The proposed status of English as a second language in Vietnam

Employing the questionnaire-assisted approach and document review from other countries in the ASEAN region that succeeded in making English their second language, the study seeks to addr

The proposed status of English as a second language in Vietnam

Nguyen Tran Thanh Hai, 308809

English Language and Culture

School of Humanities

Philosophical Faculty

University of Eastern Finland

October 2020

ITÄ-SUOMEN YLIOPISTO - UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND

Nguyen Tran Thanh Hai

Työn nimi - Title

The proposed status of English as a second language in Vietnam

Kandidaatin tutkielma Aineopintojen tutkielma

Tiivistelmä - Abstract

The English language has unstoppably confirmed its highly significant position in world cooperation and development in all disciplines It helps people in every corner of the world get connected and expand the economies and boost global collaboration Vietnam, also realizing the significance and expansion of English throughout the world, has always prioritized the English language's teaching and learning in the past 20 years This act mainly develops citizens' English ability and prepares for international cooperation both at present and in the future Observing many Vietnamese people's achievements in this language and great chances for the Vietnam economy, in 2018, the Vietnam Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh

Hung proposed a big idea to the Prime Minister: the English language should become the second language for the country Employing the questionnaire-assisted approach and document review from other countries in the ASEAN region that succeeded in making English their second language, the study seeks to address a gap of finding the young Vietnamese 's perspective and the possible solutions to materialize the Minister's proposal in the future The research has found out that most young people in Vietnam have different and controversial opinions Many new findings from the literature review and data gathered from the survey will also reveal many fascinating looks The implication and suggestions for further study have been put forward for readers interested in this topic

Avainsanat Keywords

World Englishes, Lingua Franca, English, ESL, ELT, EFL, Vietnam, Vietnamese

Acknowledgments

From an academic point of view, I am more than grateful for the supervision of Dr Mikko Laitinen, who has been teaching and instructing me since I came to study at the University of Eastern Finland This thesis is my wholehearted work expressing my strong affection towards my country; without his supervision, I could not have it successfully finished

I also would like to express my special thanks to all the lecturers of the School of Humanities, Philosophical Faculty of the University of Eastern Finland, with whom I have had a great chance

to study during my two years in Finland The lessons and their feedback are some of the most important factors for me to accomplish this work

I really appreciate the help of 121 young Vietnamese studying and working at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education (HCMUE), who took part in the online questionnaire Their answers, opinions, perspective, and feedback have broadened my horizons about the issue and helped me thoroughly answered the research questions

On a more personal note, one of the most crucial sources of inspiration for me to finish my thesis

is my mother She always encourages me to study, live well, and make friends with people worldwide She also teaches me to prioritize the love of my country and contribute to the development of human knowledge The effort I put into this thesis is also a present I would like to give her

Contents

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 15

2.1 A general view of English development and its role in the ASEAN 15

2.2 A general view of English development and its role in Vietnam 18

2.3 How did Singapore successfully make English its official language? 24

2.4 The role of young people towards national development 27

3 DATA AND METHODOLOGY 29

3.1 Aims and Design of the study 29

3.2 Data Collection and Description 30

3.3 Ethical considerations 34

3.4 Data Analysis 35

4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 36

4.1 Results related to research question 1 37

4.2 Results related to research question 2 43

4.3 Discussion 58

5 CONCLUSION 60

BIBLIOGRAPHY 63

APPENDICES 73

Appendix 1 73

Appendix 2 89

1 INTRODUCTION

In the current context, the English language plays a vital role as a bridge to connect people in different cultures and is considered a crucial tool in foreign trade, which dramatically boosts the world economy Never before have we seen such significant development in all aspects globally, ranging from high technology inventions, science research, education development to world humanitarian aids This success is mostly thanks to the strong international cooperation between all countries worldwide, in which the English language plays a critical role in facilitating the process Vietnam is a small country in Southeast Asia but with a big dream to "shoulder to shoulder with great powers of 5 continents" as one of the last wishes of the first Vietnam President Ho Chi Minh Since its independence and unification in 1975, the country has always been striving to develop the economy, society and cooperate with other nations to protect world security and enhance mutual development Vietnamese people have made constant attempts to do so through the country's long history; one of them is the endeavor to improve the English language for the young generations, whose role is vital in the country's future operation After many decades of being promoted by the Vietnam Government, English is now a popular foreign language for over

53 percent of the population; more and more young Vietnamese can use this language much better than the former generation, making Vietnam one of the easiest countries for English speakers to visit (according to UK's Daily Mail newspaper) In line with that, the country's economy has been

on its significant rise for over 20 years and becomes the magnet to attract substantial foreign investment from other developed countries This opportunity also creates more demand for Vietnamese people to better their English, a language considered the lingua franca, and go further

to become the second language of Vietnam as the idea proposed by Vietnam Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung

Vietnam Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung – A summary

of his career path and his idea of making English as a second language for Vietnam

Major General of the People's Army of Vietnam Nguyen Manh Hung is a businessman, a politician, and the former president of Vietnam Army Telecommunications Corporation (Viettel Corp.) In

2018, he was appointed to be the Vietnam Minister of Information and Communications He had a chance to study and work in the field of telecommunications in many different countries and held important positions in the Vietnam army telecommunication corporation before his appointment

as the Minister

He always gives out ideas with his affection for the country, especially in the aspect of information technology and telecommunications One of his ideas proposed to the Vietnam Prime Minister at the Forum of Vietnam Youth Start-up in 2018 was making the English language the second language for Vietnam By the idea of equipping the English language, a lingua franca, for Vietnamese people, he has not only expressed his ambition to lead Vietnam to become one of the strong developed countries in the area but also showed his vision and high evaluation of the English language towards the development of Vietnam in the future

