English was introduced as a compulsory subject in middle and high schools in 1982.
In 1996 it was trialed in primary schools.
Interest in learning English surged after Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in 2006-07 and remains high, according to Google Trends data.
Under general education program taking effect in 2008, the time allocated for English has increased.
Primary school students are required to study four classes a week, with each class lasting 45 minutes, while secondary and high school students have three classes per week.
By 2022-23 over 2.9 million students, or two-thirds of the total number in the country, had studied English for at least 10 years under a Ministry of Education and Training program launched in 2008.
The goal is for students to achieve Level 3 proficiency in Vietnam's six-level foreign language framework, equivalent to B1 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which represents a stage where the learner has gained a degree of independence in using the language for everyday communication and is able to handle situations likely to arise in daily life or while traveling.
However, according to Cambridge Assessment, this proficiency level requires only 350–400 guided learning hours, or less than half the time Vietnamese students currently spend learning English in school.
Learning outside the classroom
Outside school, learners pursue English through various means.
A 2021 survey by market research firm Q&Me of 900 respondents found that 49% of them learn by themselves, 35% use free online resources, and 29% go to language centers.
The growing demand for English learning has led to a mushrooming of language centers, particularly in major cities.
In HCMC, the number of licensed English centers increased sixfold between 2010 and 2024 to 2,380, while in Hanoi, the number doubled from 562 in 2018 to 955 by December 2024, according to the two cities' Education Departments.
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A child learns English with a foreigner at a private kindergarten in HCMC in 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Le Nguyen |
Nguyen Hong Hanh, founder and CEO of education firm Edtech Agency, said foreign language training is the second largest segment in Vietnam's education technology market, which has around 750 products and nine million online users.
The demand has attracted international organizations like IELTS Science and GlobalExam and providers such as Britannica Education and Pickatale to the country.
Tuitions at English centers range from VND1.7 million to 4.7 million (US$67-185) per month, equivalent to 20-50% of an average worker's monthly income in 2022, according to data from educational firm KiddiHub.
Challenges to achieving proficiency
Despite growing interest and investment in English education, national high school graduation exam results show limited progress.
In the past eight years, on average, 57% of students scored below 5 in English. For some, it has been the lowest they scored in any subject.
On a brighter note, the number of students exempted from the English exam thanks to having international language certificates such as IELTS has tripled since 2021, but they accounted for only 4-5% of the 900,000 students that took the national high school graduation exam last year.
In 2018, when commenting on the Ministry of Education and Training's National Foreign Language Project for 2020, officials concluded that high school students would not broadly achieve B1 proficiency until at least 2030.
According to the 2024 EF English Proficiency Index (EPI) released last November, Vietnam ranked 63rd out of 116 countries, down five spots from 2023.
While its EPI score had increased by 13.2% since its first assessment in 2011, progress has slowed in recent years, leaving the country in the "low proficiency" group.
In Southeast Asia, Vietnam ranked above Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand but trailed significantly behind Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Experts caution that the EPI data may not fully reflect the proficiency of all Vietnamese learners as the rankings are based on voluntary tests and they have become increasingly accessible to smaller provinces and cities without great English teaching infrastructure.
Experts identify several challenges to teaching and learning English.
Associate Professor Le Van Canh, a former lecturer at the University of Languages & International Studies under Vietnam National University, Hanoi, says while students spend significant time learning English in school, classes are often too infrequent to instill knowledge effectively.
"With one to two days between lessons, students forget 50% of what they learn before the information can transition from short-term to long-term memory."
Imported teaching methods and programs from abroad also face issues with effectiveness and suitability in Vietnam, he warns.
He emphasizes the need for tailored approaches based on learners' age, purpose and locality.
"Achieving native-level proficiency is an outdated notion. Few people reach this level, and learners have different goals. What is important is that learners should be able to use English effectively for social communication."
Path forward
The government first outlined a goal to make English a second language in schools in 2017 under the 2017-25 National Foreign Language Project.
Recently this objective was reiterated by the Politburo in a resolution on education reform.
But Canh believes it will take at least 30 years, with a clear roadmap and robust strategies, to make English a second language in schools.
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Students at Nguyen Van To Secondary School in Ho Chi Minh City during a Science class with a foreign teacher, September 2024. Photo courtesy of EMG Education |
Jonny Western, head of innovation at RMIT Vietnam's English and university transition program, says improving English proficiency requires shifting student motivation from earning grades to practical use and overhauling teacher training programs.
"These will take years to implement and produce results."
In 2014 Vu Thi Phuong Anh, a strategic advisor for the National Foreign Language Project, had suggested studying the successful bilingual education models in countries like the Philippines and Malaysia.
Ngo Tuyet Mai, an English pedagogy lecturer at Flinders University in Australia, warns that teaching English to children without first strengthening their Vietnamese foundation could backfire.
"Failing to build a strong foundation in Vietnamese before learning foreign languages is like building a house on weak foundations.
"Mastering vocabulary and grammar in one's native language is crucial for overall academic success, including acquisition of foreign languages."