Teachers at a Vietnamese primary school undergo a training program, August 2024. Photo by Pham Ha
In a bold move toward bilingual education, Ho Chi Minh City will test the English proficiency of all 47,000 public school teachers, marking its most ambitious assessment campaign to date.
The largest Vietnamese city’s Department of Education and Training announced on Tuesday that around 47,000 teachers from primary through high school levels will participate in this comprehensive assessment.
Teachers will complete a 90-minute online test assessing their English listening, reading and writing skills. The evaluation will follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) standards.
Scheduled from April 23 to 29, this initiative aims to accurately gauge the current English language abilities of educators throughout the city.
Results from the evaluation will inform future training programs and support the development of plans to potentially make English the second language in Vietnamese schools.
Similar evaluations have previously been conducted in Hanoi and Nghe An, where teachers’ proficiency was measured through internationally recognized tests such as IELTS and TOEIC.
