Project News

For three months from October 1, 2020 to December 23, 2020, "Business English Course for Cybersecurity" was conducted for 13 AIS staff members with relatively high English proficiency (CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) A2-B1 level).

Many of the latest news and information related to cybersecurity are written in English, and English skill is essential for cooperation with foreign organizations.

In addition, the textbooks of the training and the questions of the examinations related to the international certifications implemented in this project are written in English.

Therefore, the purpose of this English training was not only to improve the four English skills (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking), but also to improve the English skills related to IT and cybersecurity.

This training was provided by the British Council and the instructors were native English speakers. A total of 24 sessions, 48 hours (2 hours per session, twice a week), were conducted over 3 months. The textbook was not an existing textbook, but an original textbook that included IT and security content. In particular, we incorporated a lot of content related to white hackers (pentesters) who test the security of systems and products.

The mid-term and final tests showed that many of the trainees' English skills had improved after the 3 months training. In the interviews with the trainees, we also heard many positive self-assessments, such as that their English skills had improved, that they had regained a sense of English, and that they had gained confidence in English. As for the inclusion of IT and security content, some said that the security content was too easy or too difficult due to the variation in the trainees' knowledge.

As of January 2021, English training is being conducted for the second group. In addition, we are planning to provide English training to the Ho Chi Minh branch of AIS from April 2021. As English is an absolutely necessary skill for security operations, the project will continue to actively support the improvement of English skills for security operations.