Under the proposed changes, the list of compulsory subjects and educational activities at primary level would include Vietnamese, Mathematics, Ethics and a first foreign language, known as Foreign Language 1.

The key change concerns when children begin studying that language.

If English is selected as Foreign Language 1, students would study it continuously from Grades 1 through 5.

If another foreign language is chosen instead, compulsory instruction would begin in Grade 3 and continue through Grade 5.

For students in Grades 1 and 2, a foreign language other than English could still be offered as an optional subject.

The remaining compulsory primary-school curriculum would include Nature and Society in Grades 1-3; History and Geography and Science in Grades 4-5; Informatics and Technology in Grades 3-5; Physical Education; Arts, including Music and Fine Arts; and experiential activities.

Ethnic minority languages would remain optional.

According to the ministry, the arrangement would support the national direction of making English a second language in schools without disrupting the teaching of other foreign languages or creating the impression that students would only be allowed to learn English.

It is also intended to minimize disruption for students and educational institutions as the system changes.

Schools could offer more than one foreign language

The draft goes beyond changing the starting age for English.

It also revises the role of foreign languages within Vietnam’s general education curriculum, placing greater emphasis on their use in both learning and communication.

Under the proposal, foreign-language education would aim to develop students’ ability to use another language confidently and effectively, helping meet Vietnam’s human-resource development needs and supporting international integration.

Teaching would develop all four core language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

The curriculum would also be designed as a continuous pathway from basic education through the career-oriented stage of schooling, with reference to both Vietnamese and international foreign-language proficiency frameworks.

All school students would be required to study one foreign language as Foreign Language 1.

At primary level, they could also be introduced to another language. From Grade 6, students would be able to choose an additional language, known as Foreign Language 2, depending on their interests and whether their school has the resources to provide it.

English would not become the only choice

An important distinction in the proposal is that making English compulsory from Grade 1 under the English pathway would not eliminate other languages from schools.

Educational institutions would be able to select foreign languages - including English - that they have the capacity to provide as Foreign Language 1.

Schools could therefore organize instruction in more than one foreign language where their resources allow.

Foreign Language 2 would remain optional. Schools could begin offering it from Grade 6, and students could stop studying it at different grade levels depending on demand and the institution’s teaching capacity.

The framework therefore gives English a more prominent position at the beginning of primary education while retaining a broader multilingual structure.

For Vietnam, the proposed change would mark an important step toward exposing children to English earlier and building language skills over a longer period of schooling.

It also reflects a wider ambition: moving English beyond its traditional status as simply another school subject and toward a language students can use more naturally in learning and communication.

The proposal remains in draft form and is currently being circulated for public feedback.

Thanh Hung