Schools will teach English as a compulsory subject from grade 1.

The Prime Minister has just issued a decision approving the Project "Making English the second language in schools for the period 2025-2035, with a vision to 2045", aiming to improve English proficiency for children, pupils and students, contributing to the development of Vietnamese people in the age of science and technology, the digital age, and enhancing international integration.

The project's objective is to make English the second language in schools in Vietnam; English is used widely, regularly, and effectively in teaching, communication, management, and educational activities of schools, forming an ecosystem of English use in educational institutions from level 1 to level 3.

Improve the quality of English teaching and learning, teaching in English to contribute to building a generation of global citizens to meet the requirements of Vietnam's international integration.

For preschool education, children will experience and become familiar with English; aiming to form and develop English communication skills, preparing well for learning English at secondary school level.

For general education, students form and develop their capacity and skills in using English in developing their thinking and qualities, learning capacity of subjects, educational activities, exchanges, experiences inside and outside school, contributing to the comprehensive development of Vietnamese people in the era of deep international integration.

For higher education, the goal is to develop an environment that uses English effectively in teaching courses. Develop higher education as a pillar leading the country in the English ecosystem with the capacity for deep integration, knowledge transfer and innovation in English.

22,000 more English teachers needed

The project is applied in all preschool, general education, university, vocational education and continuing education facilities nationwide.

The Ministry of Education and Training estimates that the project will impact about 50,000 educational institutions with nearly 30 million children, pupils, and about 1 million managers and teachers at all levels, fields of study, and training sectors.

The project implementation period is 20 years (from 2025 to 2045), implemented in 3 phases.

Phase (2025-2030) builds the foundation and standardizes; 100% of preschools in favorable areas ensure conditions for children to get acquainted with English. 100% of general education facilities nationwide teach English as a compulsory subject from grade 1. Currently, schools are teaching English as a compulsory subject from grade 3.

Phase (2030-2035): 80% of preschools nationwide introduce children to English; 30% of general schools reach level 1.

Phase (2035-2045) will be completed and enhanced - English is used naturally, developing an ecosystem of English use in the educational environment, communication and school administration.

The project requires developing staff and improving the quality of training and fostering managers, teachers and English lecturers to ensure quantity and quality.

Survey and assess English proficiency for teachers, lecturers teaching English and other subjects in English at all levels and training levels.

According to the calculations of the Ministry of Education and Training, for preschool education, to successfully implement the project, there needs to be 1 position of English teacher/1 preschool education facility. Thus, it is expected that there will be an additional 12,000 positions of English teachers in public preschool education facilities nationwide.

The implementation of compulsory English teaching from grade 1 of the General Education Program will create an additional staff of nearly 10,000 teachers in primary schools across the country.

In addition, it is necessary to train and foster English and professional and pedagogical skills for at least 200,000 English teachers from now until 2035 to meet the needs and goals of the project.