Dr. Vu Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Teachers and Educational Administrators under the MoET, told VietNamNet that the ministry aims to gather a clear picture of teachers’ current English abilities - especially those teaching English or delivering other subjects in English.

The results will serve as a basis to design effective professional development programs tailored to real-world needs. This is part of Vietnam’s ambitious national project, “Introducing English as a second school language from 2025 to 2035, with a vision to 2045.”

Identifying real needs, not ranking teachers

“We’ll conduct the survey at selected schools or clusters of schools,” said Duc. “The goal is to identify gaps in English capacity and design training programs accordingly.”

The tests will cover all four language skills - listening, speaking, reading, and writing - and are expected to be completed in one session. Each site must be able to accommodate at least 1,000 teachers sitting the test simultaneously.

Crucially, Duc emphasized that the survey is meant to support - not judge - teachers. “The results will be confidential. They are not for evaluation, ranking, or rewards. We’re taking this seriously because only an honest assessment will help us fill the right gaps.”

Logistics and implementation

In February, the ministry will select the participating schools and education departments. The survey is scheduled to take place in April 2026.

A standardized test bank will be used to ensure reliability. The MoET is also requiring that each testing site be equipped with appropriate infrastructure and monitoring mechanisms to maintain quality and fairness.

Following the survey, the results will be analyzed and used to categorize teachers into skill levels. These profiles will help guide training efforts in both English language and English-medium teaching practices.

The initiative is part of a broader education reform strategy, recognizing that English proficiency is essential not only for language teachers but also for educators across disciplines in a globalized learning environment.

Vietnam’s effort to transform English into a second instructional language marks a major shift in its national education priorities, with this survey laying the groundwork for decades of future policy.

Thanh Hung