Students perform a historical musical in English at a contest held by the HCM City Department of Education and Training. —VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The HCM City People’s Committee has approved a plan on implementing the national project to make English a second language in schools for the period 2025–2035, with a vision towards 2045.

The plan aims to improve the quality of English language teaching and subjects taught in English, train high-quality human resources, and develop a generation of global citizens capable of deep international integration.

It ensures that English is used widely, consistently, and effectively across teaching, educational activities, communication, administration, and professional development.

It seeks to establish an English-language ecosystem that aligns with the national roadmap.

The city will focus on eight task groups, including raising awareness of the role of English in education and integration, refining mechanisms and policies to build on the city’s existing English teaching foundation, develop the teaching workforce and enhance their foreign language proficiency and pedagogical skills for instruction in English, and design English-taught curricula and integrated programmes starting from preschool.

Innovating teaching, testing, and assessment methods, accelerating the application of advanced technology and AI, alongside infrastructure development, strengthening international cooperation, socialisation, and public-private partnerships, launching practical and effective emulation and reward campaigns are also included.

The plan will be executed in three phases.

In the first phase from 2026 to 2030, the city will prepare the necessary conditions for implementation.

In the second phase from 2031 to 2035, the city will mobilise all available resources to carry out the plan, aiming to meet annual targets as scheduled.

In the third phase from 2036–2045, the city will refine the conditions and resources required for sustainable development. 

The Department of Education and Training will take the lead in organising and monitoring the execution of the project, as well as developing annual guidelines for the implementation of the plan’s objectives. — VNS