He is currently the Vietnam leader of the telecommunication and media industry, the field in which English plays an important role worldwide Therefore, he grasps the importance of the English language in national development and what benefits it could bring to the country if becoming a second language These benefits could include enhancing international economic cooperation, attracting more foreign investment, creating more employment for citizens, and joining hands with other countries to secure world stability

His breakthrough idea suggested to the Prime Minister has been strongly supported and highly evaluated by experts in many fields such as education, economy, society, and politics Despite some existing obstacles that prevent this idea from becoming true, Vietnam still has many other supporting features to materialize this proposal These features will be discussed in depth in the following parts and play an essential role in this study

After proposing his proposal to the Prime Minister, he received much feedback from experts in many fields (education, economy, society, linguistics, politics) Most of the comments were supportive, but some showed worries about the possibility of the issue According to interviews

from major and official newspapers in Vietnam, some noticeable and valuable comments from the leading experts about the Minister's idea have been cited as follows:

Dr Pham Van Tinh, the general secretary of Vietnam linguistics organization, stated in his interview with Dr Vu Thi Phuong Anh on the article issued by Vietnam Youth newspaper

(www.thanhnien.vn) that making English become the second language of Vietnam stems from our

goodwill attitude that we would like to integrate with the world in this new era English is now the most popular language globally; however, to become our second language will be another story because it is closely related to the national language policy Hence, it must be agreed upon by the Congress and officialized in legal documents of the state

The original Vietnamese version of Dr Pham Van Tinh’s statement on the article of Youth

newspaper (according to 1031449.html):

https://thanhnien.vn/giao-duc/de-tieng-anh-tro-thanh-ngon-ngu-thu-hai-Mong muốn đó thực ra cũng xuất phát từ một thái độ thiện chí thôi vì chúng ta phải hướng tới hội nhập quốc tế Tiếng Anh hiện là một ngôn ngữ được sử dụng rộng rãi nhất của thế giới nhưng để trở thành ngôn ngữ thứ hai với chúng ta thì lại là câu chuyện vì nó liên quan đến chính sách ngôn ngữ Điều đó phải được đưa vào những văn bản mang tính pháp quy của nhà nước

In line with Dr Pham Van Tinh’s point, Professor Nguyen Minh Thuyet (Editor in chief of Vietnam new general education program) indicated that Vietnam is increasingly integrating deeply with the world, and English is the primary language in international transactions Therefore, it is imperative

to appreciate the role of English in the current context, and to propose English as Vietnam's second language is an excellent idea as it will happen sooner or later in the process of national development However, this issue cannot be totally agreed upon and established by the Government but need Congress's approval Moreover, it is necessary to notice whether it follows Vietnam's constitution, and Congress has the right to approve and pass the law to conduct it The constitution first specified Vietnamese as the national language in 2013, and this is also the first time the national language was clearly stated in the constitution

The original Vietnamese version of Professor Nguyen Minh Thuyet’s statement on the article of

Vietnam Youth newspaper (according to ngon-ngu-thu-hai-1031449.html):

https://thanhnien.vn/giao-duc/de-tieng-anh-tro-thanh-Việt Nam đang ngày càng hội nhập sâu rộng với thế giới và tiếng Anh là ngôn ngữ giao dịch quốc tế nên việc đề cao vai trò của tiếng Anh là hết sức cần thiết và việc đề xuất tiếng Anh là ngôn ngữ thứ hai của Việt Nam trước sau gì cũng xảy ra và phải thực hiện Tuy

nhiên, việc này không thuộc thẩm quyền của Chính phủ mà phải được Quốc hội thông qua Cần phải xem việc này liệu có phù hợp Hiến pháp không, đồng thời cần phải xem thẩm quyền của Quốc hội đến đâu để công nhận ngôn ngữ thứ hai bởi trong Hiến pháp của Việt Nam 2013 thì ngôn ngữ quốc gia chỉ là tiếng Việt và đây là Hiến pháp đầu tiên xác định ngôn ngữ quốc gia

Besides, while discussing the topic “Methods to improve the foreign language teaching and learning quality – particularly English language in the system of general education” with leading educators on December 8th, 2018, the Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha put forth that we need to create an ideal environment to arouse the citizens’ interest in learning and bettering their English He emphasized that foreign language teaching and learning need to be more useful and practical, seriously consider foreign language as a tool to communicate, so we need effective teaching and learning methods for using it in reality, not just for testing and giving scores

or certificates We need to build a community where the citizens can speak English, a learning society where people teach and learn foreign languages from each other to form a sweeping movement in Vietnam to reach the highest goal that most Vietnamese people can speak English fluently one day Schools and Universities, especially ones with programs taught in English imported from other foreign countries, need to start creating small communities among students to encourage them to use English in communication or discussion Along with that, natural science subjects like Maths, Physics, Chemistry can also be taught in English at schools

The original Vietnamese version of Minister Phung Xuan Nha’s statement on the article of Vietnam

