Many Vietnamese beauty contestants have exhibited poor English skills during the contests, which makes it next to impossible for them to win at international beauty pageants.

At the semi-final of Miss Universe Vietnam 2017, many contestants failed to answer simple English questions or could only answer them in a poor way.

When questioned by a panelist who pointed at a map with names of countries and asked where did he come from, Le Thi Kieu Nhung felt very confused and replied Trung Quoc in Vietnamese instead of saying China in English.

For the same question, Mai Anh said that she did not know how to say in English and asked for help.

Being asked about the place of birth and tourist attractions there, Le Thi Thu Trang did not understand anything and just smiled in a confused way. After that, the winners of the semi-final’s English competition were provided with an intensive English course.

Earlier, Le Hang, Vietnam’s representative to the 2016 Miss Universe beauty pageant was found unable to give her answer in English to an interview question during a promotional campaign for the competition.

While the other contestants demonstrated their English proficiency, Hang requested assistance from an interpreter, asking whether she could instead answer in her mother tongue.

Last year, Miss Southeast Asia 2014 Vu Tran Trieu Thu had to temporarily close her Facebook page after many fans made critical comments about her poor English performance at a beauty pageant held in the Philippines last December, where Thu was a judge.

Every year, hundreds of Vietnamese contestants participate in beauty contests. They pay attention to beauty care and clothes, but their English skills are often very very limited.

Tran Minh Tien, head of Miss Grand International 2017 in Vietnam, said that English was key for Vietnamese contestants progressing in international beauty events. If their English was weak, they would not win no matter their appearance.

Writer Chu Lai said that Vietnamese contestants are often inferior to other countries in terms of soft skills, social knowledge and English skills.

dtinews