Good English for New Vietnamese Programme

Currently, there is a debate about

ˈkʌrəntli ðeər ɪz ə dɪˈbeɪt əˈbaʊt

whether schools should only offer subjects that can help students’ future career success
ˈweðə skuːlz ʃʊd ˈəʊnlɪ ˈɒfə ˈsʌbʤɪkts ðæt kən help ˈstjuːdənts ˈfjuːʧə kəˈrɪə səkˈses

(i.e., subjects such as sports and music are irrelevant).

ˌaɪ ˈiː ˈsʌbʤɪkts sʌʧ æz spɔːts ənd ˈmjuːzɪk ɑːr ɪˈreləvənt

As far as I am concerned,
æz fɑːr æz aɪ æm kənˈsɜːnd

I believe subjects such as music and sports are equally important.

aɪ bɪˈliːv ˈsʌbʤɪkts sʌʧ æz ˈmjuːzɪk ənd spɔːts ɑːr ˈiːkwəlɪ ɪmˈpɔːtənt

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Good English for New Vietnamese Programme

Compelling arguments can be made that those seemingly unimportant subjects such as
kəmˈpelɪŋ ˈɑːgjʊmənts kən biː meɪd ðæt ðəʊz ˈsiːmɪŋlɪ ˌʌnɪmˈpɒtənt ˈsʌbʤɪkts sʌʧ æz

art, music and sports are actually just as important as

ɑːt ˈmjuːzɪk ənd spɔːts ɑːr ˈækʧʊəlɪ ʤʌst æz ɪmˈpɔːtənt æz

core subjects like English and maths.

kɔː ˈsʌbʤɪkts laɪk ˈɪŋglɪʃ ənd mæθs

The first point with respect to this is that

ðə fɜːst pɔɪnt wɪð rɪsˈpekt tə ðɪs ɪz ðæt

art, music and sports make a student a well-rounded person.

ɑːt ˈmjuːzɪk ənd spɔːts meɪk ə ˈstjuːdənt ə wel ˈraʊndɪd ˈpɜːsn

There is no denying that a young person who is artistic and athletic

ðeər ɪz nəʊ dɪˈnaɪɪŋ ðæt ə jʌŋ ˈpɜːsn huː ɪz ɑːˈtɪstɪk ənd æθˈletɪk

is more likely to be physically and mentally healthy.

ɪz mɔː ˈlaɪklɪ tə biː ˈfɪzɪkəli ənd ˈmentəlɪ ˈhelθɪ

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Good English for New Vietnamese Programme
Furthermore, subjects like art, music and sports
ˌfɜːðəˈmɔː ˈsʌbʤɪkts laɪk ɑːt ˈmjuːzɪk ənd spɔːts

help students to identify their interests and hobbies early in life.

help ˈstjuːdənts tʊ aɪˈdentɪfaɪ ðeər ˈɪntrɪsts ənd ˈhɒbɪz ˈɜːlɪ ɪn laɪf

True, if a young person is able to know what they are really passionate about,
truː ɪf ə jʌŋ ˈpɜːsn ɪz ˈeɪbl tə nəʊ wɒt ðeɪ ɑː ˈrɪəlɪ ˈpæʃənət əˈbaʊt

they can continue doing what they enjoy in their adult life.
ðeɪ kæn kənˈtɪnjuː ˈduːɪŋ wɒt ðeɪ ɪnˈʤɔɪ ɪn ðeər ˈædʌlt laɪf

More importantly, sports, art and music

mɔːr ɪmˈpɔːtəntli spɔːts ɑːt ənd ˈmjuːzɪk

help students strike a balance in their learning at school.

help ˈstjuːdənts straɪk ə ˈbæləns ɪn ðeə ˈlɜːnɪŋ ət skuːl

Clearly, if students only study English and maths at school,

ˈklɪəlɪ ɪf ˈstjuːdənts ˈəʊnlɪ ˈstʌdɪ ˈɪŋglɪʃ ənd mæθs ət skuːl

their life will be very boring.

ðeə laɪf wɪl biː ˈverɪ ˈbɔːrɪŋ

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Good English for New Vietnamese Programme

It may be tempting to argue that

ɪt meɪ biː ˈtemptɪŋ tʊ ˈɑːgjuː ðæt

students should focus on what makes them more successful in the future.
ˈstjuːdənts ʃʊd ˈfəʊkəs ɒn wɒt meɪks ðəm mɔː səkˈsesfəl ɪn ðə ˈfjuːʧə

The fundamental reason for this is that

ðə ˌfʌndəˈmentl ˈriːzn fɔː ðɪs ɪz ðæt

the mainstream society defines “success” in a narrow-minded way.

ðə ˈmeɪnstriːm səˈsaɪətɪ dɪˈfaɪnz səkˈses ɪn ə ˌnærəʊˈmaɪndɪd weɪ

By that I mean most people believe that

baɪ ðæt aɪ miːn məʊst ˈpiːpl bɪˈliːv ðæt

making more money is the only definition of success

ˈmeɪkɪŋ mɔː ˈmʌnɪ ɪz ðiː ˈəʊnlɪ ˌdefɪˈnɪʃən əv səkˈses

and they think learning English and maths helps them make more money.
ənd ðeɪ θɪŋk ˈlɜːnɪŋ ˈɪŋglɪʃ ənd mæθs helps ðəm meɪk mɔː ˈmʌnɪ

But further analysis would make it clear that

bʌt ˈfɜːðər əˈnæləsɪs wʊd meɪk ɪt klɪə ðæt

being happy is probably way more important than having more wealth in the long term.
ˈbiːɪŋ ˈhæpɪ ɪz ˈprɒbəblɪ weɪ mɔːr ɪmˈpɔːtənt ðən ˈhævɪŋ mɔː welθ ɪn ðə lɒŋ tɜːm

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Good English for New Vietnamese Programme

On the basis of the above discussion, I believe that

ɒn ðə ˈbeɪsɪs əv ðiː əˈbʌv dɪsˈkʌʃən aɪ bɪˈliːv ðæt

subjects such as music, art and sports should be taught in every school,
ˈsʌbʤɪkts sʌʧ æz ˈmjuːzɪk ɑːt ənd spɔːts ʃʊd biː tɔːt ɪn ˈevrɪ skuːl

apart from subjects like English and maths

əˈpɑːt frɒm ˈsʌbʤɪkts laɪk ˈɪŋglɪʃ ənd mæθs

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