Youth newspaper (according to thu-hai-1031449.html):

https://thanhnien.vn/giao-duc/de-tieng-anh-tro-thanh-ngon-ngu-Việc dạy và học ngoại ngữ cần phải thiết thực, ứng dụng, coi ngoại ngữ là công cụ để giao tiếp, học thực chất, tránh tình trạng học đối phó, học vì bằng cấp, chứng chỉ Cần xây dựng một cộng đồng nói tiếng Anh, một xã hội học tập, tạo thành phong trào sâu rộng, người biết nhiều dạy cho người biết ít, không chỉ với học sinh, sinh viên mà cả người trưởng thành, toàn dân đều có thể học ngoại ngữ Cần khơi dậy một môi trường mà ở đó mọi người đều thích nói, thích đọc tiếng Anh Các trường đại học, nhất là các trường đại học công nghệ nhập chương trình của nước ngoài bằng tiếng Anh về giảng dạy và tổ chức các buổi sinh hoạt, thảo luận bằng tiếng Anh Ngoài ra, có thể đưa một số môn học như toán, khoa học

tự nhiên vào giảng dạy bằng tiếng Anh trong nhà trường

Moreover, Travis Steward (academic director of Egroup Education Corporation in Vietnam) indicated in the same interview that when English becomes the second language for Vietnamese, learners can use English to learn other modern programs worldwide, besides their official programs

in Vietnam This will help better their knowledge acquisition, the research ability or researchers in Universities, facilitate the connection with world science research or easily negotiate equally with American and Britain partners when discussing the business agreements To reach the goal, we need to start creating an English-speaking community, forming an English-speaking habit daily at work, business, and science research

The original Vietnamese version of Travis Steward’s statement on the article of Vietnam Youth

newspaper (according to 1031449.html):

https://thanhnien.vn/giao-duc/de-tieng-anh-tro-thanh-ngon-ngu-thu-hai-Khi tiếng Anh là ngôn ngữ thứ hai, người học có thể dùng tiếng Anh để tự học các chương trình giáo dục tiên tiến của thế giới, bên cạnh chương trình chính thức trong nước Điều này

sẽ giúp nâng cao kiến thức, khả năng nghiên cứu của các nhà khoa học và các trường đại học; dễ dàng kết nối với trình độ khoa học chung của thế giới hoặc có thể đàm phán công bằng với đối tác Mỹ và Anh trong thương mại và ký kết hợp đồng kinh doanh Để đi tới đích, bắt đầu từ việc hình thành các cộng đồng nói tiếng Anh, thói quen nói tiếng Anh hằng ngày và thói quen dùng tiếng Anh trong công việc, trong kinh doanh, trong nghiên cứu khoa học song song với tiếng Việt

The necessity for Vietnam to adopt English as the second language in the temporary context

Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia with a history of 4000 years of forming and developing Going through the long history and the fierce wars against colonialism and imperialism to gain absolute independence in 1975, nowadays, Vietnam is one of the countries in the region with the stable development in economy, culture, and society The country also plays a crucial role in guaranteeing the Southeast Asia region's development and security

In terms of diplomacy, Vietnam has set up a relationship with 189 countries worldwide (including

43 Asian countries, 47 European countries, 14 Oceanian countries, 30 American countries, and 55 African countries) The country is also a member of 63 international organizations and 650 non-governmental organizations Among them, there are influential organizations such as Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), United Nations (UN), Association

of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), World Trade Organization (WTO) Recently, Vietnam and the European Council (EC) has signed The European Union Vietnam Free Trade Agreement

(EVFTA) on August 1st, 2020 The agreement will open doors and opportunities for foreign trade

to a growing market of over 95 million Vietnamese consumers Speaking about this special occasion, according to an article by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Finnish Minister Skinnari indicated that:

The agreement offers new opportunities for Finnish companies in Vietnam Finnish expertise is valued in the country thanks in part to our successful development cooperation history However, we need an active approach to realize these benefits I think it is important that Finnish businesses take a close look at the opportunities offered by the agreement

In terms of geopolitics, Vietnam lies on the Indochina Peninsula, with a 3260km long coastline, which facilitates foreign trade with other countries through marine; this geopolitical description is illustrated on map 1

Map 1 The geopolitical position of Vietnam in Southeast Asia

according to www.navytimes.com

About the population, Vietnam has approximately 100 million people (2020), and the working-age population is nearly 72% (according to https://www.statista.com/statistics/711237/vietnam-

working-age-population)

The economic and diplomatic challenges and opportunities of Vietnam make English learning much more essential and necessary One of them is to prepare for the establishment of three special international economic zones at Van Don, Bac Van Phong, and Phu Quoc city to appeal to international corporations and investments Many foreign high technology corporations also make Vietnam their choice to invest in and establish their factories for the long term

Facing the enormous and extensive changes of the 21st century, Vietnam needs to introduce more innovation in high technology, global cooperation mindset and awareness, intercultural communication competence, and good English language ability This is to prepare for global cooperation and make the country an essential bridge for world trade

English is currently taught and used in Vietnam as one of the most popular foreign languages There are four main languages in the foreign language training programs provided by the Ministry

of Education and Training: English – Korean – Japanese – Chinese If English becomes the second language, instead of a foreign language, it will be taught more widely than the other foreign languages to citizens, and all the official documents and announcements will also be in Vietnamese and English language

Besides, when changing English from a foreign language into a second language, the goal of teaching and learning will be much more different than it is at present Therefore, according to the

Foreign Language Scheme 2020 issued by the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training from

2008 to 2020, the target of English teaching has dramatically innovated the final goals of English teaching and learning in Vietnam It indicated that there are six critical missions that the country needs to accomplish during this period:

1 The English language is required to be taught compulsorily in all national schools and Universities

2 Develop and promulgate a detailed 6-level framework for foreign language proficiency levels (the 1st level is the lowest, and the 6th level is the highest), compatible with commonly used international language proficiency levels to serve as a basis for:

