VietNamNet Bridge - Many foreign teachers at foreign language centers do not have teaching certificates.

Vietnamese want to be taught by native speakers

Studying English with native teachers is the promise foreign language centers offer students. Vietnamese believe their English skills can be improved only if they are taught by native speakers.

Tuyet Minh, an officer at a foreign language center on Cat Linh street in Hanoi, noted that the only question parents ask when enrolling their children in English classes is whether there are native speakers at the classes. 

“Some parents ask where the native speakers are from and how old they are. No one asks about the qualification of foreign teachers, the degrees and certificates they have and whether they have teaching permits, though this is the most important information,” she commented.

Therefore, it is easy for foreign language centers to attract students if they advertise that they hire foreign teachers. In fact, the quality of foreign teachers is different.

Vu Chinh, the managing director of an English teaching chain in Hanoi, said the foreign candidates applying to become teachers at her center have to show documents to prove they are qualified enough and have pedagogical skills to work as teachers.

However, only some prestigious foreign language centers do this.

The majority of English centers recruit teachers through companies that provide foreign teachers.

However, with the increase in foreign language centers, the demand for foreign teachers has risen rapidly, while the number of qualified foreign teachers is limited.  

As a result, some centers accept to use the foreigners coming to Vietnam as travelers. They don’t have qualifications, certificates and teaching experience. 

Since the travelers stay in Vietnam for a short time, the foreign teaching staff at foreign language centers is unstable.

Nguyen Thu Trang in Hai Ba Trung district, who once worked for a foreign language center, said that unqualified foreign teachers mostly were assigned to classes for beginners or children, who were not choosy about the quality of teachers. 

“Foreign students who are on their holidays or internships in Vietnam, and foreign backpackers all could be teachers,” she commented.

Thanh Tra, a parent in Long Bien district, discovered that many foreign language centers ‘cry wine and sell vinegar’.

Tra decided to send her daughter to an English class after hearing that the teacher of the class was from Australia. But several months later, she realized that the Australian teacher only gave some lessons, and she was replaced by another.

The parent was told that the Australian teacher could not continue her teaching because she was busy. But Tra found that the same thing occurred with many other classes.

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