English Tertiary Education in Vietnam

James Albright, James Albright

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351814645
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft

As part of a long series of Vietnam's policy objectives, English education has been identified as key to improving the quality of its rapidly expanding tertiary institutions and is crucial to the larger aim of modernising and internationalising its economy. Bringing together a wide range of Vietnamese and foreign English education scholars, and tertiary educational practitioners, this book documents the significant progress and challenges in the realisation of Vietnam's English language policies as they are enacted in the higher education sector. Changes to Vietnam's higher education system remain unstable, unsystematic, and insubstantial. This book provides insights into how recent Vietnamese government policy is providing for a substantial and comprehensive renewal of Vietnam's tertiary education as part of their 2020 plan. Academics and students of English education, language policy, and nation building within the context of increased globalisation and marketisation in developing nations and Vietnam, in particular, should find this book valuable.

1 Vietnamese foreign language policy in higher education

A barometer to social changes

Lam Thi Lan Huong and James Albright

Vietnam’s language policy demonstrates a close alignment to its socio-political frames. Throughout its history, Vietnamese governments have had varied responses to powerful foreign interventions. Historical shifts in Vietnamese policy responses to dominant external powers have determined the instructional medium used in its tertiary institutions. Commencing with the Chinese invasion in 110 BC, Vietnam has managed the various foreign languages that have been introduced into Vietnamese higher education. At present, the Vietnamese government’s current internationalisation policy affects its choice of English as the official foreign language in its higher education system.

This chapter provides a history of Vietnamese foreign language policy in higher education. Each period of Vietnamese history has led to socio-political changes. In this chapter, we argue that its educational language policy is a barometer for these socio-political changes. Vietnamese higher education has long been influenced by external factors exerted by other dominant cultures (Fry, 2009; Hoa & Tuan, 2007). Each change in Vietnam’s foreign language instruction and higher education has reflected a shift in the social, economic, and political policy of the country (Do, 1996; Pham & Fry, 2004). In its history, Vietnam’s foreign language policy and higher education have been influenced by and shifted according to the dominance of three countries: China, France, and Russia (Welch, 2010). Post-independent Vietnam’s Doi Moi policy (1986), which opened the country to international commerce and engagement with the West, has once more realigned its language policy. English is now the dominant foreign language of Vietnamese higher education.

The influence of Chinese Confucianism

The first and most abiding influence in Vietnam’s higher education system came from China. Confucian ideals remain central to Vietnamese culture and education. China ruled Vietnam for a thousand years, from 111 BC to AD 938 and “Vietnamese education was in Chinese and followed the Chinese model” for some time after that period (Wright, 2002, p. 226). During the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, Mandarin and Chinese calligraphy became essential tools for civil administration and other different areas such as economics and culture; however, it was only taught to a few Vietnamese in service to the Chinese feudal government (Giáp, 2006). Language during this period was an important instrument of power and supported Chinese feudal rule in Vietnam.

After the country gained its first period of independence in AD 938, Chinese economic and cultural influence remained strong (Hoa & Tuan, 2007). Mandarin was used in daily life as a means of communication and for economic transactions with Feudal China (Wright, 2002). To reinforce its newly gained independence, Vietnam maintained and increased its use. Feudal China never abandoned its intention to conquer Vietnam and turn Vietnam into a Chinese province. During the period of the Ly dynasty (1009–1225) and Tran dynasty (1225–1400), Feudal China attempted to invade Vietnam several times.¹ Vietnam’s Ly-Tran dynasty’s (1009–1400) language policy promoted the continued use of Mandarin as the official language of the country (Giáp, 2006). Mandarin was the formal medium of instruction and the language of examination (Bianco, 2001; Hac, 1993). Chinese Confucianism became an essential ideological tool for the establishment of a centralised government following the imperial Chinese model, as well as the basic principle of national governance (Đặc trưng tư tưởng văn hoá thời Lý Trần, 2015). In alignment with its political and economic growth, Vietnamese culture flourished with a Chinese voice. Important Vietnamese works of art and literature from this period, written in Mandarin, taught and retaught over the millennia, ensured that Confucianism remained deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture (Fry, 2009) and its education system.

