Not all students are eligible for IELTS certificates
In recent years, the IELTS certificate has been considered a passing ticket, helping many candidates increase their chances of being admitted to university.
In 2025, dozens of universities will prioritize admission for candidates with IELTS certificates, including top schools, schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, Pedagogy, etc. The common level is IELTS 5.5 or higher. In particular, many schools allow candidates to convert to 10 English points with IELTS 6.5. This is the reason why many students and parents rush to study and review for this certificate very early.
Ms. Tran Thi Quynh Le - Teacher of Management of the Song language and International Cooperation Program, Phenikaa Secondary and High School (Hanoi) - said that this is a real trend in recent years, especially in urban areas. This trend has both positive aspects and many potential consequences.
On the positive side, owning an IELTS certificate, especially with a high score, brings a significant advantage in high school graduation exams and university admissions.
In addition, learning IELTS early, if approached correctly, will help students build a comprehensive English platform for all 4 skills, instead of focusing only on grammar, words and reading comprehension as in the tests in the general education program.
Regarding the potential consequences, Ms. Quynh Le believes that many parents and students consider IELTS as a mandatory "passenger ticket", leading to the situation of: Forced learning, rote learning, learning to cope: Students are pushed into the gym when they are not ready in terms of capacity and psychology, leading to pressure and stress.
"I know that there are schools that have included IELTS exam preparation programs since the beginning of junior high school. This is clearly not the right age for this academic exam as the children's life experience and experience are not enough to understand the requirements in the exam" - Ms. Quynh Le analyzed.
In addition, instead of considering IELTS as a measure of language proficiency, many students only focus on tips and test-taking tactics to achieve scores, leading to their actual qualifications not being paired with scores.
"This will cause great difficulties for students when entering the university environment or working in practice later. In fact, there are students who own an IELTS certificate of 6.5 -7.0 but cannot use English in normal communication, let alone in an English-language learning/working environment.
This is very harmful if students are studying in a local environment because they cannot follow the job/requirements as well as do not have enough language skills to live abroad" - Ms. Quynh Le analyzed.
Who is IELTS suitable for?
Ms. Le Mai Anh - an English teacher in Hanoi - said that not all students are suitable to study and review for IELTS certificates.
As for high school, students need to study according to the appropriate program for their age. Importantly, they need to practice additional skills such as listening and speaking.
There are more IELTS certificates of academic nature, so they should be suitable for a group of subjects: Students who are interested in studying abroad in countries using English; Students who need to use English as an academic and research tool; Students who aim to enter universities/posthumo colleges require IELTS.
"Many people, instead of considering IELTS as a support tool, make it a pressure, a measure of what they should do without learning. This causes waste, expense and unnecessary pressure. Not to mention, many students neglect other subjects because they review for the IELTS exam, affecting their studies" - Ms. Mai Anh said.
Giving advice to parents and students, Ms. Quynh Le said that it is necessary to answer the question: "What is the point of studying IELTS?" instead of following the movement.
Ms. Quynh Le advises students who intend to review for the IELTS exam to build a solid English foundation because this is a key step.
"Students need to have a rich source of words, solid grammar and basic listening - speaking skills before entering the IELTS test practice stage. Consider learning English as a long journey, while IELTS is just a destination on that journey" - Ms. Quynh Le said.
Ms. Quynh Le also advises parents and students to choose reputable centers and teachers with methodical pedagogical methods, clear learning paths, and teachers with expertise and experience. In addition, it is necessary to balance between main course study and exam preparation to ensure health and comprehensive development of the self.
"I IELTS is a good tool for assessing and improving English proficiency, among many other measurement tools, but it is not the end goal. Parents and students should become smart learners, using it effectively and at the right time, to the right subjects to avoid unfortunate consequences" - Ms. Quynh Le said.
IELTS should only be a secondary criterion in admission for some majors
Talking to Lao Dong, Dr. Le Viet Khuyen - Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges - has repeatedly expressed his concern and concern that IELTS is considered a "golden ticket" for admission to top universities in Vietnam, leading to a situation where students rush to study this certificate.
He said that this certificate should only be a secondary criterion for admission to the Foreign Language major or English language teaching programs, high-quality programs and international cooperation programs.
"Schools can convert IELTS scores to consider exemption from tuition or exam exemption for foreign language subjects for students during their studies" - Dr. Le Viet Khuyen expressed his opinion.