• compiling curricula, textbooks, and teaching plans

• building evaluation criteria at each educational level, training level

• ensuring the continuity in foreign language training between education levels

3 Conduct a new compulsory foreign language teaching program in all grades in national schools as follows: graduated primary students must accomplish level 1 (A1) of Common

must accomplish level 2 (A2), and graduated high school students must accomplish level 3 (B1)

4 Construct the English teaching program for ten years, starting from grade 3 to grade 12, compiling textbooks and materials suitable for students in each grade and level All

educational establishments are encouraged to carry out the bilingual curriculum to teach some science subjects such as Math, Physics, Chemistry in English, which simultaneously helps students improve their knowledge in these subjects and their English skills

5 There are two graduation standards for two types of University students:

• For University students whose majors are not about or in the English language, they must accomplish at least level 3 of CEFR in English to be eligible to graduate

• For University students whose majors are about or in the English language, they must accomplish at least level 5 of CEFR They also need to study a second foreign language in their programs (Korean – Chinese – Japanese - French) The time for learning the second foreign language will not exceed ½ the time of learning the first primary foreign language (English language)

6 Innovate methods of testing and evaluation in foreign language training; building question bank data, serving the test and assessment of learners' foreign language proficiency; increase the application of information technology in training for foreign languages; improve the effectiveness of the testing and accreditation of training quality in foreign language subjects

The ultimate goal of teaching and learning English in the 2020 foreign language project given by the Ministry of Education and Training is that 100% of Vietnamese students who graduate from university can use English fluently and achieve at least B1 level in The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

These new standards in this Foreign Language Scheme 2020 aim to improve the citizens' English ability and prepare for the new era of globalization when all countries worldwide cooperate and develop the world economy and security As Jones & Ozâog (1993) put it in their work

“Bilingualism and National Development Multilingual Matters” that every country must have

access to the Language of Wider Communication (LWD) for international relationships and commercial purposes; this language is mainly English because much scientific literature printed in international journals is in English

Today, English language is the lingua franca, many people on the world are learning this language and contribute to the growing numbers of English speakers The growth of bilingual speakers of English is so significant that Graddol (1999:62) stated that English speakers would increase their number from 235 million to nearly 462 million in the next 5 decades, which will lead to a prospect that L2 speakers will finally overtake L1 speakers For that reason, English language preparation

is a necessity that everyone, especially young people, should do at the current stage in the context

of globalization as the world is getting closer together

Research questions

In the current study, the focus will be laid on the possibility of making English the second language

of Vietnam, the difficulties and supporting factors of the issue, as well as the necessary elements

to materialize this through the outlook of young Vietnamese To achieve these aims, the following research questions are formulated as follows:

• Research question 1: From young Vietnamese’s perspective, does the current English teaching and usage in Vietnam have the appropriate conditions/prerequisites for the implementation of the Minister's proposal?

• Research question 2: What do young Vietnamese think of the proposal?

2.1 To what extent do the young Vietnamese agree with the Minister’s proposal? 2.2 From their perspective and in their vision, what are the supporting factors and difficulties of this proposal?

2.3 From their perspective and in their vision, what will they do to contribute to the realization of the proposal?

Potential Contributions

As stated above, there have been lots of feedback from the experts in many aspects, including the comment from the Minister of Education and Training towards the proposal They stated their high expectation, supportive comments as well as strong disagreement on the issue Besides, as Checkoway et al (2003) stated, young people are influential and skilled citizens who can introduce considerable community changes Young people play an essential role in national development; their opinions and perspective are important for policymakers, especially in terms of the national language However, they have not had any chances to raise their voice about this matter Therefore, this study aims to resolve this gap It will focus on researching how young Vietnamese think about the Minister’s proposal, what kind of difficulties preventing this matter from becoming a reality in Vietnam, and how they can contribute to this idea's future possibility Their opinions and this study will mainly help in four aspects:

1 The young people's opinions help the linguists and policymakers understand more about the proposal's difficulties, opportunities, and possibilities As they have had a greater chance to learn in a more modern educational environment, their English programs are much better than those of the previous generations Therefore, their opinions are of vital importance and cannot be underestimated or ignored in the language policy-making process

of making English the second language for the country officially

2 This is a big issue related to the national language, so for the Minister's proposal to come true, more in-depth studies are needed, for example, the study on necessary roadmaps for carrying out the proposal, experimental methods in some key economic regions of Vietnam, and if this is carried out, how it will affect the culture and society of Vietnam The current study contributes only a small part to this matter, but the results obtained from young people's opinions will be essential data for language planners to understand the proposal’s possibility

3 The research also contributes to making the Vietnamese youths better their awareness of English's importance in this era and the Vietnamese Government's interest in English in the current country's context It will inspire them to improve their spirit, motivation, and progress in learning English The research also helps them be more aware of their role in future national development, and English is the key to helping the country open new integration opportunities with the world

4 This study also helps linguists in other countries have more information about Vietnam’s current English usage and the vision of young Vietnamese people about the development

of English in Vietnam

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

To lay a firm foundation for the current topic, four following main themes would be studied in the literature review part:

• A general view of English development and its role in ASEAN

• A general view of English development and its role in Vietnam

• How did Singapore make English an official language?

