According to the annual September statistics officially announced on the IELTS homepage, the average IELTS Academic score of Vietnamese people has dropped from 6.3 (2022-2023) to 6.2 (2023-2024) and Vietnam's ranking has dropped to 29th place compared to 23rd place in 2022-2023. The information that the average IELTS score of Vietnamese people has decreased and Vietnam's IELTS ranking has dropped 6 places compared to the previous year is receiving public attention.
However, speaking with Dan Viet newspaper reporter, teacher Nguyen Anh Duc, IELTS training expert, Chairman of Smartcom English center chain, said: "If we only look at the percentage of scores and rankings like this, many people will be disappointed, but if we look at this issue more comprehensively, we have the right to be more optimistic than worried." Teacher Duc analyzed specifically as follows:
Teacher Nguyen Anh Duc in a session inspiring effective IELTS learning for students in Hanoi . Photo: NVCC
"The biggest reason: The sudden increase in the number of candidates will cause the average exam score to decrease.
The main reason for the drop in IELTS scores is more positive than negative. The number of IELTS test takers in Vietnam in 2023-2024 has increased by at least 35% compared to the previous year. Although both IDP and the British Council, the official IELTS test organizers, do not officially announce the figures, statistical measures have shown that the number of IELTS test takers has increased dramatically, with a minimum increase of 35%.
We must always remember that the Academic IELTS is a difficult English test. And achieving an IELTS score of 6.0 or higher, which is in the middle of level 4 on the 6-level language proficiency scale (or B2 according to the CEFR) is a proud achievement. A score of 6.0 IELTS can be understood as a High Intermediate level, which means having the ability to communicate in academic English relatively fluently. With a difficult test, plus a sudden increase in the number of candidates after 1 year, the decrease in average score is completely natural.
It is worth noting that in a difficult test like IELTS, the number of test takers increased dramatically while the average score only decreased by 0.1 point, which shows that the English proficiency of a large number of Vietnamese people has increased significantly. This is certainly good news for managers and foreign investors who want to invest in Vietnam.
Second reason: Due to the adjustment in the way of making questions, the Speaking skill score is reduced.
This is also a significant reason contributing to the decrease in the average IELTS score of Vietnamese people. In recent years, IELTS test takers have tended to study according to predicted test sets, but in reality, examiners tend to adjust the questions differently, focusing more on personal experiences or situations than usual questions.
For example, instead of asking the old question "Describe a person you admire", people ask: "Describe a person who helps others" or "Describe a time when you received help from someone".
Examiners have also become stricter, giving tighter marks to unnatural, memorized speeches.
I recommend you to speak English every day, even if it only takes 15 minutes of communication, it will create a natural speaking reflex. Nowadays, AI is very developed, you can download free AI applications to speak English just like communicating with a dedicated native English tutor, willing to talk to you about anything, for as long as you want and always ready to correct your pronunciation, word usage, and grammar mistakes. Or if possible, you should find IELTS teachers who stimulate your natural communication skills, instead of instructing you to learn tricks and memorize.
Third reason: There is a certain subjectivity from the candidate.
Although the average IELTS score has decreased slightly, the number of candidates achieving high IELTS scores has also increased significantly. We see that IELTS scores of 7.5 or 8.0 have become quite popular among Vietnamese candidates. Many of you will point out that we only have 5% of scores from 8.0 and above. But you forget that this 5% is a proportion of a larger total, meaning that the number of people achieving 8.0 and above has increased significantly compared to previous years. It is the popularity of this high IELTS score that has made English learners and IELTS test takers subjective, thinking that taking the IELTS test is easy.
Therefore, investing in learning English and preparing for the IELTS exam becomes less drastic and the psychology of taking the exam becomes more subjective. Practical experience in teaching IELTS shows that the group of students with average English proficiency is the group most susceptible to this psychology.
Regarding the perspective of comparing Vietnam's IELTS ranking with other Southeast Asian countries, comparing IELTS rankings with other countries does not have much value. The real value of IELTS scores is to reflect the English proficiency of the people or more precisely, the readiness of each country's workforce to participate in the global supply chain thanks to their ability to communicate fluently in English. From this perspective, Vietnam should be proud that its IELTS score has reached its level of communication proficiency with an increasing number of proficient people.
Recent years have proven that the policy of using IELTS scores for university admission has caused the number of IELTS learners to increase sharply every year, making the number of IELTS learners and test takers in Vietnam the leader in Southeast Asia. This means that in the very near future, the international competitiveness of our Vietnamese workforce will increase day by day, ready to participate in a higher and more valuable position in the global supply chain.
Therefore, instead of worrying about whether the IELTS ranking of Vietnamese people has increased or decreased slightly, we need to continue to more strongly realize the policy of making English the second language in schools. To make the number of people who can effectively use English in studying and working increasingly larger, accounting for a high proportion of the total workforce. This scale will create investment attraction for the entire economy , open up better educational prospects for each individual, and contribute to enhancing Vietnam's position not only in the region but also in the international arena."
Source: https://danviet.vn/diem-ielts-cua-viet-nam-bi-tut-hang-6-bac-chuyen-gia-canh-bao-dieu-gi-20241016062048504.htm
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