Why English, not French in Vietnam?
― The colonial track of English usage ―
BY
Erika Sakaguchi
A SHORT PAPER
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF FOREIGN STUDIES
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE OF
WORLD ENGLISHES SEMINAR 1
Kumamoto Gakuen University Foreign Language Department
English Course
SUPERVISOR: Judy Yoneoka
Kumamoto Gakuen University
Oe 2-5-1 Kumamoto
Japan
12/31/2005
This paper consists of approximately 1222 words
Why English, not French in Vietnam?
－ The colonial track of English usage –
Erika Sakaguchi
概要
今日、政治・経済、科学、情報技術など様々な分野において英語が世界共通語
としてかなり重要な位置を占めている。この国際ネットワークでわたしたちを繋ぐコミ
ュニケーションに欠かせない存在が英語なのである。特に、東南アジア諸国は、グロー
バル化と経済力の急速な発展の両方でもっとも注目すべき地域の一つだ。その東南アジ
アには、共通点が大きく二つある。まず、過去に植民地時代を経験したこと、そして現
在劇的に成長している経済力である。人々は、生活する中でそのライフスタイルを連続
させ守っていくべきものと、変化させて適応していく環境をつくってきた。わたしは、
そのベトナム戦争後の歴史がまだ浅い、ベトナムについて調べた。フランスの植民地
化・アメリカの影響力と、今日の経済情勢との二つの観点から、なぜベトナムではフラ
ンス語ではなくて英語が使用されるようになってきたのか、ということについて触れて
みた。
I
Introduction
Today, in Southeast Asia1 there are several varieties of English, which are
called ‘New Englishes’. This is because the more technology and globalization has
progressed and diffused, the more English plays an important role in the world. In
addition, each country has some socioeconomic factors to distinguish the position of
their Englishes; for example, a linguistic profile, the coverage of information technology,
the literacy rate, international affairs, etc. Southeast Asian countries are multi-racial,
multi-cultural, and multi-linguistic; therefore, they are all different and unique, which
means people coexist with the differences there.
Of course, it is now important to teach and learn English in Vietnam. There are
mainly two factors that make up today’s English in Vietnam: the influence of colonial
period by France and the power of U.S., and the present status of English. What is the
track of English in Vietnam historically? Why is French not used as a foreign language?
Why English at all?
1
Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao P.D.R., Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam
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Why English, not French in Vietnam?
－ The colonial track of English usage –
Erika Sakaguchi
II
Language condition in Vietnam
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is one of the countries in Southeast Asia,
and is located in Indochina. Vietnam shares borders with Lao P.D.R., Cambodia, China,
and the South China Sea faced to the east.
(from http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/vm.html)
Of course, the official language is Vietnamese, mainly spoken in Vietnam itself,
as well as the U.S., Cambodia, China, France, and various other countries in the world.
Additionally, it is the mother tongue for 90% of people in Vietnam. In terms of language
use in Vietnam, English is very important in achieving a great success of globalization
at this moment. The next chapter gives some answers from some historical point of
view that English in Vietnam is strongly connected to the colonial period.
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Why English, not French in Vietnam?
－ The colonial track of English usage –
Erika Sakaguchi
III
The colonial history in Vietnam
Historically, English was not so important in Vietnam as it is today; English did
not hold a key position in the development of Vietnam until recently. One reason is that
French occupied Vietnam for about 60 years, which began in 1885 and ended in 1945.
At that time, the French influence on the Vietnamese education system was very strong
as even French teachers taught English. In the period of the 1960s and 1970s, Indochina
(=Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in some narrow sense) was in much political instability
and war. Since Vietnam was occupied by France, there were a lot of foreign forces to
Vietnam that its identity was shaped. It was the early 20th century when
well-French-educated Vietnamese politically started the anti-colonial movements, trying
to struggle for their forces. Then, Japan occupied Vietnam during WWII which caused
more complicated and stirred condition of nationalism. Through all these conflicts and
anti-colonial struggle, they failed to control; i.e., Vietnam won independence from them
Also, Vietnam was the place of the Vietnam War. This fact has something to do with the
language history that people in Vietnam use English as a foreign language.
