Surprised by the results of the survey on English proficiency of teachers in Ho Chi Minh City

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the English proficiency survey was conducted with nearly 50,300 public teachers from primary to high school, of which only about 4,700 were English teachers, the rest were in other subjects. The largest group of participants in the survey were primary school teachers (nearly 22,300 people), followed by secondary school teachers (10,000 people) and high school teachers (8,200 people).

Chart of English proficiency survey results of teachers of English and other subjects. Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training classified the survey results into three groups: reliable, not reliable enough, and no reliable information. Reliable tests include those of English teachers, teachers of other subjects with results close to their self-declared level, or those without certificates but with results below B1. Conversely, tests taken in too short a time or with large differences in results were classified as not reliable enough. Cases using the phrase "no reliable information" are teachers whose subjects and certificates cannot be determined but have achieved results of B2 or higher.

In the group with reliable data, 41% of teachers achieved English proficiency level B1, 31% below B1, and 28% achieved B2 or higher.

If we consider each level of education, the qualifications of primary and secondary school teachers are quite similar: about 30-33% are below B1, 38-43% are at B1 and 27-29% are at B2 or higher. Particularly at high school level, the percentage of teachers reaching B2 and C1 is higher (45%), but there are still 30% of teachers who have not reached B1 standards. Notably, no high school teacher has reached C2 level - the highest level of the reference framework.

The survey results also showed a significant gap between English teachers and teachers of other subjects. Specifically, 8% of English teachers achieved C2 level, while no other subject teachers achieved this level. At C1 level, the gap was also very large: 45% compared to 2%.

If we take the entire survey data into account, the proportion of teachers below B1 level is 17% - significantly lower than the reliable data group (41%). The proportion of teachers achieving B2 and C1 is also higher (28% and 29%).

Chart of the results of the survey of English proficiency in the "reliable" group of teachers in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training

The test was held online at the end of April, lasting 90 minutes, covering listening, reading and writing skills, aligned to the CEFR framework from A1 to C2. The test was developed by Cambridge Assessment English.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training emphasized that the survey results are only for the purpose of developing training plans, not for classification, competition or salary consideration. The collected data will help the city'seducation sector plan foreign language training programs, moving towards the goal of "making English the second language in schools".

Mr. Nhan

Source: https://tienphong.vn/unexpected-results-from-the-English-ability-surprise-of-teachers-in-tphcm-post1740330.tpo