English in Vietnam

The Vietnamese Constitution designates Vietnamese as the national language of Vietnam, but English is also an officially taught foreign language in the national education system, and is also studied or used in commerce by many segments of the population^[1][2]. According to the EF English Proficiency Index ranking, Vietnamese people in Vietnam have only used English at an "average" level for many years, especially in 2019 falling into the "low" group^[3][4][5].

According to the 2022 EF English Proficiency Index ranking, Vietnam ranks 60th and belongs to the group of countries with an average proficiency level.^[6][7][8][9] EF Education First released the EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) ranking of 113 countries and territories, with Vietnam's English proficiency ranking 7th out of 23 countries and territories in Asia,^[10][11] and 58th out of 113 countries and territories overall.^[12][13]

According to general observation, formal English teaching and learning in Vietnam still focuses heavily on grammar and vocabulary but lacks practice^[14]. As a result, many learners may understand grammar rules very well and have good reading and writing skills, but are unable to communicate in English in daily life due to poor listening and speaking skills^[15][16]. On the contrary, among those who use English informally, especially small traders, people may speak English very confidently and fluently, but often make mistakes in grammar, sentence structure, and even writing and pronunciation, and are often referred to as Vietlish, a type of broken English.^[17]

See also[edit]

• Southeast Asian English
• Singapore English
• Philippine English
• Malaysian English
• Brunei English
• Vietglish

References[edit]