• The role of young people towards national development

This critical literature review will clarify the importance of the English language in ASEAN and Vietnam and the young people's role in the national development and policymaking process

2.1 A general view of English development and its role in the ASEAN

Nowadays, the English language, the first language of 430 million people and the second one of

nearly 2 billion people worldwide, increasingly confirms its position in any life discipline It is a

bridge to connect people and countries, enhance and stimulate the world trade and international cooperation process Quirk et al (1985:1) described English that “a language – the language – on

which the sun does not set, whose users never sleep.” More importantly, most scientific research

on the world has been mainly carried out and exchanged worldwide in English, giving people in

every country opportunities to learn, apply, and contribute to human knowledge English is also the official language in critical international meetings so that every country can attend and join their hands to tackle unsolved problems, such as poverty, famine, racism, epidemic, environmental pollution, etc

The establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) took place on August

8th, 1967, in Bangkok It is considered one of Asia's most important associations, including 10

Member States: Thailand, The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar,

Vietnam, Laos, Brunei Darussalam Each country in the group has its own national language, which

are Thai, Filipino, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, Mandarin, Tamil, Vietnamese, Laotian,

Burmese, Khmer However, to promote foreign relations among countries in the bloc, enhance

sustainable economic and cultural development accessibly and smoothly, guarantee regional security, at the same time create the linguistic foundation in preparation for cooperating with other parts of the world, delegates at the Bangkok meeting on 1967 stated that English would be the

official language of the Association In terms of this, Kirkpatrick (according to Jenkins et al., 2017:

138) indicated that:

The official promotion of English as the sole working language of ASEAN has provided great impetus to its rapid development as a regional lingua franca In addition, therefore, to the usual motivations to use English, namely to be able to participate in and benefit from modernization and globalization, its official status in ASEAN provides extra motivation for the teaching and learning of English The role of English as a lingua franca across ASEAN

is not, of course, unique The major role of English in today’s world is as a lingua franca That is to say, English is most commonly used as a lingua franca by people who are

multilinguals and for whom English is a shared language In ASEAN, English is typically used as a lingua franca by ASEAN multilinguals for whom English is an additional language Thus, for example, Thais, Indonesians, Filipinos, and Vietnamese will typically use English as a lingua franca with each other This has implications for the development

of English

Besides, he also demonstrated how the English language has been being shaped and perceived by

Asian Especially, a particular focus was put forward on how speakers in 10 Asian countries reflect their cultures in their English use, which is informative for the current research

Moreover, Kirkpatrick (2010: 3-18) also described in his work “The origins of ASEAN and the

role of English” that:

In her study of the process behind this de facto adoption of English as the only working and official language for the original members of ASEAN, Okudaira interviewed a number of key ASEAN figures The three answers listed below are representative of their replies:

1 ‘the idea of English as the common language came out automatically’

2 ‘There has been no regulation for the use of English but it has been used in all the actual situations’

3 ‘we took it for granted’

This description once again emphasized the importance of English for ASEAN and its member countries English is a bridge connecting the member countries of the bloc and helping ASEAN reach out to other regions globally

To sum up this part, all the countries in ASEAN have their national languages, and these languages have a long history of forming and developing However, choosing English to become the official language for the group in all affairs has been one of the most important choices of ten members This decision has made it easier for the association to convey essential messages internally and externally, strengthen the economic and diplomatic development, reach many important agreements and settlements, and effectively address regional issues On the other hand, this also helps the group reach out further, cooperating with more prominent partners like America and Europe Over the 50 years of development, the use of English as the official language in ASEAN has remained unchanged and tends to continue to play an essential role in the group Sung (2012: 24) put that English is praised as a solve-it-all tool for Asian people, whether they want to use it or not Realizing the vital importance of English in the region, many Asian people are currently learning this language, contributing to its significant extension and strength in ASEAN

2.2 A general view of English development and its role in Vietnam

In Vietnam, English teaching and learning has been improved over the past 20 years English is

considered the top foreign language that the Ministry of Education and Training put into official

teaching curriculums for all school grades It is seen as an indispensable tool to help young people

to work and cooperate effectively in this era Many English programs have been introduced and innovated over the years, which has led to a lot of great success for the country in English teaching

and learning One of the most important goals that Vietnam needs to achieve in the 21st century is

to make friends with other countries in the world, join hands and contribute to the world’s peace, economy, and stability To accomplish these targets, the English language is one of the essential prerequisites that Vietnam needs to equip for its people

Realizing that to promote the national economy and culture’s development and cooperate internationally, over the past 20 years, Vietnam has continuously developed and reformed English

teaching for its citizen, especially for young people Crucial projects in English teaching and

science subjects in English have been imported from other developed countries with high ranks in education, such as Cambridge English programs of Britain, Educational Testing Service (ETS) of America (Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC)), Moomin English programs of Finland

Language centers and English clubs have also mushroomed in recent years, creating a dynamic

learning and practicing English environment for people of all ages The Ministry of Education and

Training regularly organizes international standard English competitions for students from grade 1

to University levels, such as Young Learners English Tests (YLE) (Cambridge Starters – Movers – Flyers), Cambridge IELTS and TOEFL Junior, etc

Vietnam has also developed an English learning pathway and applied graduation standards for university students; for example, they need to gain at least level B1 (according to Common

teachers are regularly trained to utilize updated teaching curriculums to catch up with modern English programs

After the constant efforts in developing teaching and learning English in Vietnam for over the past two decades, Vietnam has gained some achievements in this field Some of them are listed below:

