10 years old and uncoached, Vietnamese girl scores 8.5 in IELTS

In the exam she took in late August, Nguyen Bao An of Bui Van Ba Primary School in Nha Be District scored a perfect 9.0 in both Listening and Reading, 8.5 in Speaking, and 8.0 in Writing.

According to IELTS statistics, most test takers in Vietnam are between 16 and 22 years old, and only about 1% score 8.5 or higher.

From band 8.0 onward, candidates are considered highly proficient, capable of handling complex arguments and detailed reasoning in English.

Nguyen Bao An at a bookstore in Ho Chi Minh City, October 2025. Photo courtesy of An's family

Bao An says: "English just feels natural to me. I didn't have any strategy or target score. I just wanted to see where my abilities stand."

She insists she has no special study method. At school, aside from regular English lessons, she has two additional sessions per week with native teachers. She calls that "crazy time" because she can freely speak English with her classmates and teacher.

Her mother, Thanh Nhan, 38, says An was born in the U.S. and the family spoke Vietnamese at home to help her retain her mother tongue, but she was exposed to English naturally through books, cartoons and TV shows.

"When she was about two and a half, she surprised us by reading out a few sentences from a newspaper while sitting with her father. That's when we realized she could already read English."

When the family moved back to Vietnam at age of three, her father switched to speaking English with her to ensure she did not lose the language. For special occasions, her parents rewarded her with "Harry Potter" and other books in English.

"She reads and speaks English as comfortably as Vietnamese," her mother says.

"We've never sent her to a language center or hired a tutor. Because she learned English naturally, she isn't great at analyzing grammar or identifying tenses. She just understands and uses it intuitively."

Her parents had initially planned for her to take the Cambridge Flyers test (for young learners) to strengthen her middle-school applications.

"Then we thought, if she has to take a test, why not try IELTS instead?" Nhan said. "We expected her to get around 7.5 or 8.0, so 8.5 was a huge surprise."

About six weeks before the test, An began familiarizing herself with IELTS format under her father's guidance, completing three to four practice sets each day.

She says she felt most confident about the Listening and Speaking sections. In Reading, she tackled easy questions first and then used elimination for tougher ones.

In the Speaking section, An discussed her favorite foreign dish, import–export activities and what she liked and disliked about her city. She described eating sushi in Vietnam, recalling the restaurant's décor and presentation that made her feel as if she were in Japan. As for Ho Chi Minh City, she called it vibrant with skyscrapers, modern conveniences and many universities.

"When I talked about what I don't like here, I joked that the traffic is 'really good' if you enjoy sitting in a car for an hour during rush hour, that is, and that too many people litter," she says with a laugh.

In Writing she was asked if a single global language would be beneficial. Despite her love for English, she argued it was impossible.

Languages take hundreds or even thousands of years to form, spread and endure, she said. "Erasing languages would mean losing entire cultures," she wrote, adding that many minority languages are already endangered.

Nguyen Bao An and her parents in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Le Nguyen

Nguyen Anh Hong Phuc, An's homeroom teacher, says the result only reflects her ability.

"Her English is outstanding. She often talks with native teachers and classmates in English, and she's an excellent student in all subjects."

A year ago, An began learning German and French and joined several online science courses.

Her next goal, she says, is to pass the entrance exam to Tran Dai Nghia Secondary and High School for the Gifted.

"I heard there are many talented students there, and you get to speak English a lot. That's why I want to go."