Survey Of Teaching Chinese Language In University In Hanoi, Viet Nam

The21st century is an era of globalization and informatization. Today, mastering a foreign language is a basic condition to become a citizen of the21st century. Mastering a number of foreign languages, especially which are popular international languages, is important for individuals to survive and develop in an environment of fierce competition; an indispensable requirement for international trade and exchanges; a condition to ensure the prosperity and advancement of a nation. Vietnam has been gaining great achievements since implementing its reform policy. In the process of regional and international integration, foreign languages in general and Chinese in particular play an important role in promoting international cooperation in academics and technology transfer. The Asia-Pacific region is considered to be the most dynamic in economic development. Therefore, the role of Chinese language is becoming more important. To open up a new era of comprehensive cooperation with China, Vietnam needs a great number of people who are fluency in Chinese language. Indeed, Chinese has become one of the most important foreign languages in the educational system of Vietnam. New opportunities as well as challenges have been created for universities in Hanoi, which are offering Chinese language courses.Assessing the current situation of education is essential in educational research. Through surveys, it is possible to uncover the drawbacks in education and propose solutions to improve its quality. The author, through collecting information about the current situation of teaching Chinese language in universities in Hanoi, expects to: shed a light on the current situation of teaching Chinese language in universities in Hanoi; provide experts and colleagues with information about lecturers, materials, facilities... in teaching Chinese language in universities in Hanoi; analyze the facts and discover problems in teaching Chinese language in universities in Hanoi; and propose possible policies to cope with the problems.This research is based on secondary data collected from various sources and primary data collected from a survey that uses questionnaires. According to different categories of respondents, the survey is conducted by sending out the questionnaires, face-to-face interview, or through telephone and email. Data are then analyzed to understand the situation of teaching Chinese language in universities in Hanoi.Combining the results of the survey and the socio-economic conditions in Vietnam, the author would like to propose possible policies to improve the quality of teaching Chinese language in universities in Hanoi.The survey revealed that teaching Chinese at universities in Hanoi, Vietnam, has been expanded. In recent years, the number of universities that offer the Chinese language course, the number of Chinese teachers, and the number of Chinese students have increased. The quality of teaching Chinese has also been improved and recognized nationally and internationally. Nevertheless, there are problems with teaching Chinese at universities in Hanoi. Regarding the faculty members, their qualification has been improved but is still low. There is only slight increase in the proportion of the teachers that hold PHD or professorship. The teacher-student ratio remains low. Regarding training curricular, some courses are too short to meet the demand of students. There is little involvement of foreign experts in designing the training curricular. Regarding textbooks and training materials, most of them are from China, which do not suit Vietnamese students. Training equipment is in shortage. To deal with these problems, this research proposes the followings:qualifying and improving the quality of Chinese teachers; arranging an appropriate number of students in each class; raising the class hours for Chinese language courses; producing textbooks which as suitable for Vietnamese students; investing in facilities and teaching equipment; and promoting exchange and international cooperation in teaching Chinese language.