Why did Vietnam drop 11 places in English proficiency ranking?

According to the 2019 global adult English proficiency index report conducted by EF Education First (EF), Vietnam dropped 11 places compared to last year, falling to the low proficiency group.

– In 2019, Vietnam ranked 52/100 countries and territories in English ability, down 11 places compared to last year.

– This year, Vietnam scored 51.57 points, down 1.55 compared to last year.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam’s English proficiency is still low compared to Malaysia or the Philippines, but higher than Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia.

– From the perspective of a survey organization, how do you explain Vietnam’s decline in ranking and falling from the average group to the low group?

– First of all, I want to emphasize that the calculation of scores for all countries in EF Education First’s English proficiency index report is the same.

To calculate the weighted average, we first find the average for each age group and then take the average of those averages to calculate the country score.

Regarding the reason why Vietnam’s score dropped, I think it partly comes from the subjects taking the EF SET test.

As more adults take the EF SET, we believe scores become closer to the true country average.

– What should schools and each citizen do to improve their English proficiency?

– For teachers, schools and universities, I think Vietnam should aim to teach English using a communicative method, providing students with regular opportunities to speak English through activities.

Schools need to provide a forum for teachers to share best practice and receive advice on effective English teaching so that teachers have a simple path to improving their own English.

For universities, adding English requirements to all majors is necessary.

Personally, I think you need a long-term plan with hundreds of hours of study to move from one level of proficiency to a higher level.

Instead of sitting for hours to learn English, you should only attend 20-30 minute study sessions;

Mr. Minh N. Tran.

– To improve English proficiency, which model should Vietnam refer to?

– Vietnam can refer to the English learning methods of countries and territories in the same continent, for example Taiwan.

In the policy to improve English proficiency, the first thing mentioned is that all elementary and middle school students in Tainan take at least one English lesson every day with the goal of improving their overall listening and speaking skills.

Third is to increase the number of schools offering English courses for first grade students every year.

By building an English-speaking environment, Tainan plans to become an internationalized city.

EF Education First (Switzerland), founded in 1965, is the world’s largest educational organization focusing on languages, academics and cultural experiences.

The EF SET is a 50-minute online test that tests adult reading and listening skills.

In 2019, more than 33,000 Vietnamese candidates participated in the EF SET standard English exam, mainly from 18 to 30 years old (accounting for 80%), the rest over 30;

After four years of being classified as having average English ability, Vietnam continuously dropped in rankings and fell to the low proficiency group.