Union members offer advice on improving English proficiency

Proficiency in foreign languages ​​in the profession: cannot be delayed any longer

At the seminar, Professor and Principal Pham Quang Minh shared information about the orientation and strategy of international integration in research and training of the University. Every year, the University's staff publishes an average of more than 600 scientific articles. In 2018 alone, the University had more than 80 international publications, including 12 publications in journals with high impact factors. However, this number has not yet reached the target assigned by VNU. To enter the top 100 universities in Asia as the goal set by the University, these indicators need to be improved significantly.

Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (School Principal) emphasized the need to improve English proficiency of staff in teaching and research; at the same time, he requested that the School's Trade Union have more activities to support union members.

To integrate internationally, the ability to use English in teaching and research of the staff is an important factor. In the past time, the School has implemented diverse support activities such as organizing English communication and intensive classes; establishing the Lunch Box English Club; having policies to support staff to attend conferences abroad and take the IELTS international English certificate exam; supporting international publications up to 250 million for a book published in foreign publishers...

Dr. Ngo Thi Kieu Oanh (Chairwoman of the School's Trade Union, Head of the Personnel Organization Department) said that the time has come when the requirement for English proficiency among staff cannot be delayed any longer.

In addition, every year, the University organizes 30 to 40 international conferences on many fields; invites many foreign scholars to teach and give presentations. The number of foreign students studying in long-term and short-term training programs at the University is also increasing. The learning and research environment at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has clear international elements, helping staff and students have the opportunity to use English more often and interact with foreign students and lecturers.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Luot - Deputy Head of Professional Department of School Trade Union

Assessing the current English proficiency of the staff, Dr. Ngo Thi Kieu Oanh shared: 35.8% of the total 363 lecturers of the whole school are recognized as proficient in foreign languages ​​in their field according to the criteria of the school. And proficiency in foreign languages ​​for teaching and research will be a mandatory condition for the school's staff and this requirement cannot be delayed any longer.

In the near future, the Personnel Department will propose to implement a project to improve English proficiency for staff, specifying a detailed roadmap and specific goals for foreign language requirements that staff must achieve by 2020. The teaching staff will be divided into age groups: under 35, 35-45 and over 45 years old. Corresponding to each age group are different requirements for English proficiency that must be achieved. In parallel, the recruitment of staff will also increasingly tighten foreign language standards from the beginning to lay the foundation for improving the quality of staff in the future. Activities to support foreign language proficiency for staff will be implemented more regularly.

Must overcome yourself

The discussion recorded the opinions of union members in agreement and support for the above policy of the School. The opinions not only helped to identify the difficulties but also shared personal experiences in "facing" English.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Truong Giang (Deputy Head of the Faculty of Anthropology) said: The Faculty of Anthropology is a unit with a small number of lecturers but has an impressive number of international publications compared to the general level of the University. That is because each teacher always sets pressure and goals for themselves regarding international publications and considers it the responsibility of a person doing teaching and research work in the university. The Faculty also pioneered in making English a medium of instruction in a number of subjects. And reality has shown that, not only teachers who have studied abroad can use English fluently in their profession, but even teachers who have only studied in the country are completely capable of meeting this requirement.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Truong Giang (Deputy Head of Anthropology Department)

Dr. Truong Thi Bich Hanh - a union member from the Faculty of History - said that there is no small challenge for lecturers who are no longer young in using English. In general, teachers face pressure on how to balance their personal lives with many daily needs and responsibilities with the goal of developing their professional capacity in the context of a rather limited time fund. Basically, the staff of the School are all able to use English, but using it at a proficient level in their profession is not simple.

Dr. Truong Thi Bich Hanh also pointed out that being satisfied with “average level” will result in losing future opportunities. English proficiency is always at an average level, making it impossible for lecturers to access professional projects at a higher level with much better income levels than the present. Therefore, each individual needs to make an effort to break out of the comfort zone.

Dr. Truong Thi Bich Hanh (Faculty of History) warns of the risk of officials being satisfied with "average level" and missing out on future opportunities because of not being proficient in English.

Sharing this view, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy (Faculty of Tourism Studies) said that studying in the country or abroad is not the main barrier, but the important thing is whether teachers dare to face that challenge and overcome it or not?

Union member Dang Hoang Ngan from the Faculty of Psychology suggested that the School should have specific and strict sanctions to reward and punish staff who do not fulfill their commitment to learning English. Union member Nguyen Huong Ngoc (Faculty of Literature) suggested that it is necessary to open intensive English classes for staff associated with specific specialized groups, so that English proficiency is closely linked to specialized knowledge. Union member Tran Dang Trung (Faculty of Literature) suggested that the School pay attention to developing internationally standard learning materials to serve teaching and research in English.

Comrade Dinh Tien Hieu - Head of Professional Department of School Trade Union

Dr. Do Thuy Lan (union member from the Faculty of History) said that: in the context that the support of the School cannot immediately meet all the learning and research needs of the staff, each individual needs to try to improve their English proficiency, both to share with the general development orientation of the School and for their own benefit. Foreign language ability must be developed in conjunction with professional research ability. Foreign language is a tool for each lecturer to update information and exchange academic knowledge with world experts in their narrow specialized field. In addition, the School Union and departmental unions can build a network of union members who share the same interests and desire to share about how to learn and use foreign languages, in which experienced predecessors can guide and help those who come after.