Ho Chi Minh City has launched a plan to make English the second language in schools from 2026 to 2035, with a vision to 2045. The city aims to use English widely, regularly and effectively in teaching and learning and build an English-speaking education environment under the national roadmap.
The plan seeks to improve English teaching and the teaching of subjects in English, develop a qualified workforce and build a generation able to integrate more deeply with the world. It is also intended to support the city’s role as Vietnam’s leading economic, cultural, education and science-technology hub.
The municipal People’s Committee announced the plan on November 3. It includes raising awareness of English’s role in education and integration, improving mechanisms and policies, developing staff and language capacity, improving teaching methods, and building English-medium and integrated curricula from preschool.
The city will also renew teaching, testing and assessment methods, develop an English-speaking environment, advance technology and artificial intelligence, upgrade facilities, strengthen international cooperation and public-private partnerships, and launch reward programmes.
The first phase, covering 2026 to 2030, is focused on building the foundation and preparing for wider rollout. During the 2026-2027 school year, the city will compile statistics, survey English proficiency among all staff, and review existing English-medium and integrated curricula.
In the 2027-2028 school year, the city targets English proficiency training for 20-30% of managers, teachers and staff. It also aims for 30% of educational establishments to provide training in English, STEM and STEAM teaching methods; at least 30% to have a complete English-speaking environment; and at least 15% to teach subjects in English.
In 2029-2030, each of these targets will rise by another 10%. By 2035, the city aims for 100% of managers and teachers to meet planned English proficiency standards, all establishments to complete training in methods for teaching subjects in English, all to fully develop English-medium teaching programmes, and all to complete school English-speaking environments.
From 2036 to 2045, the city will focus on improving conditions and resources for sustainable development. It will maintain and develop staff capacity, regularly update teaching methods, raise the share of general education establishments running integrated courses to 60-70%, and modernise and bilingualise education environments.
According to the municipal People’s Committee, the city has led Vietnam for eight consecutive years in average English scores in the high school graduation exam. More than 90% of general education establishments have run enhanced English and bilingual curricula for over two decades. Since 2014, the city has implemented a plan for teaching and learning mathematics, science and English through integrated UK and Vietnam curricula.
The city now has 69 international-model schools, 64 higher education establishments, 154 vocational education facilities and 1,915 foreign language centres.
Sources: VietnamPlus / Vietnam News Agency
