Education in Vietnam is very important. Many students take additional classes after school to get more time to learn or practice in a specific subject. One of those after-school subjects is English class. At the Sun School where I teach, we focus on English education.
You might ask, "Why is English so important?" I wondered the same thing before I got here. I thought, "Why not learn another language, like Spanish, or German, or Chinese, why English?" At first, I wondered if many students truly wanted to learn English or if they had to for school. I found out very quickly that many people want to learn English and for many reasons. Some people want to learn English to meet and talk to tourists who are visiting Vietnam. Some want to strengthen their English skills to get certain jobs or get promoted in their current jobs. Others want to travel to other countries and believe that English is a universal language that will help them to communicate. It is difficult to find English teachers in many rural areas of Vietnam because many English teachers choose to teach in the city due to more resources and job opportunities. Finding a native speaker can be difficult, which means students may not be able to listen or practice with someone who is fluent in English.