1 According to the statistics of www.ielts.org/research/demographic-data, 58.99% of IELTS

test-takers in Vietnam got at least 6.0, and 2.83% of them got 8.0 - 9.0 in the Academic test; 62.05% of IELTS test takers achieved at least 6.0, and 6.64% of them gained 8.0-9.0 on the General Training test Besides, as more and more companies nowadays are asking candidates to get certain English scores, or Universities worldwide need the applicants to gain the required scores on these English international tests to grand them the study admission or scholarships, therefore, passing these tests is one of their ultimate goals in

learning English for the major of learners in Vietnam today For that reason, the need to

learn English to give better performance in these proficiency tests has increased dramatically, which inadvertently gives learners a more explicit purpose and motivation in learning Thereby, it generally enhances the English level for Vietnamese people, helps them reach out to the world to study, work, and promote economic and diplomatic development between Vietnam and other countries

2 According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training

(www.hcm.edu.vn) and Hanoi Department of Education and Training (www.hanoi.edu.vn),

currently, Vietnam has 768 licensed English language centers in Ho Chi Minh City and 855 licensed English centers in Hanoi The number of foreign language centers has increased sharply in recent years, helping learners to have many choices, and their curriculums are constantly being renewed and improved to suit modern trends

3 Based on the UK's Daily Mail statistic, 53.81% of Vietnam's population can speak English, rank third in the region after Singapore (61.08%) and Malaysia (60.3%) This high rate of

English ability makes Vietnam one of the most accessible countries for English speakers to visit

Canh (according to Spolsky et al., 2012) said that in Vietnam, the political and economic

motivations have always been the inspiration for the foreign language education policy This is

clearly shown in recent years when the country's economic situation develops Vietnam has become

a member of influential global organizations, and critical trade agreements have been signed between Vietnam and the European Union (EU), etc Learning and teaching foreign languages also tends to thrive, creating a solid foundation for Vietnam when entering the world's integration and development era

Young Vietnamese also have an awareness of the English language's role in the country's development in the current context They assume it is one of the indispensable tools to integrate with the world and develop the country Therefore, the trend of learning English in Vietnam is getting more substantial years after years It is true if saying that, along with Vietnam's development, the country's necessary and constant English language development is irrefutable

According to many experts, there are two crucial phases in analyzing the development and role of

English in Vietnam: before and after 1986 Before 1986, Vietnam had to face many long wars against empires and colonization: France (1858-1954), America (1954-1975), China (1979) At

that time, Russian was the compulsory foreign language taught in all Universities in Vietnam, especially in the North of Vietnam (also known as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) This is

due to Russia's importance as one of the allies supporting the country to overcome these wars and gain independence in 1975 The English language was mainly taught in the South of Vietnam (also known as the Republic of Vietnam) from 1954 – 1975 because of the US-backed capitalist regime After achieving the independence and reunification of the South and North regions in 1975, Vietnam underwent a subsidy period until 1986 and officially opened its doors for socio-economic

development It has also been a new period of more robust development of English until now

According to the depiction in “Brief History Of English Teaching In Vietnam Education Essay,”

English language in this period was described as follows:

The period from 1986 up to the present is characterized by the rapid growth and expansion

of English in Vietnam This English boom began in December 1986, when at its Six National Congress, the Vietnamese Communist Party initiated an overall economic reform known as Doi Moi (Renovation), opening Vietnam's door to the whole world In the context

of economic renovation and the open-door policy, English becomes the first (nearly and only) foreign language taught in Vietnam

Nowadays, young Vietnamese people are more and more confident to step into the new world cooperation era They have an awareness of their roles toward national and global development, thus pay more attention to English learning than the previous generation to strengthen their intercultural communication skills Besides, trade agreements have been increasingly signed between Vietnam and other international organizations There have been important milestones for

Vietnam joining international organizations and contributing to world development and security,

Association of Southeast Asian

7

The signing of the Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and an Investment Protection Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EU)

August 1st, 2020

In terms of the relation of Vietnam and International Organizations, the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Vietnam is a member of 63 International Organizations and 650 Non-Governmental Organizations globally The common point of these international organizations is that they all adopt English as their primary language in the process of working and cooperating Therefore, to develop and cooperate more closely with these organizations in the present and future stages, Vietnamese people need to have a good spirit of learning English, take it as a mission of each person, and have an orientation to develop

2.3 How did Singapore successfully make English its official language?

Some countries have succeeded in making English their official language or second language in

the South East Asia region, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines In this study's scope,

I will dig deeper into Singapore's successful case in its campaign of adopting English as the

country’s official language

Singapore is also one of ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and one of

five founding members (Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand) Along

with the other four countries, Singapore concurred on the original policy of making English the

official language of ASEAN in 1967

The English language is an indispensable factor in helping many countries open to the world,

attracting international investment, and improving the export-import industry In the Southeast

Asia region, Singapore is one of the leading countries to make English become their official

language According to many linguists, to make this idea come true, Singapore has made a great

attempt to overcome the difficulties because this is a country of diverse cultures, races, and languages and was also one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia in the 1960s after gaining

its independence from the United Kingdom The English language was not highly evaluated in this

country at that time Bokhorst-Heng (1998) indicated in his work that in 1957, only 1.8% of the

Singapore population was able to speak English, and it was not widely used as it is today It was

mainly used for government and law courts’ official work and learned by a small group of educated people, while Chinese, Malay or Tamil languages were preferably spoken by most of the population However, thanks to the firm determination from Singapore’s leaders and citizens, starting from the first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, to reform the country in all aspects and make English the official language, Singapore is now considered as one of the finest economies in ASEAN and attracts billion dollars from international investment annually

Singapore is a multicultural and multiracial country; some of Singapore's main ethnicities are Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, and Indonesian Each ethnic has its own mother tongue and culture, creating a diverse environment in this Asia smallest country However, with many languages' simultaneous existence, how have they successfully made English an official language? The question has attracted many linguists, and many studies have been carried out to shed light on it

