International Conference on English capacity building for teaching staff

On 15-16/12/2012, the conference with theme “Connecting Global Resources to build English Teaching Capacities in the Northern Midland and Mountainous Area of Vietnam” was organized in Thai Nguyen City by Thai Nguyen University (TNU) and Executive Committee of the National Foreign Language 2020 (NFL 2020) Project- Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). Attendants to the Conference include Mr. Nguyen Vinh Hien, Deputy Minister of Education and Training; Representative of Ministry of Labor, Invalid and Social Affairs; educational experts of American Embassy together with more than 200 participants of leaders and lecturers of English in the region.

The conference focused on some key issues such as: Current status and recommendations in the implementation of the NFL 2020 Project in the region; plans to link training units for improving foreign language capacity in the Northern midland and mountainous areas, especially the English proficiency of teachers. The conference also concentrated on strategies to improve capacities of teaching and learning specialized subjects in English at Thai Nguyen University period 2012-2015; and the role of Thai Nguyen University in connecting the local cultures for the international development.

The implementation of NFL 2020 Project in the Northern Midland and Mountainous region plays an important role in improving the vision and capacity for action research in the area, discover the strategies and possible solutions to guide managers, planners and educators to effectively build and manage programs taught in English, develop the use of English, and to create a strong connection of English teaching professional resources in the area.

Also in the Conference Agenda, many significant activities were carried out with the participation of experts from NFL 2020 Project and American Embassy in Vietnam. With more than 20 presentations originated from the actual administrative work, teaching and policy implementation in English teaching and learning, leaders of Ministry of Education and Training and TNU acknowledged and proposed specific plans for training syllabi as well as incentives for ensuring a successful implementation of the NFL 2020 Project, meeting the demands of connecting international resources to build English Teaching Capacities in the Northern Midland and Mountainous Area of Vietnam.