Suitable for teaching conditions

Looking back at the entrance exams for grade 10 in localities that have implemented the exam format for the past decades when implementing the 2006 General Education Program, the third exam subject besides Math and Literature is fixed and most of them choose English. Not many localities choose other exam subjects. By the 2025-2026 school year, the first course of admission to grade 10 according to the 2018 General Education Program, English will continue to be chosen by localities as the third exam subject.

Statistics show that, in addition to English, some localities choose Foreign Language (including English and some other languages ​​such as Chinese, French, Russian, Korean, Japanese, German...) as the third subject. Only Ha Giang province chooses History and Geography as the third subject. Particularly, students in Binh Thuan province who want to take the exam for the provincial boarding school for ethnic minorities, in addition to the two compulsory subjects of History and Geography, candidates for the 10th grade specialized and non-specialized will take the third subject of English.

Analysis from experts shows that choosing English as the third subject is also the most optimal option because this is one of the subjects that parents and students are investing the most in.

At the same time, after entering high school, Foreign Language 1 will continue to be a compulsory subject. Other options will be somewhat difficult if the exam is organized in the first year according to the 2018 General Education Program. For example, the subjects of Civic Education; Technology; Informatics do not have much time to study in school. If the exam for Informatics is organized, it will be difficult to meet the material facilities. The subject of Technology has a lot of practical content, so it is also difficult to organize. The subjects of History, Geography, and Natural Sciences are integrated subjects at the secondary school level, but there are still some difficulties in teaching when in many schools, one subject is still taught by 2 or 3 teachers.

Focus on teaching English in schools

Currently, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) is drafting a national project “Gradually introducing English as a second language in schools in the period 2025 - 2035, with a vision to 2045”. The general goal is for English to be widely and regularly used in communication, study, research, and work.

The project also identifies the goal of gradually making English the second language in schools; improving English proficiency to meet the needs of study and work, and enhancing the competitiveness of human resources in the new era.

The draft project also sets specific goals for each level of education, including preschool education, general education, continuing education, university education and vocational education at each specific stage. The school levels implementing English as a second language are also identified.

The Ministry of Education and Training assesses that gradually making English a second language in schools has many advantages such as the large number of English learners; the organization of teaching and learning of joint programs in high schools as well as the development of foreign language centers to help learners easily access English. However, gradually making English a second language in schools in Vietnam today also has many difficulties such as the difference in socio-economic conditions between localities; many places are still difficult; the English learning of students in the localities is still very different...

Therefore, in addition to the general policy of the Ministry of Education and Training, each locality and school has made proactive efforts to improve the quality of English teaching in schools. Principal of Trung Vuong Secondary School (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi) Nguyen Thi Thu Ha said that every morning, 9th grade students start their review with "period 0". Depending on the specific situation, teachers of the 3 subjects of Literature, Math and Foreign Language proactively arrange "period 0" on suitable days, ensuring no more than 2 periods/week. This model has been implemented for many years, mainly for students whose academic performance is not really confident when entering the exam. In particular, in the context of implementing new regulations on extra teaching, in addition to guiding students to review, in this "period 0", teachers strengthen guidance for students on test-taking skills and self-study skills at home.