From October 2016 to May 2017 (the pilot year) the British Council in Vietnam in collaboration with Bac Giang Department of Education and Training has successfully implemented a training programme in English teaching methodology for 430 primary English teaches and 106 secondary English teachers in all districts of Bac Giang province.
This teacher professional training programme was based on British Council’s Teaching for Success approach in which British Council trainers conducted a needs analysis and baseline study by visiting schools, interviewing teachers in focus groups and observing classes. This led to the bespoke designing of a training course which was 100 percent focused on the needs of the teachers in Bac Giang province.
The programme included a 78 hour face-to-face training with combination of input sessions and British Council trainer’s teaching demonstration in real classroom. The face to face training was followed by a series of observations in which participating teacher was observed and mentored by British Council trainers and their peers.
The partnership with the British Council has helped empower our teachers in terms of language skills and methodology. It has also significantly improved the quality of English teaching and learning in our schools, contributing to the government’s Project 2020 in overhauling the teaching and learning of foreign languages in Vietnam - Phan Thi Thu Ha, Bac Giang Department of Education and Training
The training addressed the typical difficulties that English teachers face in Bac Giang province, which included the lack of the fun activities in English classes, overcrowded classrooms, or teachers' pronunciation inaccuracies. The teachers were provided with techniques, materials and ideas for games and activities to motivate s and engage students better.
The participants also set up an interactive learning community forum using Zalo with the aim to share useful resources and good practices to motivate teachers enhance their practical skills and knowledge on a regular basis and therefore become more confident in their teaching practice.
Phan Thi Trinh, Primary English Teacher said "I was lucky to take part in the training. I and all the other teachers were excited to join the training as this is the very first time English native speaker trainers have visited our schools to share new teaching methodology. We used to write things on the board for students to copy them down. Now they have a lot more fun, they can play as they learn, they can sing as they learn. I really love the new methodology, it engages the children better and it makes me feel younger as I enjoy the fun in the classroom.".
The British Council training has contributed to increase the quality of English teaching and learning in Bac Giang, a province located in the north-eastern region of Vietnam, with mountainous districts covering 72 percent of its area and five ethnic minority groups living in these areas.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
British Council Vision: All teachers in the world have the high-quality continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities that improve their own professional understanding and practice and their learners’ success.
Teaching for Success is an approach to helping teachers improve through continuing professional development (CPD). It aims to put in place effective and sustainable CPD systems that will have a long-term impact on the development of teachers.