The education ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Cambridge to set up European standards for English learning and teaching in Vietnam. 

Developing director Duncan Rayner of Cambridge ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) said the institute will also support the Ministry of Education and Training by equipping teachers with English teaching methodology as well as ways of assessing students’ language skills in accordance with the university’s standards. 

The cooperation is part of the ministry’s “Project for Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the 2008-2020 period”. 

Approved by the government last year, the project seeks to have all high school graduates able to communicate in English confidently, or get 3.5 to 4.5 out of 9 in an IELTS test. 

The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is managed by the University of Cambridge ESOL, the British Council and the Melbourne-based IDP Education Pty Ltd. 

Source: VietNamNet/Thanh Nien