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Vietnam’s EPI average score was 473 out of 800 in the marking for 2020, making it the second year in a row Vietnam has been listed in the low-proficiency category, according to "the world's largest ranking of countries and regions by English skills" released by Swiss Education First (EF), a global language training company.The ranking was based on surveys conducted in the form of an online quiz with the participation of nearly 2.2 million adults from 100 non-native English speaking countries and territories.For the first time, the points scale has been moved to 800 this year, equivalent to English level C2, the sixth and final level in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).A report on the ranking explained a low proficiency level as an individual only being able to "navigate an English-speaking country as a tourist, engage in small talk with colleagues, and understand simple emails from colleagues."In Asia, Vietnam was ranked 13th among 24 economies, down from 10th last year, and 65th globally. The three nations with the highest ranks in Asia, Singapore (10th), the Philippines (27th) and Malaysia (30th) were listed in the "very high proficiency," "high proficiency" and "moderate proficiency" categories.In Southeast Asia, Vietnam's English skills were higher than Indonesia (74th), Cambodia (84th), Thailand (89th), and Myanmar (93rd).The report noted that English proficiency in Asia declined slightly compared to last year, with almost half the countries surveyed registering a drop in scores. It also said that despite major investments in English education in both the private and public sectors, the average proficiency score in Asia has remained stagnant for the past five years.Vietnam’s two major cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, were also listed in the "low proficiency" category, with the former having a marginally better score (481) than the latter (477).The report also said that in Vietnam, where per capita income last year reached $3,498 …

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Every evening from Monday to Thursday Nguyen Dieu attends an English center in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 after work. She is doing a course in English designed for people who have graduated and are working.She now works in the field of foreign education consultancy after spending two years in retail and then the food-beverages industry.Now 27, she has been learning English since sixth grade, and says, "The curriculums at secondary and high schools and the tertiary level offer a certain level of English proficiency, but they are not practical.""What I learned in school is not enough to use English at work."English is compulsory in school. Before 2018 students learned the language from sixth grade, but now start in third grade.In 2014 the Ministry of Education and Training issued a six-level foreign language proficiency framework compatible with the A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2 levels in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).Students graduating from high school are required to achieve Level 3, equivalent to the CEFR’s B1 level, which represents a score of 4.0-5.0 in IELTS and 500-780 in TOEIC.According to CEFR guidelines, someone at B1 level "can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc, deal with most situations likely to arise whilst traveling, produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest, describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans."But in reality, not many students who have graduated from high school can meet these standards. Learners and educators blame that on the English programs in public schools being outdated and irrelevant, and the lack of investment in training teachers.Nguyen Thi Thuy Anh, deputy head of the English faculty at Thu Duc College of Technology in Ho Chi Minh City, says a majority of her students "look like …

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