Nonetheless, it was when Vietnam became independent of France that Vietnam
recognized the importance of English early in its history. Furthermore, there were a lot
of changes in the outside world, which made it necessary for the Vietnamese to learn
English in addition to French. Afterwards, U.S. considerably demanded to increase the
need and the learning of English: U.S. involvement in Vietnam replaced the French
influence as the leadership. Between the end of the Vietnam War and the political
changes in Eastern Europe, Russian was popularly used instead as the majority of
foreigners at that time were Russian-speaking. In spite of this tendency, one of the
reasons that English had become to use quite widely is U.S. power to control Vietnam
was fairly steady and dominant. According to Denham (1997:62), “since 1989 English
has been used quite widely in Vietnam, not only between Vietnamese and
English-speaking foreigners (who are not necessarily native-speakers of the language)
but also between one Vietnamese and another.”
These movements have lead to the present-day situation that English plays a
significant role in Vietnam; namely, there is a connection between the postcolonial
heritage and the use of English. The Vietnamese adapted the colonial demands through
the post-colonial heritages to their own life style, particularly to their language use for
sociolinguistic factors.
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Why English, not French in Vietnam?
－ The colonial track of English usage –
Erika Sakaguchi
IV
The status of English in Vietnam
Educational situation
Within the entire region of Vietnam, the government has stressed the
importance of English. Consequently, in terms of ELT, there have been many
continuities and changes to learn English as a foreign language to the wider world.
While the teaching English in Vietnam has attempted to improve, there are still many
problems faced, such as a shortage of foreign aid, practical materials, and teachers and a
lack of government’s support.
According to Ho Wah Kam (online), some generalizations on ELT in Southeast
Asian countries are seen in the continuities and changes. There is a fact that all of the
countries attempted to improve and change teaching strategies and methodologies,
regardless of ESL or EFL classification. For instance, there is a difference of the time
that English is introduced in school curriculum: in EFL countries they introduce English
as a subject in the primary grades, which is much earlier than before as in ESL countries.
This is one of the continuities that have been improved. On the other hand, there are
changes in the ELT curriculum that emphasizes the improvement of integrated skills and
ability for communication. These are facts making generalizations.
Economic situation
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is a good example that tells
us the importance of English in Southeast Asia. ASEAN consists of the 10 countries and
their influence of economy on the market worldwide is now substantial. What it
achieves is to make it possible to communicate with all the countries by using English
as an official language of ASEAN. On this point, Le Van Canh (2000) states,
The economic open-door policy pursued by the Government of Vietnam has
increased the demand for English-speaking people who are expected to be
competent to communicate verbally with the outside world and to access
technology. English has been made compulsory in the secondary school
curriculum. Moreover, in 1995, the Prime Minister issued a Decree, according
to which personnel working in Government agencies have to be able to
communicate in English.
Thus, with Southeast Asia’s dynamic economic growth, they have more
occasions to contact with people not only in each country itself but also in other foreign
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Why English, not French in Vietnam?
－ The colonial track of English usage –
Erika Sakaguchi
countries. The international network has been getting wider and more meaningful.
Vietnam has been increasing investment and support from foreign countries throughout
the post-colonial history. As one of the examples, the U.S. is now a main partner for
Vietnam’s trading which is one of the advantages. As a result, these facts economically
made varieties of changes and benefits to Vietnam, in terms of the intranational and/or
international relationship.
V
Conclusion
As seen in each chapter, the influence of the colonial period of France and the
mandatory power of the U.S. are related to a condition of Vietnam in each era. Also,
there is a connection between these factors and the present use of English, which is very
important for the rapid economic development in Vietnam as well as in other Southeast
Asian countries. With the movements, Vietnam emphasizes the importance of teaching
English and improves its teaching style in school. English will surely become more
important and function wider in the world from now on too.
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Erika Sakaguchi
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