VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has revised its decision on prohibiting preschools to organize foreign language classes.

Parents still bring their children to foreign language centers, though the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) instructed not to teach foreign languages at preschools.

While MOET believes that there’s no need to teach foreign languages to preschool children once the current conditions are still not good enough, Vietnamese parents do not think so.

Some teachers argue that the preschool age is the golden time for children to begin learning foreign languages. They also denied the opinion that children would feel burdened once they have to begin learning at the very early age.

Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, deputy head of the district 3’s education sub-department, said some 10 preschools in the locality now organize English classes for the children as per the parents’ request. Here at the classes, children learn to speak English through games, pictures, images or communications.

Nguyet stressed that the classes have been set up by the schools themselves to satisfy the parents’ demand, while teaching English at preschools is not obligatory. English has been taught there as extracurricular activities.

To reporters’ surprise, Nguyet said she has heard about the ban of teaching English at preschools through mass media, while she has not received any official documents on the issue.

However, Nguyet affirmed that she would request the preschools in the locality to follow the MOET’s instruction as soon as she receives the instruction.

Do Thi Hoa, deputy head of the Go Vap district’s education sub-department, while affirming that schools must follow the ministry’s instructions, said that preschools still follow their ways to help children familiarize themselves with English. For example, the preschools can arrange small classes for small groups of children who want to learn English.

Nguyen Thi Nga, a parent in Thu Duc district, said she still brings her 5-year-old child to an English class, though the MOET said no need to teach foreign languages to preschool children.

Nga believes that her child is now at the right age to begin learning English. “I don’t think the English curriculum is too heavy for children. Meanwhile, my child can prepare well for the official English lessons she will have to attend when she enters the first grade,” Nga said.

Bui Thi Huong, a parent whose child goes to the 19-5 Preschool, said her daughter began learning English when the girl was three years old.

Huong said she does not regret her decision. “Though she then could babble only several English words at this moment, I still felt satisfied because she could speak bravely,” she said.

Meanwhile, Luong Thi Duyen, a teacher in Thu Duc district, said MOET has its reason to decide not to teach English to preschool children.

“You should only bring your children to English classes if you are sure that they can learn with good teachers who have good pronunciation and good teaching methods,” Duyen said.

“Preschool children are compared with the blank paper, on which you must not write the wrong things, because you will not be able to correct the mistakes,” she maintained. Meanwhile, according to Duyen, the preschools’ current conditions are not good enough to teach English.

Le Huyen