Will Vietnam stop paper-based IELTS exams like two Southeast Asian countries?

From early March 2024, two Southeast Asian countries, Thailand and Malaysia, will stop taking IELTS on paper and only operate the test on computers. This information has many people "guessing" that the IELTS test in Vietnam will also change.

Ms. Pham Tinh - Director of PISA Foreign Language Center (IDP's main partner) said that up to now, she has not received any notice about stopping the IELTS test in paper form in Vietnam.

"Apart from encouraging candidates to register for the computer-based test, IDP does not have any additional information requiring 100% registration for the test in this form. Therefore, we still maintain two forms of testing: paper-based and computer-based for candidates to freely choose," said Ms. Tinh.

Vietnam still maintains the paper-based exam format. (Illustration photo)

Regarding the IELTS test on computer, Ms. Pham Tinh commented: "This is a common trend, not only in Vietnam but all over the world . Compared to paper-based tests, computer-based tests have many advantages, typically faster and more convenient in collecting, grading and returning results."

In the near future, Vietnam will also aim to completely eliminate paper-based exams to limit negative factors such as cheating, reduce costs, and save time for both candidates and the exam board. "Candidates should prepare for the computer-based exam right now," said Ms. Tinh.

This person also revealed information from IDP - the IELTS test organizer, the One Skill Retake (OSR) feature will soon be applied in Vietnam. The center is researching and working actively to be able to deploy IELTS One Skill Retake in Vietnam. This is a new feature that allows candidates to retake any of the four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing without having to retake the entire test as before.

Thus, if the candidate does not achieve the expected results, he/she can focus on a single skill instead of reviewing and retaking all skills. OSR will help the candidate achieve the best results suitable to his/her ability.

Currently in Vietnam, the IELTS test is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training to consider exemption from the high school graduation exam in English. Meanwhile, many universities use it for admission, by converting it according to their own scale and combining it with the transcript score, graduation exam score or competency assessment test score.

Previously, in August 2023, IELTS co-organizers in another Asian country, Iran, also suspended paper-based testing and only allowed computer-based testing due to concerns about cheating at testing centers.

Hieu Lam

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