Chinese imperial rule and the strong influence of Chinese Confucianism on Vietnamese education was reflected in the importance of learning and the respect for teachers, scholars, and mentors (Fry, 2009; Hoa & Tuan, 2007; T. K. Q. Nguyen, 2011; Welch, 2010). The Royal College (Quoc Tu Giam) – the oldest recorded institution of higher education in Southeast Asia, which was built in 1076 – is illustrative of the importance of Confucianism in Vietnamese education (Pham & Fry, 2004; Welch, 2010; Wright, 2002). This institution originally provided “moral education and training to the sons of dignitaries” (Sloper & Le, 1995, p. 43). Gradually, the Royal College became an “incubator for bureaucratic scholars” who would work for the Vietnamese state (T. K. Q. Nguyen, 2011, p. 126). Every 4 years, male scholars from all walks of life and from all over the country went through a civil service examination. This examination involved several rounds, with progressively more difficult levels that reduced the number of participants. Those male scholars who won regional exams would compete in a final exam. Membership in ruling elites would be awarded to successful scholars who would be assigned to important positions within the Vietnamese state (London, 2011). The Tran dynasty (1225–1400) and its successors continued to employ Mandarin in education. Again, the language of instruction and assessment illustrated a strong tie to Vietnam’s political and social policy frames, and was as a powerful tool of governing.

In the thirteenth century, scholars developed Nom letters or “southern script” – a Vietnamese writing system largely based on Chinese calligraphy (London, 2011, p. 8; Pham & Fry, 2004) – to record the language of the Vietnamese nation. The development of Nom signalled a push for greater socio-cultural and political independence from China and the strengthening of national identity. Initially, Nom was just characters used to transcribe foreign words or proper Vietnamese names that Mandarin could not express (Giáp, 2006). As the system of Nom letters was further developed, the two writing systems were used simultaneously. Chinese calligraphy was used as the language of law and government, while the Nom script was used for Vietnamese culture. By the thirteenth century, Nom was popularised by the poet Nguyen Thuyen (later renamed Han Thuyen). Some other classical Vietnamese authors who used Nom were Nguyen Si Co, Tran Nhan Tong, Mac Dinh Chi, and Chu Van An (Đặc trưng tư tưởng văn hoá thời Lý Trần, 2015). The Nom writing system was not fully developed until the seventeenth century, which was marked with popular poems by Ho Xuan Huong. However, during this period, Chinese calligraphy continued to be used by elite bureaucrats. Seven hundred years after Chinese occupation, Mandarin and Chinese calligraphy remained a profound influence on Vietnamese society.

In the seventeenth century, Vietnamese scholars, with the help of a French missionary, developed a “relatively simple Romanised Vietnamese script” known as Quoc Ngu (Wright, 2002). In order to promote Christianity, French missionaries developed Quoc Ngu to evangelise the Vietnamese. Many illiterate Vietnamese were unfamiliar with Nom characters, which made it an ineffective means to proselytise Christianity. The accessibility of alphabetic Quoc Ngu (Giáp, 2006) led to its eventual adoption throughout Vietnam (Pham & Fry, 2004, p. 202). With the introduction of Quoc Ngu, along with Vietnamese Nom and Chinese calligraphy, the three writing systems co-existed in practice. Day-to-day, Vietnamese people spoke mutually comprehensible dialects (Nguyen Nhu Phong, 1995, cited in Wright, 2002). The employment of Quoc Ngu, although having many of the advantages of the Latin alphabet, was confined to religious documents and communication among Vietnam’s small Christian community (Giáp, 2006). Not until two centuries later did Quoc Ngu become a useful tool of French colonialism.

