18 officers of the Vietnam People’s Army have completed the ‘Academic English and IELTS preparation’ course funded by the UK Ministry of Defence and provided by the British Council in Vietnam. The closing ceremony was held in Hanoi.
The 'Academic English and IELTS preparation' course is part of a training programme, funded by the UK Ministry of Defence and provided by the British Council in Vietnam, for officers of the Vietnam People’s Army. The 18 officers studied for 400 hours in total over 16 weeks, with the aim of raising their English proficiency in order to participate in International Defence Training Courses in the UK.
The programme is one of several strands of defence engagement which the two nations agreed to advance during 2016, which include an increase in exchanges of military experience between the two nations across a wide spectrum of engagement areas. Defence cooperation formed a part of the fourth 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 in February 2015.
Since 2012, nearly 170 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. In recent years the focus of these courses has been to help these young officers receive certification in IELTS.
Le Van Trach, a learner of the course said: ‘We had a wonderful period learning English together. Most students are now more confident in communicating with native English speakers. Our English abilities have greatly improved. If it had not been for the sponsorship of the UK Ministry of Defence and the British Council, we might not have had the chance to attend such an excellent training course. Furthermore, it is the British Council that provides passionate and well-qualified teachers to help us with our English lessons.’
Richard Cherry, senior teacher for adult courses in Hanoi, said: ‘students enjoy and value their experience of working with our teachers and staff. These young officers will go on to be leaders in future, and their positive experience of working with us is a model for the sharing of friendly knowledge between Vietnam and the UK now and into the future.’
The British Council has been working with Vietnam since 1993. In 2018, we are marking this 25th anniversary with a series of events celebrating cultural relations and exchange between the UK and Vietnam.