There's a high demand for learning English in Vietnam

News reports of foreign travelers who work as English teachers in Vietnam to earn money for their tours have recently appeared in foreign newspapers. Most recently, ABC News reported that Australian travelers teach English overseas, including China and Vietnam, without necessary qualifications.

Vietnamese newspapers have many times warned about the lack of qualifications of ‘native English teachers’ who are advertised by foreign language centers. 

A local newspaper commented that it is easy to make money in Vietnam with just “white skin”. 

The “native English teachers” have different nationalities, but they are all considered “westerners” because they have white faces and are hired by foreign language centers. The wages they receive in Vietnam are high enough for them to fund their trips throughout Vietnam.

In Vietnam, these kind of teachers are sometimes called ‘western backpackers’.

A high school teacher in Hanoi attributed this to the high demand for learning English in Vietnam.

“Vietnamese, especially urbanites, rush to learn English because they hope English skills will help them find good jobs. But the number of qualified English teachers is low,” he explained. 

“Parents accept to pay high fees to send their children to classes run by foreign teachers. They fear that the children’s English skills may be harmed by Vietnamese teachers’ mistakes,” he said.

A receptionist at a foreign language center told reporters that the only question parents ask when enrolling their children in English classes is whether there are native speakers at the classes.

The centers tend to hire foreign English speaking travelers of all nationalities to work for them. 

“Since the travelers stay in Vietnam for short term, the teachers at foreign language centers change regularly,” the teacher explained. “If foreign language centers only hire individuals who can satisfy all requirements, they will never find teachers for classes.”

Under current laws, foreigners must satisfy many requirements, including good health, “clean judicial record”, university degree in pedagogy, and English language teaching certificates (TESOL or CELTA, for example).

However, watchdog agencies set policies, but don’t supervise the observance of the policies. Many teachers who give English lessons do not register with state management agencies.

In these cases, according to Nguyen Quoc Chinh from the HCM City National University, the foreign language centers are using workers illegally.

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