As a saying goes “to know another language is to live another life”, President Do Tuan Minh affirmed that foreign languages indeed enriched our lives and also hoped that the teachers and students of ULIS would successfully convey this message to students in Lang Son and Thanh Hoa.

On November 21st, 2018 the University of Languages and International Studies – Vietnam National University, Hanoi (ULIS – VNU) organized a fieldwork briefing session on the first phase of the programs in Lang Son and Thanh Hoa provinces. These are two cooperative programs between ULIS and the localities with a view to improving the quality of their foreign language teaching and learning. As these activities are associated with the social responsibility of the university to improve the quality of foreign language training in the two above-mentioned provinces and the whole country, this local project received special attention from ULIS and a Steering Committee comprised of 4 members in its Management Board was formed.  

In the first phase, the field team consisted of 15 teachers and 42 students assigned to 15 high schools, in Lang Son (11 schools) and Thanh Hoa (4 schools) from November 13th to 16th to study and understand the practical situations in these schools, research teacher training methods and find out the most appropriate way to teach foreign languages (specifically English) for students, build a network connecting local teachers and support the foreign language teaching and learning at the assigned units. Each teacher was accompanied by three students to support the survey, study, training and exchange with teachers and students.

The briefing session was attended by President Do Tuan Minh, the project’s Standing Committee, teachers and students participating in the trip. The preliminary meeting was organized to share information, draw experience and prepare for the second field trip (from January 20th to January 26th).

During the briefing session, Dr. Hoa Ngoc Son and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Lan Trung presented the summary report on field activities of the phase 1 in programs in Lang Son and Thanh Hoa provinces. According to the report, ULIS has well prepared for the field work with diverse logistical activities and materials to work with the localities. ULIS’s teachers and students actively worked and reported. The delegation was also warmly and sincerely welcomed by the high schools. Nonetheless, there were still some tasks that required strengthening such as increasing the activeness of teachers and students, to making a more specific plan and strengthening the connection and cooperation between ULIS’s delegation and local schools.

Teachers and students from ULIS shared their experiences during the field trip. Assigned to Tu Doan High School, which primarily consisted of ethnic minority students. Ms. Nguyen Thu Hien expressed her impression of humanity and enthusiasm among teachers and students here. Having cooperated with students to organize English extra-curricular activities and games on the occasion of Vietnamese Teacher’s Day, she was proud to bring joy and excitement in learning foreign languages for students of remote areas.

Mr. Le The Quy also shared his experience at Hau Loc 1 High School. He was very glad that all ULIS’s students were very active with their work. Witnessing students crying upon the delegation’s departure, he believed that the field trip had brought about substantial and meaningful results.

Recognizing the success of the first field trip, President Do Tuan Minh thought that this would be a good foundation for a more thoughtful preparation of the second and third field trips. President Do Tuan Minh would like teachers and students to continue accompanying ULIS in the next stages. During the preparation for field trips, teachers should actively support in training materials, professional troubleshooting and advice on other issues to local teachers. At the same time, students also need to maintain the relationships with the Youth Unions of local schools as well as engage in providing advice on knowledge review and other community activities in their assigned high schools.

“ULIS students should continue to maintain a network of sharing and supporting for high schools. You should help students change their perceptions of English and trigger their interests in learning English. Learning a foreign language is living a richer life. In your life, there would be few activities like this. Hence, despite certain difficulties, I still expect you to try your best. Life would be much more enjoyable and meaningful given there were a few days of hardship.”, said President Do Tuan Minh.

In the coming time, ULIS will seek feedback from the localities, develop a detailed set of materials, plan specific activities for the second phase, prepare for the mock tests and especially organize the professional training course for 87 teachers in Lang Son and 28 teachers in Thanh Hoa.

Some other photos of the briefing:

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