The influence of French colonialism

In 1858, the French colonial regime assumed rule in Vietnam. The French Navy first landed in Da Nang port and then invaded Saigon. In 1862, King Tu Duc ceded Saigon and three neighbouring provinces to France. In 1869, France occupied the next three provinces to form the Cochinchine colonial territory. By 1885, France invaded the remainder of Vietnam. France claimed “protection” of northern and central Vietnam, where they continued to maintain the Nguyen emperors (Thoi Phap thuoc, 2016). Under the French regime, three languages – French, Vietnamese, and Mandarin – and four writing systems – French, Quoc Ngu, Nom, and Chinese calligraphy – were used in Vietnam. Under colonial rule, French became the premier language, weakening long-established Chinese dominance in administration, economy, and education. “The elitist modern educational system which privileged the French language” replaced an educational system that was still influenced by Chinese Feudal Confucianism (Pham & Fry, 2004, p. 203). French colonialism also increased the importance of Vietnamese. The French colonial language policy focused on assimilation, both in terms of language and culture. This policy encouraged the Vietnamese to use the French language and to accept French political and cultural influences, which supplanted Mandarin and minimised the influence of Chinese culture in Vietnam.

The employment of French in government and education limited the use of Mandarin and Chinese calligraphy (Giáp, 2006). To spread the use of French and expand the influence of French culture, as a means of strengthening its colonial regime, the colonial government in Vietnam had to use Vietnamese as a translation medium. To this end, the Vietnamese language and Quoc Ngu, formerly confined to religious documents and used among Christian Vietnamese, gradually became a common medium of instruction. The French government permitted the teaching of Quoc Ngu and the Vietnamese language in schools. Mandarin was abandoned in village schools, as these schools were merged into provincial schools that taught Quoc Ngu. In 1865, the Gia Dinh newspaper was established to promote the policy of using Quoc Ngu (Vy, 2011). As an official newspaper of the French colonial regime, it was a powerful tool to enlist the support of the Vietnamese elites and masses. All government documents and correspondence between the Nguyen dynasty and the French government were to be written in Quoc Ngu (Giáp, 2006).

But, the colonial administration used Quoc Ngu and the Vietnamese language as a translation medium with reluctance. Before the August Revolution in 1945, Quoc Ngu was only taught in the first grade. In the second and third grade, Quoc Ngu and the French language were taught in tandem. From grade four to high school, French became the sole medium of instruction. The colonial government intended that French be the privileged language in Vietnam. The colonial education system was designed to train a small number of Vietnamese to become functionaries. As a consequence, the higher education sector during Vietnam’s colonial period was small (Kelly, 2000; Pham & Fry, 2004; Wright, 2002). Although French was the official language, this period was characterised by “a mixed education system with French schools, Franco-Vietnamese schools and Confucian feudalist schools and classes existing side by side” (Hac, 1991, p. 6). Nevertheless, the official examinations for the whole education system were administered in French by colonial authorities. French was required to “gain access to social mobility” (Do, 1996, p. 32).

Between 1919 and 1942, the colonial administration established several tertiary education faculties which specialised in Natural Sciences, Medicine, and Agriculture. These faculties later constituted the first Southeast Asian university in modern times, the University of Indochina (Pham & Fry, 2004; Welch, 2010; Wright, 2002). This university also served Laotian and Cambodian students, two other French colonies in the Indochina peninsula. As a tool of colonialism, the University of Indochina did not enjoy a robust academic environment or institutional autonomy. The students did not have access to international sources of scientific knowledge or technological innovation. Students were trained in the basic skills essential to the purposes of French colonialism (Nguyen, 2011).

