Internationalisation of Education has become an urgent necessity in Vietnam to enhance the quality of education offer which is required by an economy shifting to a high-skill and innovation based economy.

In May the British Council Vietnam in co-operation with the Ministry of Education and Training held a conference on Internationalisation of Education and English Language Capacity Building for over 90 representatives from Vietnamese education institutions to address a range of important issues relating to the Internationalisation of Education and the role of English in capacity building in Vietnam.

Central to the day’s proceedings were presentations of the findings of comprehensive English language assessments of two tertiary and vocational institutions in Vietnam. These English language assessments were undertaken by the British Council and the University of Bedfordshire, Centre for Research and English Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA). In summary, the assessments show that many of the staff who participated in the audit have a level of English at approximately CEFR level B2 or above. However, there was weakness found in the level of the English of subject teachers, which should be addressed.

The capacity building initiative was then presented in a range of core areas including language proficiency, course design, English for special purposes, teaching methodologies, testing and assessment, and in addition, linking Vietnam and UK institutions and faculties in developing partnerships and sharing best practice.