Interesting question, Paul! Not sure about deliberate decisions but, undoubtedly, language is a form of symbolic capital and can index distinction (pace Bourdieu)
Bourdieu, Pierre. (1991). Language and symbolic power (Gino Raymond & Matthew Adamson, Trans.). Cambridge: Polity.

Sounds a bit like the way women have been incorporated into the professions: even if they get the same jobs, their tasks are subtly different and always clustered in the areas that are less exciting, get less recognition, are considered less worthy 🙁 … but there is hope and all of us have a responsibility to strive for greater equality

Do you think perhaps that over the centuries decisions were deliberately taken to ensure a level of complexity in the language’s structure and in its upper class accent(s) so that the hoi polloi and the Proles know their place and stay there – except for a few gifted linguists at Her Majesty’s dining table, who by virtue of their rare talent attend, for example, Ingrid’s academy???

To be honest, my major concern is not about the unequal benefits we have. Apart from employing native English teachers, there are many ways to help students increase language exposure, especially with the advancement of technology, we can learn authentic English much easier than before. As compared to 20 years ago, local English teachers have become much more professional than before. Many of them obtained their qualifications in English-speaking countries. When they go back to the local workforce, they become local teachers. While both types of teachers are equipped with the same language teaching knowledge, why should the local teachers be responsible for giving heaps of homework, chasing the deadlines of a tight-scheduled curriculum and be labelled as ‘evil’ by their students? Why are native speaking teachers entitled to enjoy the best of teaching life by focusing on just teaching without the need of assignment follow-ups, and always in good term with their students? It’s time to review the whole policy after 20 years. If it is found that less drilling assignments and more inspiring learning experience are effective, why can’t we merge all the duties and re-structure the curriculum?

There are some reasons explaining why learning English and preparing for English proficiency tests contribute to bettering the learning practice of Vietnamese students.

Given that Vietnamese pedagogy is designed with massive influence from the Confucian heritage culture, students have always been taught to be obedient and respectful to teachers. They, therefore tend to avoid raising voices and asking questions in class, instead passively listening to what teachers say, memorizing information and reproducing in the tests. Moreover, considering the problems of large class sizes and the teacher’s responsibilities related to teaching, designing curriculum and others, teaching subjects in Vietnamese in an authoritative way might be more suitable in the face of local barriers.
Meanwhile, when partaking in the class preparing for the language proficiency test (IELTS for example), students will receive more individual support from their teacher. Students are often instructed to be critically interactive with the materials they learn. For example, in improving skills in the Speaking test, students often practice by asking themselves questions on various topics and then coming up with appropriate responses. This contributes to the formation of their analytical skills. In terms of Writing skills, instead of employing memorizing techniques without full comprehension to write essays, students are encouraged to be sceptical and critical when finding ways to support or oppose a claim in a writing task. To this end, they need to build base knowledge about various topics. With English being the most widely spoken language in the world, finding resources about diverse topics in this language is certainly straightforward and fairly effortless.

Thanks, Hana! Why do you think that is? That English fever is at a higher pitch in S Korea than anywhere else?

Thanks, Koki! I think English is on the way to becoming similar to the ability to read and write – a must to progressing through the education system; as more and more people learn English, distinction will come from something else – maybe from trilingualism in Arabic and French?

THanks, Clara! Maybe you can become a superstar English language teacher like Ruby Hsu in Taiwan? 😉https://languageonthemove.com/english-teaching-superstars/ Good luck!

Thanks, Tushar! The association between speaking a particular language (or speaking it in a particular way) with intelligence or, conversely, stupidity, is one of the most harmful language ideologies. It inculcates self-hate and a sense of shame in subjected people. That’s why I think teaching about language ideologies is important …

Thanks, SunKyung! English is under inflationary pressure, no doubt … a level of English that was considered just fine even only a few years ago is no longer enough …

Thanks, Bubbletea! I also feel that there is such a thing as “too much of a good thing” and an excessive focus on English language learning too early can actually harm a child’s development – it’s similar to the submersion education experienced by minority children in some contexts …

Can you elaborate on that question?

Thanks, Thao! Couldn’t have said it better myself 😉

Thanks for introducing this article, Ingrid !!
I will read the whole article. Thank you!!

Sorry to hear you missed out on jobs in Eastwood and Chatswood! But it’s the perfect illustration that linguistic markets operate at different levels and they are not the same everywhere …

Thanks, Emma! The replacement of Russian with English as a foreign language after the end of the Cold War has been one of the biggest linguistic transformations of the past decades. In fact, my first university teaching job involved teaching English to former Russian teachers who needed to retrain because the demand for Russian had collapsed … You can read about it here.