From encouragement, advice...

Overcoming the “label” of a technical school with poor English skills, very few students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology are late in receiving their degrees due to not meeting foreign language standards. The reason given by this school is that in addition to knowledge, the school focuses on foreign language training, helping students to be ready to participate in the high-level labor market and international integration.

Mr. Bui Hoai Thang, Head of Training Department, said that to promote English learning, the school sets thresholds for each level/each academic year according to the teaching roadmap. Students must meet the foreign language output standards before receiving their graduation project, so that upon completion of the project, they will receive their graduation certificate immediately.

“The school organizes English courses and provides students with copyrighted learning tools, combined with enhanced English courses, to help them have more learning opportunities,” said Mr. Thang.

The Head of Training Department, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology said that the school's foreign language centers also have many enhanced activities such as clubs and supplementary activities.

Mr. Thang advised students, especially those majoring in engineering, to study foreign languages ​​continuously, quickly complete foreign language courses, and meet output standards; at the same time, they must utilize their youth to accelerate the learning process, create motivation for themselves to study so that they can acquire the best human knowledge and have the opportunity to work in a global environment. If they have difficulty in learning foreign languages, they should boldly ask for help from the school, friends, student associations, or youth unions.

At the National Economics University, Mr. Le Anh Duc, Deputy Head of the Training Management Department, said that the school's solution is to widely disseminate to candidates about output standards and school regulations during the admission consultation process and students' early-term activities.

For students who do not have an international English certificate, after enrolling, the school will organize an entrance English classification test according to international standards, which will serve as a basis for helping them build a learning path that meets output standards.

“We build intensive English training programs according to international standards to train students who have not met the output standards; at the same time, we organize 1-1 consultation and orientation for each student to have a reasonable learning path. Students can choose to register for a study program that suits their level,” said Mr. Duc.

The National Economics University also organizes regular English tests to classify, evaluate and give early warnings to students. “We coordinate with international English organizations to organize IELTS exams at the school to create the most favorable conditions for students,” said Mr. Duc.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, Head of Training Department of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, the school tries to support in many ways to help students meet output standards in foreign languages.

“Rather than waiting until the end of the training process to check and review this, the University of Technology regularly reviews and guides the roadmap for students - in which at each stage, they must reach a certain level of foreign language proficiency to continue studying. For example, when students have not reached the required foreign language proficiency, the school will not allow them to register for too many courses, combining reminders and communication so that students spend more time studying English,” said Mr. Hung.

He added that in the coming time, the school will promote a number of solutions, such as providing a roadmap for each semester for students to meet the output standards upon graduation. "If you wait until the last 1-2 semesters to study, you won't be able to keep up," Mr. Hung said.

“We are trying to quantify those pathways as best as possible. The data is already available in the system. For example, what semester a student is in, how many credits/points they have accumulated, and what level of English they should be at that point. Limiting credit/subject registration is also a solution, because then students are forced to spend time studying and reaching a certain level of English.”

In addition, Hanoi University of Science and Technology also seeks to create more foreign language environments for students. “We try to internationalize by attracting more international students to the school and inviting foreign lecturers to teach. Union and Association organizations organize more English-related clubs. The school also has a center specializing in foreign language training to support weak or needy students,” said Mr. Hung.

A representative of the University of Commerce informed that the school’s regular solution is to increase the encouragement of students to meet foreign language output standards. The school also has a vocational skills training center linked to the English center, supporting students to study in the evenings to enhance and prepare for exams.

“Because it is an affiliated unit of the school, the courses have more preferential fees than when students register to study outside,” he said, adding that the school will maintain the output standards in English and even have higher requirements in the future to continue to improve the quality of training.

... to "strong" measures

Dr. Nguyen Tan Tran Minh Khang, Vice Principal of the University of Information Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University), said that the school has regulations on foreign language standards that must be achieved each semester. If students do not meet these standards, they will be limited in registering for specialized courses.

The school also has a scholarship policy to encourage students to achieve international language certificates early; at the same time, there is an automatic early warning system for individuals who do not achieve them. In parallel, the school's Foreign Language Center organizes many forms of teaching during and outside of regular school hours to help students supplement their foreign languages ​​if they do not meet the standards. The Center also builds a digital lecture system to help students self-study online to consolidate their foreign language knowledge and skills outside of direct class hours.

However, according to Mr. Khang, students need to realize the importance of foreign language skills - which is a necessary condition for future career advancement, and from there have a long-term study plan for each day, week, month, and year from the time they enter university until graduation. After that, they need to persevere in studying to achieve the skills according to the plan; register to participate in certification exams to self-assess their level each year.

At Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, Mr. Thai Doan Thanh, Vice Principal, said that the school has a foreign language department and center, a foreign language training and testing center to organize 6-level English proficiency tests. The school creates multiple channels and has many choices for students. In addition to English, students can follow Korean, French, or Japanese standards. In addition, the school has a policy of exempting and reducing tuition fees for review and exams held at the school.

“Every month we remind students on the system. This is like a warning, a continuous catalyst for students to pay more attention,” Mr. Thanh said, hoping that students will make efforts to meet the required standards, avoiding losing career and job opportunities.

“The foreign language output standard is a mandatory requirement, the school will not reduce it, so students must have a roadmap to equip themselves, it is best to achieve it from year 1, year 2 so that later time can focus on studying the major,” Mr. Nguyen Trung Nhan, Head of Training Department, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, affirmed.

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