Parents spend money on their children's IELTS preparation.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh's son (Cau Giay, Hanoi ) is currently a first-year student at Hanoi University of Foreign Languages.

"My child didn't score enough points (37) to get into their desired department (foreign language score is doubled), their academic record isn't great, and their aptitude test scores are low. Without a 6.5 IELTS, they wouldn't have a chance to get into a top university," Ms. Thanh explained why she spared no expense on her child's preparation, even though the amount was half of her annual income.

Ms. Thanh's daughter has been studying IELTS since 6th grade, attending two sessions per week at a well-known center with dozens of branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. There, her daughter follows a 4-year program with a guaranteed minimum score of 6.5. After this period, if the student is not confident enough to take the exam or does not achieve the desired score, they can attend free review sessions.

"Here, my child has the opportunity to interact more with native speakers and learn English presentation skills, so she's become more confident," Ms. Thanh said.

However, a few months before the IELTS exam, seeing that her child still lacked confidence, Ms. Thanh enrolled her in a 3-month intensive course with a Vietnamese teacher, costing 9 million VND. Although the results weren't as expected, the whole family breathed a sigh of relief when their child scored enough points to be admitted to a good university.

Candidates participating in the 2024 high school graduation exam. Photo: Nguyen Hue

With a child in 11th grade at Hoang Liet High School (Hoang Mai, Hanoi), Ms. Bich Van recently enrolled her child in an IELTS course at a center near her home.

"My child will study for a year to gradually improve their GPA from 2.0 to 6.5. The original cost was over 38 million VND, but with a discount, it's now less than 30 million VND," Ms. Van said.

According to the plan, by the middle of 12th grade, your child could achieve an IELTS score of 6.5-7.0 if they commit to attending classes regularly, completing all assignments, and participating in mock tests…

Ms. Vân recounted that her child had been taking extra English classes since middle school, 2-3 times a week, usually with teachers near their home, to supplement the school curriculum or prepare for the high school entrance exam.

According to her, even if the Ministry of Education and Training stops using IELTS for university admissions in the next few years, she wouldn't hesitate to spend money on her child's test preparation because "it will definitely help improve my child's English, which will be beneficial when studying at university and later in life. Like me, I missed many opportunities because of my poor English skills."

Mr. Pham Hung Thuyen, Lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages ​​( Thai Nguyen University). Photo: Provided by the lecturer.

Like Van's family, Thanh's family, and many other parents, are now willing to spend money on IELTS courses for their children, knowing that the results are used for admission to some universities and high schools.

IELTS preparation courses on the market are quite diverse, ranging from in-person or online classes to a combination of both, with costs from a few million to hundreds of millions of VND, depending on the reputation of the center or instructor, the number of students in the class, the study time, the guaranteed score, etc.

According to Mr. Pham Hung Thuyen, a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages ​​(Thai Nguyen University) – who once achieved an 8.5 IELTS score and has been teaching at a foreign language center for many years – among the students registering for IELTS courses, nearly 40% are high school students, and almost 99% aim to obtain a certificate for university admission.

However, according to the teacher, most of these students have a low foundation in English, having mostly only studied vocabulary and grammar previously, so they lack the ability to use the language effectively, speak poorly, and don't know how to write correct sentences...

"Parents often expect their children to achieve high scores after IELTS courses, but most are investing in the superficial aspects without building a strong foundation," Mr. Thuyen said.

According to him, IELTS preparation is only suitable for students aged 14 and above, who have already formed a relatively mature worldview; have sufficient exposure to social, scientific, and abstract topics to understand or guess scientific concepts or the topics of various types of questions… The process of studying for and taking this exam will discourage younger students, even making them “fear” English.

He also argued that investing in IELTS preparation doesn't help students much, except for those intending to study abroad. For high school students, achieving a score of 6.5 or higher might be an advantage for early admission to some universities. However, to achieve that score at the end of high school, students should have already mastered vocabulary (meaning and parts of speech), grammar, sentence structure, and good listening skills since middle school.

"Elementary and middle school students should focus on mastering basic English in all four skills, and only in high school should they concentrate on IELTS if they have a clear goal of using this score for university admissions or studying abroad. Parents should not rush to enroll their children in IELTS preparation courses regardless of their current level or force them to study this program too early," the lecturer expressed.

Many parents "burn money" on their children's IELTS studies due to the misconception that high scores are a sign of talent . Experts believe that public opinion is causing parents to mistakenly believe that achieving a high IELTS score is a sign of talent. Therefore, many parents are following the crowd mentality, putting unnecessary pressure on their children.