When Vietnam announced the goal of promoting English as a second language in the country, some citizens in our country posted and shared on social media and wanted the government to declare English as a second language.
When such comments were made, some people wanted English as a second language, and some said it should be French, and some said it should be considered alongside Chinese, etc.
But in reality English and Chinese have already become popular languages among Cambodians due to job requirements. In Cambodia, especially in Phnom Penh, almost all parents have their children learn English because they understand that this language is necessary for business and work. Chinese is also being learned by more and more people because China is now investing a lot in Cambodia and has deep ties with Cambodia.
This language issue does not need to be announced in neighboring countries. What we should do is to strengthen and preserve our native language as the only national language. It is better.
For Cambodia, it is our national pride to be able to preserve our national language from ancient times to the present, which includes spoken language, writing, and grammar rules. We have proverbs, we have poems, legends, folk tales, all in one complete language, everything. Therefore, we should maintain our only official language.
Speaking like this is not encouraging us to promote only our national language, because this era is an era of globalization and multilateralism, so it is necessary to promote communication, and for this communication to be complete, it is necessary to know foreign languages.
In the current situation, although Cambodia does not declare any language as a second language, our local education system is already open to the issue of studying foreign languages. So there is no need to declare any recognition.
In Cambodia, apart from general education schools in Khmer, Cambodia already has general education schools in foreign languages, especially English, Chinese, and French. Currently, those schools teach all skills in these foreign languages. In addition, there are pure language schools of all levels, from cheap schools that pay by the hour to those that pay by the month, quarter, semester, or year.
Regarding Vietnam’s goal, according to a report by Vietnam News, the goal of making English a second language is a vision that will open up and allow schools in eastern Cambodia to have general education programs in English, to teach other relevant subjects and skills, and for daily communication at school.
The source said that Vietnam has drafted the plan with the aim of improving skills to meet educational and employment needs, increasing the competitiveness of the workforce in the new era, and contributing to the country’s development and global integration.
The source said that the plan includes allowing schools to run 100 percent English-language curricula in kindergarten for children aged 3 to 5, then paving the way for schools to offer all general education curricula in English from grades 1 to 12, according to the source.
As mentioned above, the education system in Cambodia is already open and implementing this open program, to the point where some Cambodian children use English better than their native language.
Based on this argument, Cambodia does not need to declare any language as a second, third, or fourth official language. It is better to maintain the space and rights as they are today. What Cambodia should do now is to further preserve the national language and strengthen foreign language education so that it is socially relevant and meets the needs of the labor market and is consistent with its foreign policy and plans.
Today, there are thousands of foreign languages, but only 6 are officially recognized by the international community, and this language is officially recognized and used in the United Nations. These languages are English, French, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic.
Cambodia should clearly aim to improve education in these six languages because language is a vehicle of communication and an important path to strengthening external relations in line with the multilateral goals that Cambodia truly desires.
In short, the national language should be preserved and further preserved without the need to designate a second or third language. Labor market demands have already determined the need for foreign language knowledge.