The first Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, soon realized that English is a vital tool for

Singapore's development and integration Singapore’s success in adopting English as the country's official language has been not easy to happen At first, the campaign faced considerable opposition

from the citizens According to Bokhorst-Heng (1998), the promotion and spreading of the English language in Singapore encountered much resistance, mostly from the Chinese community, as they

felt it was “an alien language.” Therefore, today’s success results from all Singaporeans'

persistence and strong language policies issued by the Government over the past five decades There are two main reasons behind this determination of the Singapore Government: firstly, English was considered as a significant economic resource, which help Singapore to firmly pose its economic position in all fields (trade and commerce, banking, tourism, education, and research); secondly, the language was a neutral language to get all races in Singapore closer and avoid the discrimination or unfair treatment among them (Bokhorst-Heng, 1998) The country's economic achievements, solidarity, and prosperity proved the excellence of Lee Kuan Yew’s vision many years ago

This Singapore campaign started in education by using English as the official language in schools

of all levels, and competence in English is considered highly important for students to focus on (Deterding, 2007) Through the past five decades, Singapore Government has been so successful

in promoting English that all young Singaporeans nowadays have a competent English level, many

of whom may compare well with the British or American native speakers (Deterding, 2007)

2.4 The role of young people towards national development

Young people have always irrefutably been a vital factor for each country's development in all aspects: economy, politics, culture, society, education, etc Over the past decades, the contributions

of them have helped the world vigorously develop Young start-ups confidently show their youthfulness to contribute to humanity's development, integrate to keep the peace, and enhance the world economy In terms of the role of the young towards national and global development, Hoban

et al (2019) put it in their work “Shifting Power to Young People” that due to their better education,

community networks, eagerness, and innovative spirit than the previous generation, young people should be considered as the country’s pioneers and “must be put in the driving seat for accountability.” Therefore, the young 's position towards the country's matters is undeniable Their opinions give the Government and policymakers a much broader perspective to publish effective policies

Especially in the national language field, they are the ones who acquire and preserve and vigorously develop it Singapore's successful case of making English a second language for the country is mostly attributable to its youth The country has nearly 6 million people with a median age of 34.6

(according to https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/singapore-population) This is a vital

force for Singapore’s economic development and other national issues In the campaign to make English the country's official language initiated by Singapore former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, young Singaporeans have contributed significantly, which has led to this campaign's

enormous success Although the country has initially made English become the second language

to serve the working demand and international cooperation, Singaporean youngsters nowadays frequently use English not only at work but also when communicating with their friends and family According to Deterding (2007), the campaign has been so successful that young Singapore people nowadays are found to learn and use English even more frequently and better than their ethnic language/ mother tongue

In the paper on the topic "Young people, Malay and English in multilingual Singapore," Chong et

al (2014) surveyed 50 young Malaysian community in Singapore about their views and their use

of Malay (their mother tongue) and English Surprisingly, the survey showed that most of them tend to use English as their primary language in communication and daily work According to the answers for one question in the survey: 'What is the language that best defines you as a Singaporean?', 6 chose Malay, 29 stated it was English, and 15 said it was Singlish The study results may happen in Vietnam in the future, as young Vietnamese are also hard-working English learners and always desire to improve their English ability to prepare for the new international integration era Therefore, there should be specific directions to develop English learning in Vietnam in parallel with protecting the Vietnamese language from oblivion, a language with 4,000 years of history

To sum up, the role of the young is of the utmost importance to national development Hughes (2008) indicated that young civils with their innovation power and incredible ability had driven success in the economic and intellectual fields Furthermore, those young fellows usually play a crucial role in bridging people from distinguished backgrounds to reach consensus between communities Therefore, the above literature reviews on their roles towards national development

are essential and significant to clarify the current study's main points

3 DATA AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 Aims and Design of the study

The current study has identified two main research aims First, it seeks to investigate young Vietnamese's opinions towards English teaching and usage in Vietnam in the current phase when the proposal has been made Second, the study aims to examine how young Vietnamese think of the Minister's proposal This aim is to help them raise their voice about their agreement, the supporting factors and difficulties of this matter that they see, and what they wish to contribute to materializing the proposal These aims are reflected in the following research questions:

• Research question 1: From the young Vietnamese’s perspective, does the current English teaching and usage in Vietnam have the appropriate

conditions/prerequisites for the implementation of the Minister's proposal?

• Research question 2: What do young Vietnamese think of the proposal?

2.1 To what extent do the young Vietnamese agree with the Minister’s proposal? 2.2 From their perspective and in their vision, what are the supporting factors and difficulties of this proposal?

2.3 From their perspective and in their vision, what will they do to contribute to the realisation of the proposal?

A mixed-methods approach is mainly applied to resolve the research questions This approach uses quantitative data of their level of agreement towards the proposal and qualitative analysis of the vision, methods, things to do, and the advantages and disadvantages of putting this proposal into

practice A mixed-methods approach enables researchers to create a more detailed data analysis by utilizing each method’s advantages (Ivankova et al., 2006)

3.2 Data Collection and Description

This study's primary focus is to find out young Vietnamese' opinions, so I have to rely on research methods to acquire the answers from them reliably and efficiently Thus, in this case, nothing can

be better than utilizing a questionnaire According to Gillham (2007), questionnaires usually include direct or indirect questions post by researchers to get data from the participants, which does not require so much time for constructing and can help researchers obtain the necessary information quickly and effectively

