On the afternoon of 30/5, approximately 124,000 candidates in Hanoi completed the foreign language exam (mostly English), which was the second subject in the public 10th grade entrance exam. The test consisted of 40 multiple-choice questions, shuffled into 24 different codes.

View the 24 English exam codes - Suggested answers for the 24 codes

Overall, Dinh Thi Bich Lien, Deputy Head of the Foreign Language Department at M.V. Lomonosov Middle and High School, noted that the exam clearly reflected the philosophy of teaching English for practical use. Grammar was not tested in isolation but integrated into contexts, aligning with the goal of developing language proficiency.

"The exam is well-designed, comprehensively assessing everything from foundational knowledge to reading comprehension and linguistic thinking skills," Lien stated.

Lien and Nguyen Thanh Thuy, an English teacher at Chuong Duong Middle School, both shared the opinion that the exam contained many new question types and requirements compared to the past one or two years.

According to Thuy, this year's exam assessed students' ability to understand message-based signs and communications (questions one, two in exam code 012), rather than image-based signs as in the previous year.

Thuy also found the task of arranging four answers into the gaps of a passage more difficult (questions 37-40, exam code 012), as the exam provided four phrases. In previous years, this question type involved two sentences and two phrases. To correctly answer all four questions, students needed a large vocabulary, strong scanning skills, and good contextual understanding.

Another new feature was the requirement for students to choose a concluding sentence for the first half of a text, then arrange the three sentences of the remaining half (questions five, six in exam code 012). Students could easily be confused because a sentence containing the connector "Finally" was not necessarily the concluding sentence of the passage.

Lien considered this type of question "excellent" for this year's exam, as candidates could not simply memorize but had to understand the coherent structure (coherence) of a complete text.

Meanwhile, some familiar question types, such as pronunciation of -ed or -s, -es endings, were absent. The conditional sentences section included type 0 conditionals, which were considered more difficult than the basic type one and two.

Teachers also praised the exam's practicality, as it integrated messages about energy conservation in schools (questions 33-36 in exam code 012) through practical, relatable solutions such as bringing reusable water bottles and recycling bags and boxes.

With this exam, Thuy estimated the score range would primarily be between 6 and 7. To achieve 8 points or higher, students needed to have a good academic record, extensive vocabulary, and careful test-taking skills.

Lien predicted a higher score range, between 7 and 8. To achieve higher scores, students needed to excel in questions involving paragraph logic and inferential reading comprehension. Candidates aiming for a perfect score of 10 required exceptionally sharp linguistic thinking.

Mai Linh, an English teacher at Marie Curie Long Bien High School and a Tuyensinh247 educator, observed that average students could achieve 5-6 points if they had a solid grasp of basic knowledge, while proficient students could score 7-8 points.

Candidates taking the 10th grade exam at Tran Phu - Hoan Kiem High School, 30/5. Photo: The Bang

Hanoi's 10th grade entrance exam took place on 30-31/5 with over 124,000 candidates—the highest number nationwide and a record high. The passing rate was approximately 66%.

This morning, candidates completed the Literature exam. Tomorrow, they will take the final subject, Mathematics. Except for the foreign language exam (primarily English), which was 60 minutes, the other two subjects were 120 minutes each. Students registered for specialized classes (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography, English, French, Russian, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean) will take additional exams on 1/6.

Thanh Hang - Duong Tam