Online Vietnamese test preparation courses for the official 6-level exam

Vietnam has an official proficiency framework for non-native speakers, introduced by the Ministry of Education and Training in Circular 17/2015. It sets six levels, Bậc 1 to Bậc 6, against the levels A1 to C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the European scale of language ability. Two further kinds of proof serve learners outside Vietnam.

The ACTFL OPI is a speaking interview of 15 to 30 minutes by phone. ACTFL is the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Language Testing International can also rate an OPI on the CEFR scale on request, so ask whether that option exists for Vietnamese.

A course certificate from a language school confirms attendance and is no substitute for any of the three.

The framework groups its six levels into three stages: elementary (sơ cấp) with Bậc 1 and 2, intermediate (trung cấp) with Bậc 3 and 4, and advanced (cao cấp) with Bậc 5 and 6. A 2021 circular of the same ministry governs the exams.

• Universities with programmes in Vietnamese studies, Vietnamese language or literature may run the exams, as may units that state agencies assign to teach Vietnamese to foreigners.
• The exams cover listening, speaking, reading and writing.
• Listening, reading and writing are taken on paper or by computer.
• Speaking takes place face to face or by computer.
• How long a certificate stays valid is set by the body that asks for it.

The right proof follows from the person or institution that reads it.

• Degree taught in Vietnamese: Circular 30/2018 requires a level equivalent to B2, Bậc 4, or a degree completed in Vietnamese. Students without Bậc 4 take a preparatory Vietnamese course in Vietnam and must pass its test.
• Job in Vietnam: A framework certificate shows a level that Vietnamese institutions know. Ask the employer which level it expects.
• Job with a US employer or programme: The ACTFL OPI is used for staff selection and programme entrance.
• CV in Europe: A CEFR self-assessment with the Council of Europe and Europass grid places you per skill.
• Heritage learners: A framework certificate documents reading and writing, which family conversation alone does not show.
• Interpreting: Interpreting, for example in healthcare, requires C1 plus professional training. A language certificate alone does not qualify you.

Vietnamese exam preparation trains the skills that take learners the longest, and they are rarely grammar.

1 Tones in speaking

In the speaking part, a wrong tone turns one word into another. Record yourself, let a teacher mark tone errors and repeat the same tasks until the errors disappear.

2 Listening at normal speed

Many learners read Vietnamese long before they follow speech at normal speed. Practise with long recordings and ask the test centre which variety its recordings use.

3 Writing with all tone marks

Without tone marks, a syllable such as ma can stand for six different words. If you take the written part by computer, practise typing with a Vietnamese keyboard layout.

4 The exam format

Work through mock tasks in the format of your test centre, on paper or on screen, and keep to the time limits.

No official hour counts per level exist for Vietnamese. The estimates are rough figures for lessons plus self-study, derived from the US Foreign Service Institute, which plans about 44 weeks of full-time training for confident professional use.

Once you work at your target level, 6 to 12 weeks of targeted practice with mock tasks and a teacher usually cover the exam format. Plan the trip to Vietnam around the exam date and leave time for a second attempt if a deadline depends on the result.

The ACTFL OPI needs less format training, because it is a conversation. Individuals take it from home: they sign in to a remote supervision platform with a webcam and call the tester by phone.