Vietnam's push to make English a second language hits teacher skill and staffing gaps
Vietnam aims to adopt English as a second language in schools by 2035, but a recent ETS survey shows many teachers lack sufficient proficiency and the country needs thousands more English teachers.
During a digital-era education conference in Hanoi, Pushkar Saran of ETS commended Vietnam's ambitious roadmap to establish English as a second language in primary and secondary schools between 2025 and 2035, extending to 2045. However, he warned that the plan is constrained by both the limited number of proficient teachers and overall teaching quality. ETS and the education ministry surveyed 35,000 educators in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Dong Nai, Lao Cai and Phu Tho using the TOEIC Link test, finding that even self-rated proficient teachers need considerable improvement.
The ministry projects a shortfall of 22,000 English teachers for preschool and primary levels in the next five years. To bridge these gaps, Saran called for extensive, phased teacher-training programs and suggested exploring artificial-intelligence tools for training and student assessment. ETS, the nonprofit behind TOEFL, TOEIC and GRE, is collaborating with the ministry on these initiatives.
Why it matters
Vietnam's ability to improve English teaching will affect its future workforce competitiveness and integration into the global economy.
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