’s Army have completed English language training funded by the UK Ministry of Defence and provided by the British Council in Hanoi. The programme is one of several strands of Defence engagement which the two nations agreed to advance during 2016, which include an increase in military exchanges of experience between the two nations across a wide spectrum of engagement areas. Defence cooperation forms part of the Annual Vietnam-UK Strategic Dialogue co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and UK Minister of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Hugo Swire.
Senior Lieutenant Tran Nam Ngan said: ‘This English Language Training programme, funded by the UK Ministry of Defence, and delivered by the British Council, plays an important part in building English language capacities and IELTS skills for officers of the Vietnamese People’s Army, which helps meet the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence’s future requirements.’
Pham Vu Linh Phuong and Nguyen Trung Thanh, two learners of this programme shared: ‘We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the British Embassy, the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence, and the British Council for arranging this course, and in particular to the British Military Attaché Group Captain (Colonel) David Houghton and Colonel Le Truong Anh, Chief of the Department of Personnel of the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence.’
‘It was very difficult for us to understand the whole lecture from native teachers initially. But after the first week, with the enthusiastic help from our experienced teachers from the British Council, and with our hard work, we can clearly see our improvement in English language day by day. We hope with the knowledge we acquired from the course, each member of our class will actively contribute to promoting the friendship between Vietnam and the United Kingdom and the bilateral defence ties in the future.’
Richard Cherry, senior teacher for adult courses in Hanoi, said ‘It’s an honour for the British Council Teaching Centre in Hanoi to work with officers of the Vietnam People’s Army. But more than that, it’s a pleasure. These young officers have impressed us with their kindness and their hard work, and our teachers have really enjoyed working with them. We wish them the best of luck as they move forward in their careers, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to have made friends with our MoND partners’.