The 2024 high school graduation exam is the final exam of the 2006 general education program, marking the end of an educational phase and the official transition to a completely new phase with new changes and expectations. 2025 will be the first exam for students under the new 2018 education program. After the 2024 high school graduation exam concludes, in addition to awaiting the results, many teachers and students are also particularly interested in the changes to the high school graduation exam for the following year.
One of the most significant changes to the 2025 high school graduation exam is that foreign languages will no longer be a compulsory subject. The question of how the foreign language exam will be structured is also a matter of great interest to students and teachers.
According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, an English teacher in Hanoi , the 2024 high school graduation exam had a fairly good level of differentiation, especially in terms of vocabulary coverage, which was very diverse and spanned the entire 12th-grade curriculum, while also including reading comprehension topics related to students' real-life experiences. This is also a positive sign, anticipating further changes from 2025 onwards.
The Ministry of Education and Training has also released sample exam questions for the 2025 high school graduation exam. According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, the exam questions are approaching those of international foreign language certificates. Therefore, students taking the 2025 high school graduation exam need to change their learning methods starting now. The sample exam questions require candidates to expand their knowledge, not only studying from the textbook curriculum, but also to independently explore and research, especially gradually familiarizing themselves with international curricula.
"Based on the sample exam, it can be seen that the changes in question formats in the 2025 exam are partly aimed at enabling learners to use English in both academics and communication, and to comprehensively develop all four skills. The sample foreign language exam published by the Ministry of Education and Training shows three new question types."
In terms of knowledge, besides the traditional fill-in-the-blanks question type, the 2025 sample exam also includes fill-in-the-blanks questions on practical texts such as announcements and advertisements. The number of questions has also increased. In terms of skills, the 2025 sample exam places a greater emphasis on the ability to write various texts.
In exams from 2024 and earlier, candidates were required to write indirect sentences through question types such as choosing sentences with equivalent meanings or combining sentences. In the 2025 exam, candidates will be assessed through two new question types: arranging sentences into paragraphs and filling in sentences/clauses in a text. The third type requires filling in sentences or clauses in a text. For this type, candidates need to demonstrate the ability to identify unity and connection within the text to create a complete flow of ideas,” Mr. Nguyen commented.
Since it is no longer a compulsory subject for graduation, Mr. Nguyen also believes that students who choose Foreign Language are often those who enjoy the subject or intend to use it for university admissions.
In recent years, universities have increasingly used English language proficiency certificates for admissions. However, Mr. Nguyen believes that students should not limit themselves to choosing only the IELTS certificate; instead, candidates can choose other suitable certificates such as TOEIC or VSTEP, which follow the 6-level competency framework of the Ministry of Education and Training.
Ms. Nguyen Viet Hoa, a foreign language teacher at Marie Curie School (Hanoi), also believes that, based on the sample exam released by the Ministry of Education and Training, both teachers and students will need to reorient their learning methods and familiarize themselves with the new exam format.
According to Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong, the development of the exam structure and format, to be released to teachers and students, aims to serve teaching and learning, and ultimately ensure the quality of the exam. “Regarding exam organization, the Ministry will soon direct and issue regulations on organizing the high school graduation exam from 2025, and these regulations will be announced in the fourth quarter of 2024.”
From 2025, foreign languages will no longer be a compulsory subject, but will become one of the optional subjects, "on equal footing" with other subjects. However, the influence of this subject will certainly not diminish, because having foreign language skills and English certificates will give students more opportunities when entering university," Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong emphasized.
Source: https://vov.vn/xa-hoi/doi-moi-ky-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-2025-thay-doi-cach-hoc-thi-ngoai-ngu-the-nao-post1105240.vov
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