“Child should respect because of love, but not because of fear” – Interview with a teacher from Uzbekistan teaching in Vietnam

Dostonbek Siddikov from Fergana chose the profession of teacher following in the footsteps of his parents. The young man who has been living in Vietnam for 5 years teaches English and earns an average of $4,000 a month. This state completely changed his views as a teacher. At first, the Uzbek boy, who started his career in a kindergarten after not finding a job in schools in a foreign country, was later recognized as “teacher of the year” there. In an interview with Kun.uz correspondent, the teacher talked about how he got to Vietnam, his achievements and the peculiarities of the state education system.

- Why did you choose Vietnam? How did you start working there?

- It’s a coincidence that I ended up here. It was not my intention to work in Vietnam. Before that I worked in China. In the meantime, I had to go to another country to renew my visa, so I came to Vietnam. I decided to stay here after seeing the culture here which is similar to ours. I also worked in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia. Compared to them, I liked Vietnam more.

When I first arrived, everything was new to me, so it was a bit difficult for me to find a job before I got adjusted. Because in Vietnam you can’t get a job directly, you have to conduct an open class first. At the beginning, I had a little difficulty in teaching because of the new students and the new atmosphere. That’s why I had to start my career here from kindergarten. Because I taught academic lyceum students in Uzbekistan, some things bothered me in kindergarten, that is, my lessons became more serious. In the beginning, it was difficult for me to get used to the kindergarten requirements. Later, I realized the importance of watching others, dancing with children if necessary, teaching them with games.

- What do they pay more attention to in the Vietnamese education system?

- Compared to Vietnam, it seems that we are now paying attention to education. Reforms in education began here long ago. It was once a country with rampant illiteracy. Then they tried to develop education, saying that illiteracy is worse than the enemy, salvation lies in education. Since 2000, the process has accelerated. That is, since that year, foreign experts have started conducting classes. Now, even in the most remote areas, foreign experts hold classes.

The education system here is almost the same as ours: kindergarten, primary school, middle school, high school. Compulsory education is 12 years. Elementary, middle and high schools are not all located in one place. Depending on the location of the classes, there will be 40 to 60 students. Upper classes usually have 50-55 students. It is noteworthy that there is always 100% attendance.

Emphasis is placed on more specific subjects. For example, math class is every day. Then, English, French, Russian languages are also taught. In particular, English is taught every day, just like mathematics. Schools can provide education at the level of our tutors. But even so, parents are not satisfied and pay for extra lessons. Parents deal with their child to such an extent that compared to ours, it is much higher. People do not waste their time on the street, after work they return home and take care of the child. In the morning, they regularly take children to school and then go to work.

Most of them are ordinary workers. They try to educate their children because they are struggling. That is, the parents are not rich. If necessary, they work without holidays and weekends and provide the necessary funds for the child’s education.

- What are the advantages or disadvantages of being a teacher in Vietnam, and how much can a teacher earn?

- I saw more of the good side. True, the salary will not make you rich, but this profession will greatly increase your status in society. If you stand in queues, if someone recognizes you, they will respect you and take you to the front of the queue. This happened to me several times in banks. In general, the respect towards the teacher is very high.

Here, the opinion of students about teachers is taken into account. What I love most is hearing from the students. If the students give a negative opinion about the teacher, they will not hold it for long. If he can’t give the child what he needs, then the teacher himself is not needed.

I myself work 20 hours a week at school. My salary is $2,300. In addition, I work in a training center, where I receive $400-500 per week. Apart from the personal needs, it is possible to earn $3,500-4,000.

- How is do you spent your day as a teacher?

- I don’t have a day off right now. The school works from Monday to Friday, but the training center does not have a day off. Foreign teachers usually do not teach in the morning. At the moment, I teach online for my students from Uzbekistan. Then I go to school, I’ll be at school from 13:30 to 17:00, then I’ll go straight to the training center. It works from 18:00 to 21:00 every day, and classes are conducted all day on weekends. Then I go home and give online lessons to Uzbek students and finish the day at 12 midnight.

- What are the main requirements for foreign teachers?

- The main requirement is knowledge, the ability to work with children, to be interested, to speak with them only in English. English grammar is taught by local teachers, and we talk to the child in English, create an English atmosphere and teach him to speak. Lesson plans are also requested from us, but it will be one for a year. There will be no further objections if the subject is being discussed according to plan.

- What changes have occurred in yourself during the work process?

- The change is very huge. When I was working in Uzbekistan, I imitated other teachers and was very serious. Entering the room in a serious manner, the child standing up and saying hello are mandatory rules that have been formed in the teacher’s mind. That’s right, you have to be respected. But we seem to gain respect by scaring the child.

Here, first of all, more attention is paid to working with the child, to being able to love them, to establishing good relations with them. Then the child will not be afraid, but love and respect.

- What conditions are created for teachers to work on themselves in Vietnamese schools?

- There are some red tapes here as well, but inspections happen only once or twice a year. They warn and inform in advance. No interrupting the teacher’s lesson and checking his documents. They know the potential of the teacher not by looking at the paper, but by looking at his students. No one disturbs the activity of the teacher, does not check too much. Another important condition is that the teacher does not care about the child’s discipline. There are people who specialize in these things. Each room has a camera and loudspeakers. If a child is having fun, he will be called through the loudspeaker. There are special departments just for observation.

At the entrance to every school there is a slogan “School is fun”. And in fact it is the same. Children love coming to school because they love the teachers, friends, environment there. There are no things to annoy the child in schools. Even teachers and students take videos together for social networks, take pictures, play games. There is a limit to respect, everyone knows their limit.

- In 2022, you were awarded the “Teacher of the year” award in Vietnam. Did you expect it?

- It was a surprise for me because I did not work for the reward. My effort was not to be embarrassed in front of others, to teach well. For this purpose, I stayed up all night, prepared for classes, introduced new methods.

There will be an assistant in the lessons and he will film you. These videos are presented for parents. I also became popular among parents. Then the students attached to me performed excellent results. My task was to help students to get foreign language certificates. Last year, many of my students got high scores in IELTS. Hearing my name in the year summary was a surprise, because many of the teachers around me were native speakers. I tried not to be embarrassed in front of them, not for the reward.

- You have been in Vietnam for 5 years. Do you intend to return to Uzbekistan?

- Of course. Besides my work, I have other important things to do, which is that I am in the final stage of my master’s degree. That’s why I can’t leave yet. I want to finish my studies and then leave. I have started several projects. It also takes some time. I have learned a lot from here. Based on them, I want to launch several projects in Uzbekistan.