Vietnam to survey English proficiency of teachers

According to the ministry, the plan is designed to operationalize the national project ‘Making English the Second Language in Schools for the 2025-35 Period, with a Vision to 2045.’

The suủvey is meant to provide a comprehensive picture of the current English-language capacity of the teaching workforce, including English teachers and those teaching other subjects in English, local media reported.

Beyond assessing existing proficiency levels, the survey will also help identify professional development needs, particularly for English teachers and educators involved in delivering instruction or educational activities in English.

The survey methodology and organization will ensure scientific rigor, quality, efficiency, flexibility, and suitability to real-world conditions.

The assessment is expected to be conducted online, with strict requirements for security, safety, objectivity, reliability, and fairness for all participants.

The system will be capable of accommodating at least 1,000 candidates simultaneously.

A standardized question bank covering four skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, will be developed on a sufficiently large scale to avoid repetition of test items within a 12-month period.

The total testing time for all four skills will not exceed one session, equivalent to half a day.

Teachers will not be required to pay any fees to participate in the survey under the ministry’s plan.

The survey is scheduled to take place between January and June 2026.

Key stages will include developing the survey plan, selecting participating units, calibrating assessment tools, organizing the survey, analyzing results into proficiency levels, and compiling a comprehensive report.

Dr. Vu Minh Duc, head of the Teachers and Educational Managers Department under the ministry, told the press that the survey results will not be used for ranking, performance evaluation or emulation purposes.

Instead, the focus is on accurately assessing the actual English proficiency of teachers.

“The survey results will be kept confidential and no specific information about an individual teacher’s English proficiency will be disclosed to other parties,” Duc said.

He emphasized that the roadmap to make English the second language in schools has already been clearly defined, making the enhancement of teachers’ foreign language capacity a critical task.

He noted that English proficiency is not only about reading research materials, searching for data, or learning from international educational practices, but also about creating an English-using environment within schools.

Vietnam currently has more than one million preschool and general education teachers, including around 30,000 teachers of English.

The education authorities estimate that tens of thousands of additional English teachers will be needed across all levels.

Also, about 200,000 teachers are expected to be trained to teach subjects in English by 2030 to meet reform demands.