FW: Results of Deaf Students in the 2003 National Examinations fo r 9th Grade Adult Education

[Gladys Tang (MLC)]

 Dear All,

A  message from James Woodward who has been working on deaf education in
Vietnam.

Gladys

****
 Results of Deaf Students in the 2003 National Examinations for 9th Grade
Adult Education
*****

Deaf Cultural Studies Program
5th Floor, Cao Dang Su Pham Dong Nai
Dong Khoi Street, KP 3, Tan Hiep Ward
Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province
VIET NAM
June 24, 2003

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

On June 17 and 18, the ten (10) 9th grade students in
the Project on Opening University Education to Deaf
People in Viet Nam Through Sign Language Analysis,
Teaching, and Interpretation became the first class of
deaf students in Viet Nam to participate in the
National Examinations for the 9th Grade, Adult
Education Program in Viet Nam.  This year all students
were required to take National Examinations in
Vietnamese Literature, Math, Physics, and Chemistry.

(For those of you unfamiliar with the Vietnamese
Education system, graduation from primary school,
junior high school, and senior high school requires
passing National Examinations in addition to passing
regular course work.  The National Examinations are
developed by the Ministry of Education and
administered and graded by the Provincial Departments
of Education.  Our students, like the hearing students
taking the examinations, were required to travel to a
central physical location outside of the school in
which the students study.  In addition, no teachers of
students are allowed to administer or grade the
examinations of their students, and examinations are
graded with student names removed from the
examinations and only by centrally assigned student
numbers.  Our deaf students took the examinations in
written Vietnamese, like the hearing students.  No
sign language interpretation of test questions was
used.  A sign language interpreter from our school was
present to interpret test instructions given by the
chief test administrator.)

We were informed yesterday (June 23) afternoon of
results of the examinations by the Department of
Education and Training in Dong Nai Province who
administered and graded the National Examinations for
all students studying in Dong Nai Province.  All 10
deaf students passed the National Examinations, with 3
(30%) of the 10 passing with honors.  As a result of
their performance on the National Examinations all 10
deaf students will be allowed to graduate junior high
school (9th grade) and proceed to senior high school
(10th through 12th grades).  To our knowledge, this is
the first class of deaf students in Viet Nam to reach
this level.  It is certainly the first class of deaf
students in Viet Nam taught bilingually in a
Vietnamese sign language and Vietnamese to reach this
level.

This is an important milestone for our students in
their immediate goals of finishing high school and
university and in their ultimate goal of becoming
teachers of deaf children in Viet Nam and/or teachers
of Vietnamese sign languages.  Please join me in
congratulating the following students on this
important occasion and encouraging them to continue
their efforts in September, when they will enter
senior high school.

Mr. Pham N. Hoang Dung
Ms. Phan Hoang Dung
Ms. Dao Minh Hieu
Ms. Le Thi Thu Huong
Mr. Doan Pham Khiem
Mr. Bui Huynh The Manh
Mr. Nguyen Khach Phuc
Ms. Dang Thi Anh Thu
Ms. Nguyen Tran Thuy Tien
Ms. Luu Ngoc Tu

The students were aided in their efforts by a number
of institutions and organizations.  As Project
Director, I would like to express sincere appreciation
and thanks to The People's Committee of Dong Nai
Province for its approval of the project; The Dong Nai
Provincial Department of Education and Training for
its administration of the project, The Dong Nai
Provincial Teaching College for its provision of
classrooms and dormitory rooms for the project, and to
The Nippon Foundation in Tokyo for providing the funds
necessary to carry out the project.

A number of individuals also contributed significantly
to the success of the high school portion of the
project.   Mr. Do Huu Tai and Mr. Nguyen Dat of the
Dong Nai Provincial Department of Education and
Training and members of the Project Management
Committee have worked diligently on the overall
administration and financial aspects of the project.
Moreover, the Section on Adult Education in the Dong
Nai Provincial Department of Education and Training
has been of great help in facilitating the
documentation processes necessary for our students.
In addition, The Board of Directors of the Dong Nai
Provincial Teaching College, have been most helpful in
providing facilities and in approving and signing all
documents for examinations.

On a day to day basis, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, Associate
Project Director, has played an indispensable role in
coordinating the high school portion of the project,
in teaching high school courses, and in providing sign
language interpretation when necessary.   I would also
like to recognize the dedication of Ms Bui Bich Phuong
for providing sign language interpretation both inside
and outside the classroom for students as well as for
the other administrative work she has done for the
project.  In addition, I wish to thank all of hearing
high school teachers who have been willing to learn
Vietnamese sign languages from their deaf students, to
use it as one of the mediums of classroom instruction,
and to encourage its use by their deaf students.  I
especially wish to thank those teachers who taught the
four subjects tested:  Ms. Phan Tuyet Le, Ms. Ho Thi
Hong Nhung, Ms. Nguyen Song Anh Son, and Ms. Nguyen
Thi Hoa.

Finally, I would like to recognize the significant and
lasting impact on our students that has been made by
foreign deaf professionals who have taught and are
continuing to teach our students in other programs
like the Certificate Programs in Teaching Vietnamese
Sign Languages.  Professor Dr. Mike Kemp (Gallaudet
University), Ms. Jean Gordon M.A. (Gallaudet
University), and Ms. Peoungpaka Janyawong, Cert. TTSL
(Ratchasuda College), not only provided the students
with high quality instruction but also had a profound
impact on our students' self-esteem and motivation.
Once they had studied under deaf professionals, our
students realized that they too could finish high
school, could finish university and become teachers
because they had seen deaf people like themselves who
had done what they wanted to do.  My deepest thanks go
to Prof. Dr. Kemp, Ms. Gordon, and Ms. Peoungpaka for
their invaluable work.

If you wish to send a congratulatory letter in English
or Vietnamese to any of the students, please send the
letter to:

Deaf Cultural Studies Program
Lau 5, Cao Dang Su Pham Dong Nai
Dong Khoi, KP 3, P Tan Hiep
TP Bien Hoa, Dong Nai
VIET NAM

If you wish to send a congratulatory e-mail in English
to any of the students, please send it to this e-mail
address as a regular e-mail or attachment.  If you
wish to send a congratulatory e-mail in Vietnamese to
any of the students, please send it to this e-mail
address as an attachment and please use Viet Key if at
all possible in composing the attachment.

In closing, I would like to inform you that we will be
soon providing a Vietnamese translation of this
letter.  If you would like to receive the Vietnamese
translation of this letter, please let me know by
e-mail and I will send you a copy.

Yours sincerely,


Woody
James Woodward, Ph.D.
Director, Project on Opening University Education to
     Deaf People in Viet Nam Through Sign Language
     Analysis, Teaching, and Interpretation

P.S.  Please feel free to send a copy of this e-mail
to any persons you think might be interested in this
information.








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