Vietnam wants English to become a second language in its schools, and the biggest obstacle may be teachers' own English. That is the view of the US-based Educational Testing Service, which surveyed 35,000 teachers in six localities together with the education ministry. An ETS director praised the national plan for 2025 to 2035, with a vision to 2045, as unusually detailed and ambitious. He said he had not seen such a comprehensive roadmap in other countries where English is not a second language.
The survey used the four-skill TOEIC Link test. Many teachers considered themselves proficient, but the results showed that both English teachers and teachers of other subjects need a lot of improvement. The group with strong English skills was relatively small, and even they had weaknesses. Teachers must understand English well before they can pass it on to students, the director said. Numbers are another challenge. According to the ministry, Vietnam will need 22,000 more English teachers at preschools and primary schools over the next five years.