23/05/2022
On the afternoon of May 11th 2022, the delegation of Regional English Language Office, the US Embassy in Ha Noi paid a working visit to Hong Duc University (HDU).
At the meeting, HDU's representative briefly introduced some information of the university and the cooperation programs with the US Embassy since 2010 such as English training program, Start-up courses, Access English scholarship program, seminars and so on.
Jerrold Frank, Director of Regional English Language Office, the US Embassy in Ha Noi introduced about the Regional English Language Office (RELO). The Regional English Language Office (RELO) opened in the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi in 2015. Part of the Public Affairs Section, it cooperates with the Ministries of Education, teachers’ associations, universities, schools and English language teaching (ELT) professionals on a variety of educational and cultural exchange programs and projects in order to enhance mutual understanding between the peoples of the region and the United States. The RELO in Hanoi helps to manage English Language Programs in Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR.
The RELO in Hanoi is one of 25 such offices around the world. Its work is coordinated by the Office of English Language Programs in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educationcal and Cultural Affairs in Washington, D.C. RELO is in charge of programs that include: English Language Fellow Program, English Language Specialist Program, English Access Microscholarship Program, Online Professional English Network (OPEN), English Teaching Forum, American English Website and Materials
The two sides proposed number of tentative exchange and cooperation plans: Continue to support the programs of English Language Fellow Program and English Language Specialist Program at Hong Duc University, international seminar and conference organization, English teaching materials sharing. Assoc. Dr. Bui Van Dung, Rector of HDU also shared that Thanh Hoa has a large population, the university is always received the great support from Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee so HDU is a bright spot in training and development of high-quality human resources for the locality and the whole country. In 2022, HDU was allowed by Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee to establish the Innovation Startup Center to support young businesses who interested in startup. The rector hopes that in the upcoming time RELO will connect with related organizations and participate in supporting the center. Mr. Jerrold Frank expressed his deep interest in the proposals. He said RELO will carefully review proposals and believe that there will be more cooperation and support between the two sides in the future.
Following the meeting, RELO had an exchange of experiences with the topic "What makes a good English teacher?" with the participation of lectures who teach English language and courses in English. The exchange was very practical and effective. The lecturers have the opportunity to share and learn from each other's experiences in teaching.
