Primary school teachers in HCMC to be instructed about TOEFL Primary

Chi tiết tin tức

24/07/2014

Ho Chi Minh city, 22/7/2014, HCMC Department of Education and Training held the “Primary school English teaching and learning” workshop for the 2014-2015 school year, with the participation of nearly 1,200 local primary school teachers and officers of local Bureaus of Education and Training. The purpose of this event is to equip the officers and teachers with updated knowledge and modern methods of English teaching and testing for primary schools, before the start of the new school year.

The workshop venue

Research shows that learning a foreign language from a young age will improve children’s brain capabilities, develop their thinking ability and give them an opportunity to use a foreign language as their second language more naturally and effectively. As a result, English teaching and learning in primary schools is gaining interests in non-English speaking countries, who are increasingly investing their resources to build the best teaching and testing programs, and ensure a quality outcome for students’ English skills.

However, there are questions needed to be answered about English teaching and learning in primary schools, such as “What is an effective English learning environment for primary school students?”, “Can the teachers capture their students’ learning psychology?”, “Do the teachers have enough necessary skills to pass on their knowledge in a friendly way, so that their students can learn more effectively?”, and “Are the testing methods appropriate for children and show their true capabilities?”. This is why HCMC always look for ways of applying modern methods and standards, in order to increase the effectiveness of English teaching and learning in the city.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh – Head of Bureau of Primary Education – HCMC Department of Education and Training – giving the opening speech

The workshop provided the participants with helpful presentations by primary school English teachers. Some interesting topics included “Teaching English through math and science – The adventure of the water drop” (Ms. Nguyen Hoang Diem Trang, Nguyen Truong To Primary school, Dist. 4), “Teaching English through Vietnamese culture” (Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet, Lac Long Quan Primary school, Dist. 11), and “Teaching English through storytelling” (Ms. Do Thi Thanh Thuy, Xuan Thoi Thuong primary school, Hoc Mon). The information shared between the teachers is a valuable source to increase the students’ interest in English lessons and their activeness in the classroom, which result in better comprehension.

Mr. Nguyen Phuong Suu – IIG Vietnam’s Vice President in Academic Affairs speaking about TOEFL Primary

Attended the workshop as a guest, IIG Vietnam had a speech on updated information about the TOEFL Primary test. According to HCMC Department of Education and Training’s official letter number 384/GDĐT-VP on 17/2/2014, TOEFL Primary (a test to evaluate primary school students’ English skills) was officially used in the English teaching and learning assessment process in the city. At the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Phuong Suu – IIG Vietnam’s Vice President in Academic Affairs – provided the participants an overview of TOEFL Primary. In addition, to help the teachers and students to get to know and prepare for the TOEFL Primary test, Ms. Tu Thi Minh Thuy – IIG Vietnam’s Education Expert – delivered a detailed presentation called “Introducing TOEFL Primary teaching guide”, in which she proposed some recommendations and instructions to use the guide.

The teacher participants in the workshop addressing their questions to HCMC Department of Education & Training and IIG Vietnam

In the liveliest part of the workshop – Q&A, the participated teachers and officers asked many questions to get to know the TOEFL Primary test and the attached teaching resources better, as well as to prepare for the English teaching program in the new school year. The HCMC Department of Education and Training’s officers together with IIG Vietnam’s representative answered all the questions of the teachers carefully. As the country representative of ETS and the only organization to provide the TOEFL Primary test in Vietnam, IIG Vietnam committed to fully support the HCMC Department of Education and Training and primary school English teachers, with the hope that the primary school students in the city will have the best knowledge and preparation before taking the TOEFL Primary test to gain the best results.