Concerns about English being an elective subject in the 2025 high school graduation exam

Many 12th grade students "refuse" English

Class 12A1 is the class with a fairly high entrance score at Phan Dang Luu High School (Yen Thanh), the percentage of students determined to enter university is nearly 100%. Preparing for the High School Graduation Exam, in addition to the two compulsory subjects of Math and Literature, most students choose natural subjects such as Physics, Chemistry or Biology. The number of students registering for the third subject, English, is only 4.

Sharing the reason, Phung Oanh said: I am aiming to enter Hue University of Medicine, so I will choose Chemistry and Biology to register for the elective exam. That will be convenient for me in the graduation exam and to register for university.

In the whole school, the rate of students registering for the English exam is only about 36% and mainly focuses on the group of students registering for the D block exam (Math - Literature - English) or A1 block exam (Math - Physics - English).

Meanwhile, at Bac Yen Thanh High School, this year, through a survey, 165/594 students chose Foreign Language as their graduation exam subject.

Explaining the reason, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha - Vice Principal of the school added: This year, the High School Graduation Exam has many new features, so students have many opportunities to register for elective subjects out of a total of 9 subjects that they study, including Foreign Languages, History, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economic and Legal Education, Information Technology, Technology. In our school, students who choose English as an elective subject mean that this is also the subject they apply for university admission or for some students who want to study abroad, go to work abroad or intend to work in foreign companies.

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The reason why not many students register for English is because there are not many professions related to English, mainly in linguistic and specialized fields. Meanwhile, the school's students do not have many conditions to learn English like other favorable regions.

Teacher Le Thi Ha - Vice Principal of Bac Yen Thanh High School

At Nghi Loc 3 High School, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 1/5 of the students (about 100 students) registered to take the elective subject, English.

Many of these students are planning to study abroad after completing grade 12. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga - Vice Principal of the school said: Although the number of students registering is not high, those who have chosen English mean that they have determined their goals and they will study seriously so that they can apply English in their lives in the future.

Avoid the "study for the test" mentality

This school year, Que Phong High School has more than 550 12th grade students. From 10th grade, based on voluntary student registration, the school is divided into 7 classes with a Social Science orientation and 8 classes with a Natural Science orientation.

Entering the final school year, because this is the first year of implementing the exam according to the new General Education Program, starting from the end of grade 11, the school has conducted a survey of the number of students registering for the exam subjects. Thereby, it shows that the majority of students choose to register for the graduation exam of 2 elective subjects in subjects such as History, Geography, Biology, Economics and Law. The number of students taking subjects such as Physics and Chemistry mainly falls into class A1 or the number of students expected to take these subjects for university admission. In particular, the rate of registration for the English exam is very low, only about 2 - 3%.

Although the survey was conducted very early, according to teacher Nguyen Hong Tu - Vice Principal of the school, the survey was only for reference and was not made public to both teachers and students. There are many reasons for this, in part, the school does not want students to "follow the crowd" and register for elective subjects following the majority. Besides, it is to avoid students learning by order and rote learning, and also to make teachers equal and feel secure in teaching.

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Even up to this point, our school is still teaching all subjects. After the midterm exam, the school will conduct a survey again so that students can register for elective subjects that are “close” to their abilities. The implementation process is not smooth, because even teachers with children in the school only want to focus on studying the 4 subjects for the exam.

However, we believe that the High School Graduation Exam is not as stressful as it used to be and there are not many opportunities for university admission. If students study all subjects equally, they will be able to participate in competency assessment exams or gain additional knowledge of English, which will help them after graduation and employment.

Teacher Nguyen Hong Tu - Vice Principal of Que Phong High School

The fact that 100% of students did not register for the English exam is not too surprising to teachers at Tran Dinh Phong High School - a non-public school in Yen Thanh district. However, with the school's students planning to study abroad or work abroad after graduation, the school's board of directors still focuses on English so that students can adapt when working and studying abroad.

Through the discussion, teacher Nguyen Trong Van - Principal of the school shared: This school year, our school only has 71 12th grade students and very few students are expected to take the university entrance exam. Due to the low input, students are often afraid of English and often choose social subjects to be "safe" and easier to pass. Although this is the current trend, the school is still very concerned because foreign language is an essential subject, very necessary in daily life and especially this is a criterion if students want to study abroad or go to work abroad. In the near future, we still encourage students to study all subjects and need to continue to improve foreign languages, considering this a basic skill that is needed in the integration period...

The 2024-2025 school year is the first year the entire education sector organizes the Graduation Exam according to theGeneral Education Program 2018Accordingly, in addition to the two compulsory subjects of Math and Literature, students only have to take two subjects (instead of four subjects as before) and English has changed from a compulsory subject to an elective subject.

In the new context, the tendency of 12th grade students not to register for English, although not too surprising, still leaves many thoughts. In fact, for a long time, students often "study what they take the test" and if they do not take the testEnglish, it is very likely that a generation of students will "neglect" this subject right from grade 10. That seems to go against the current integration trend and will be an obstacle on the journey to making English the second language in schools./.