IELTS 'heats up' after high school graduation exam

Having lost its appeal after regulations from the Ministry of Education and Training such as English no longer being a compulsory subject or being converted into a 10 in the graduation exam, IELTS suddenly attracted a lot of attention again when the English exam for high school graduation was considered too difficult.

Immediately after the 2025 high school graduation English exam ended, many candidates complained that despite having high IELTS scores, they still could not do well on the exam. On social networking sites, the keyword "IELTS" also received many discussions when some accounts compared the high school graduation exam as "as difficult" as IELTS, especially the reading section, and said that if they only studied at school, they could not do well on this exam.

ADD BACKUP PLAN

Ms. Nguyen Dieu Thuy, the parent of a student who is going to grade 12 this year in the new Ho Chi Minh City (including Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, and the old Binh Duong province), said she had to rush to find IELTS test preparation courses last week after learning that "it is no longer easy to get a 10 in English like before". "I consider it as sending my child to extra classes, both to prepare for next year's exam and to have a backup plan to submit university application", Ms. Thuy said.

Candidates take the IELTS practice test. At some language centers, the number of students registering for IELTS during this time has increased compared to the same period last year.

PHOTO: NGOC LONG

It would be alarming if high school students no longer enjoy studying the general English program.

Associate Professor, Dr. LE VAN CANH (leading expert in English teaching in Vietnam)

Responding to Thanh Nien , a representative of IDP VN - one of the two co-organizers of the IELTS test in Vietnam - did not specifically mention the number of candidates registering for the IELTS test in Vietnam in recent times, but said that the trend of Vietnamese candidates choosing to take the IELTS test on computers has "significantly increased" in recent years. "In the past year alone, we opened 7 new computer testing rooms, bringing the total to 25 officially licensed locations," this person informed.

Ms. Thuy added that although her child often got high scores in English in class, she still struggled when trying to take the 2025 high school graduation English exam and was only sure to get about 6-7 points. With this level, her child is not confident in competing in majors related to information technology compared to candidates taking exams in groups that do not have English. "Instead of hoping for easier questions, my child and I decided to be proactive," this parent confided.

Currently, Ms. Thuy's child is preparing for the entrance exam to be placed in a class in a system with many centers in Ho Chi Minh City. She estimates that she will have to pay more than 10 million VND in tuition, but her child is guaranteed to achieve an IELTS score of 6.0 or higher.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Quoc Minh Khang, a 12th grade student at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School (HCMC), confided that the difficulty of the English test helped him feel more secure in his decision to study IELTS. "IELTS focuses more on skills and application than English in high school, which often focuses too much on theory. I chose to take the IELTS test to apply to universities in and outside the country. It helps me feel less pressured," said the student aiming for IELTS 7.5.

GRADUALLY INCREASING INTEREST

The cases of Ms. Dieu Thuy or Minh Khang are not isolated. In the past week, a number of IELTS centers said that many parents and students have contacted them for advice on study programs. "The popularity of the IELTS test is returning, although it has not reached the same level as before," said Ms. Nguyen Trinh Hanh Phuc, General Director of IELTS Vietop English System in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ms. Phuc analyzed that this year's high school graduation exam is more focused on application and no longer focuses on grammar rules as before, with the appearance of groups of questions about rearranging conversation order, guessing the meaning of new words and testing vocabulary, "especially the paragraph-based questions have many parts similar to the IELTS speaking test and also have many similarities to the writing test such as developing ideas in academic paragraphs, how to use conjunctions".

"Therefore, those who have studied IELTS will have a slight advantage," Ms. Phuc commented and added: "This is the direction (of the high school graduation exam - PV ) that should be taken because the new trend of language education is gradually moving towards focusing on applied communication rather than purely memorizing grammar rules."

In Da Nang City (including Da Nang City and the old Quang Nam province), Mr. Le Huynh Duc, Director of Huynh Duc IELTS Center, informed that in the past half month, the number of registered students increased by about 10 - 15% compared to the same period last year, mainly from high school students. This comes from a number of reasons, such as the favorable summer break for students to accelerate their English learning, many major universities add English certificate points to the total admission score and many students consider IELTS as a safe backup option for admission forms combined with SAT, ACT, transcripts...

"In particular, this year's English high school graduation exam has a high degree of differentiation, causing many parents and students to see the risks and want a reliable alternative," Mr. Duc emphasized, adding that the cost of IELTS test preparation is still high compared to the income level in some areas. Not to mention, the IELTS test fee of 4,664,000 VND per test is also considered quite high compared to other recognized tests such as TOEIC, TOEFL or Aptis.

Previously, when IELTS was no longer converted to a 10 for graduation and English was no longer a compulsory subject for high school graduation according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, interest in the IELTS exam "somewhat decreased", according to Mr. Duc. "Many students temporarily put aside IELTS preparation to focus completely on the high school graduation exam", he said.

The "cooling down" of foreign language certificates in recent times, especially IELTS, has also been reflected before. Specifically, according to data from the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City (old), in 2025, only 1,724 12th grade students submitted certificates to be exempted from foreign language exams, mainly English. This number has decreased sharply and is only 1/7 compared to last year (13,076 students). This is also the lowest number in the past 4 years.

Students review IELTS test on computer

AFFECTING THE GOAL OF IMPLEMENTING THE NEW PROGRAM

Sharing with Thanh Nien , Dr. Willy A. Renandya, senior lecturer at the National Institute of Education (NIE) at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), commented that students seeking international language certificates instead of just learning English at school has both advantages and disadvantages. The plus point is that when setting the goal of conquering international certificates, students will feel the need to continue improving their English proficiency.

However, IELTS and TOEFL "are not the best tests" if students just want to know whether they can speak and write English for general communication purposes, according to Dr. Renandya. "This test is only necessary if they want to study abroad in a country where English is used as the language of instruction. Otherwise, students do not necessarily need to take any test like IELTS," he shared.

Another drawback is that the above tests are "very expensive", according to Dr. Renandya. Therefore, he also recommends that Vietnam should develop its own domestic English test to assess learners' abilities according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ​​(CEFR). "This will be more useful for the majority", he commented.

The cost of IELTS test preparation is still high compared to the income level in some areas.

Photo: Ngoc Long

Meanwhile, Associate Professor Dr. Le Van Canh, a leading expert in English teaching in Vietnam, said that students' shift to studying foreign language certificates will greatly affect the goal of implementing the 2018 General Education Program (new program). "It will be very alarming if students no longer like to study the general English program," Mr. Canh shared.

According to Mr. Canh, while waiting for the high school graduation exam results, what schools and teachers need to do is to encourage students and parents. After the official exam results are available, teachers can review their teaching methods and make necessary adjustments if needed to increase students' interest in learning English.

"In my opinion, the most difficult thing in Vietnam's current conditions is how to make students love learning English first, let's not discuss the learning results yet. When students love English, the goals we set will be easily achieved. However, if the teaching method and exam organization make students bored and lose motivation to learn, all efforts will not bring the expected results," Associate Professor, Dr. Le Van Canh analyzed.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ielts-tang-nhiet-sau-ky-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-185250706184825457.htm