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Host Community Information
Today, the Vietnamese people who derived from the southern Chinese, constitute about 88 percent of the total population; the rest are members of various ethnic groups. The majority live in small villages, although the southern part of the country is more urbanized than the north. Most people live in the delta areas or along the
coast.
Vietnamese is the official language and is spoken by most people. However, English (regarded as the international language of commerce, technology, and opportunity) is increasingly being taught in schools. The Vietnam government has set an ambitious goal of having English be the language of instruction in all schools country-wide by 2020.
The long period of military conflict in Vietnam seriously disrupted educational progress and cultural programs, especially those remnants that dated from the years of French rule. Curriculum reforms since 1979 have standardized lesson content throughout the country, strengthened socialist educational ideals, and increased the vocational aspects of higher education. All schools in Vietnam were nationalized following reunification, and by the mid-1990s nearly 15.5 million pupils were in attendance. Schooling is free and compulsory.
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