Both quantitative and qualitative research methods will be expressed through the questionnaire with two kinds of questions: closed-ended questions (on Likert-scale from 1 to 5) and open-ended questions Quantitative research methods are scientific ways to investigate phenomena by gathering quantifiable data to calculate and withdraw the research questions' final answers The results withdrawn from quantitative research methods are always unbiased, logical, and statistical Contrary to qualitative research, the quantitative method is deductive This means the researchers will base on already-known theory to form and develop hypotheses Data collection in quantitative research methods relies mainly on sampling methods and the usage of surveys and polls (structured

data collection instruments) Rasinger (according to Litosseliti, 2010: 52) also stated that the

quantitative method brings researchers a considerable advantage that we can easily compare things

in large number Therefore, this is one of the essential research methods I chose to collect and analyze data to resolve the topic’s research questions

Originated in a long history, qualitative research methods irrefutably play a crucial role in many kinds of scientific research in general and linguistics research Especially, to investigate the meanings and relations of social life, researchers often count on qualitative approaches Saldana et

al (2011: 3) stated that “Qualitative research is an umbrella term for a wide variety of approaches

to and methods for the study of natural social life.” Additionally, based mainly on observation, qualitative research focuses more on the meanings, characteristics, symbols, and descriptions of things (Lune & Berg, 2017: 12) Qualitative research methods are inductive, forming new theories from information gathered (from interviews, observations, focus groups, documents) and analyzed, which can be tested by further research The methods are applied in many academic disciplines, especially in the relation of human, social, and natural sciences They also play the most suitable

role for researching loads of why and how questions of human experience

My target participants for the questionnaire will be young Vietnamese (mainly from 18 to 35 years old) studying and working at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education (HCMUE) There are three reasons for my choice:

1 I have studied and worked at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education for more than five years (2013 – 2018), so I understand its studying and working environment Therefore, I can collect data smoothly through the assistance of my former lecturers and the University Department of Training Also, HCMUE is one of the critical Universities in the southern region of Vietnam; the young people with a chance to study and work here have a good understanding of the country's present and future context, trustworthy political thoughts, and aspirations to develop the country through education and innovation On the other hand,

an essential part of this study is to seek the views on whether the current English teaching

and usage in Vietnam match the Minister's proposal, so they will be the best participants to provide their look at this This is due to the fact that they are the ones who have learned the modern English programs and also being trained to be teachers of those programs in the future

2 The previous studies mainly focused on getting opinions from leading experts, professors, and country leaders Therefore, this is an excellent chance for young people to voice their opinions and express their thoughts towards the proposal

3 Young people play an essential and indispensable role in every country's critical issue, especially the national language Their opinions are necessary for the Government and policymakers when considering the reality of this matter in Vietnam

Since this research is on the national language, to have sufficient and reliable data, the number of participants I expect to collect data will be 100 people (N=100) Besides, there are two versions of the questionnaire for participants: the English version and the Vietnamese version These options help the participants find it easier and more comfortable to conduct the questionnaire if they are not confident in their English ability Their answers in the Vietnamese version of the questionnaire will then be translated and unified with the English version in the Microsoft Excel file for the analysis process

After gathering the responses, data will be analyzed quantitatively (by calculating the mean/standard deviation values) and qualitatively, then giving the final answers to the research questions The questions in the designed questionnaire are divided into four main groups:

• Group A: Your personal information and English learning experience

• Group B: Current English teaching and English usage in Vietnam

• Group C: The Minister's proposal for making English the second language in Vietnam

• Group D: The potential implementation of the proposal in the future

In group A (Your personal information and English learning experience), participants will answer questions about themselves and their English learning experience, the purposes of learning English, and their assessment of the importance of English in their daily life

In group B (Current English teaching and English usage in Vietnam), participants will give their opinions about how English is currently taught and used in Vietnam In this question group, most

of the questions will be on the Likert scale from 1 to 5

The questions in groups A and B will be mainly analyzed to serve the research question 1: “From young Vietnamese’s perspective, does the current English teaching and usage in Vietnam have the appropriate conditions/prerequisites for the implementation of the Minister's proposal?"

The questions in group C (The Minister's proposal for making English the second language in Vietnam) will focus on the participants' attitude, opinion, vision, and agreement level towards the Minister's proposal This group of questions will be analyzed quantitatively to answer the research

question: "To what extent do they agree with the Minister's proposal?" and “From their perspective and in their vision, what are the supporting factors and difficulties of this proposal?”

The questions in group D (The potential implementation of the proposal in the future) will focus

on answering the research question: "From their perspective and in their vision, what will they do

to contribute to the realization of the proposal?" The young people will freely give their solutions

and ways to make this proposal a reality in Vietnam Data in this question group will be analyzed qualitatively to answer the above research question effectively and specifically

3.3 Ethical considerations

According to Padgett (1998), ethical considerations should be followed strictly during the research process There are five criteria regarding ethical considerations I would strictly obey during the study implementation:

1 I will make sure to obtain full permission from the participants for their participation in the survey

2 I will fully allow participants to withdraw at any time if they find themselves uninterested

in continuing the survey

3 Data collected will be kept on a protected personal computer and will only be assessed by myself Storage and use of Data were handled following the Data Protection Act 1998

4 All data collected from participants will be synthesized and analyzed honestly and

precisely to give the most accurate answers to the research topic

5 All political issues will be avoided entirely in the research and during the stage of

gathering data The focus will be mainly put on researching the interests, opinions, and visions of young Vietnamese towards the Minister’s proposal

The above criteria are guaranteed to be taken seriously during the implementation of this research