French colonial language policy did not go unchallenged. Some Vietnamese intellectuals considered Quoc Ngu and French instruction as a colonial imposition on Vietnamese society and culture and as a medium of Christian indoctrination. They sought to maintain the Chinese language and writing system. Other Vietnamese intellectuals soon recognised the important role of Quoc Ngu in the modernisation of their country. They embraced the effectiveness of education via the medium of the mother tongue. In 1938, 95% of the Vietnamese population was illiterate (Giáp, 2006). That year, an organisation to spread the use of Quoc Ngu was founded to reduce illiteracy among Vietnamese people. Before the August Revolution in 1945, this organisation helped lift 70,000 Vietnamese people out of illiteracy (Giáp, 2006). This mass literacy campaign was an important milestone in the development of Vietnam’s language policy.

The use of Chinese calligraphy, French, and Quoc Ngu played a role in the development of Vietnam. While some Vietnamese intellectuals used Mandarin and Chinese calligraphy to resist the imposition of French colonisation, the education system had a role in preparing most of the Vietnamese revolutionary elite and connecting the country to global political, economic, social, and cultural flows. Other Vietnamese intellectuals promoted the use of Quoc Ngu as an effective means to popularise modernisation and develop a sense of national identity. The employment of these three languages in educational policy demonstrated the strong link between foreign language instruction, power, and culture in Vietnam during this period.

Foreign language policy after the August Revolution

From 1945–1954, Vietnam underwent several important turning points. In August 1945, the Revolution gave birth to the Vietnam Democratic Republic. Despite the formation of several colleges in revolutionary-held areas in the North, the development of the tertiary sector during this period was slow. These colleges offered essential fields of study such as Pharmacy, Medicine, or Pedagogy (Fry, 2009). It was during this period that Vietnamese language was made the medium of instruction in Vietnamese schools (Ministry of Education, 1990). The first action of the Revolutionary government was to declare Vietnamese language the official language of the nation.

The return of the French after the Second World War held back the development of Vietnamese higher education. This period was characterised by Vietnamese resistance to the resumption of French colonial rule. The French controlled urban areas, where French was the official language of education; Vietnamese Viet Minh – an organisation led by the Indochinese Communist Party founded in 1941 – occupied mostly remote and rural areas and promoted the use of the Vietnamese language. During this time, there were centres for teacher training in Thanh Hoa, and Medicine and Pharmacy in Viet Bac (Sloper & Lê, 1995). Although the provision of higher education in this period was retarded, the use of the Vietnamese language as a medium of instruction marked an important point in the language’s history. For the first time in the history of the nation, Vietnamese people had the right to use their own language for education, and this represented an achievement in its struggle for independence. Language policy had demonstrated its vital role in social and political change.

The partition period 1954–1975 and influence of Russia and the United States

The historical milestone of the Dien Bien Phu victory and the Geneva Treaty of 1954 ended French neo-colonialism on the Indochina peninsula. French was no longer an official language of Vietnamese education (Nguyen, 2011). In accordance with the Geneva Treaty, Vietnam was separated into two states under the patronage of the two rival military blocs. This initial temporary separation lasted longer than was originally planned because the Southern Vietnamese government refused to hold elections. As the subsequent civil war between the North and the South escalated, most young people were enlisted to fight. Education was given a low priority, as resources were reserved for the war. Higher education institutions moved to safe areas in the mountains or forests. This period marked a difficult stage in the country’s development and a standstill in education (Wright, 2002).

The two Vietnamese states followed different policy orientations in line with their alliances: the North with the USSR and Chinese, and the South with the United States and her allies (Denham, 1992). These political divisions had a great influence on the foreign language policies of the two states. There were two different systems of higher education, each “politically allied with a world superpower” (Hoang, 2011, p. 8). With the assistance from the USSR and the Eastern Bloc, the educational system in the North was influenced by the Soviet education model. The Vietnamese language became the medium of instruction across all educational levels, while Russian and Chinese were promoted as the predominant foreign languages taught in its system (Bianco, 2001; T. H. Do, 1996; Pham & Fry, 2004). Thousands were sent to Russia and China to study, and returned to hold important positions in the Vietnamese go...