EF's English Proficiency Index reports that between 2011 and 2014, Vietnamese English skills improved from 'very low' to 'low,' and then reached 'moderate' proficiency in 2015, a level it held until this year.

Tuoi Tre reports that Education First (EF), the global education company, has found that English proficiency in Vietnam has fallen for the third year in a row.

In the 2019 index, EF ranked the country 52^nd out of the 100 countries and regions included in the index, falling back into the low proficiency category. The lowest level is 'very low,' and the highest is 'very high.'

According to the news source, a low proficiency level means an individual can "navigate an English-speaking country as a tourist, engage in small talk with colleagues, and understand simple emails from colleagues."

VnExpress adds that Vietnam's score for 2019, 51.57, was 1.55 points lower than its rating in the 2018 index. Last year, the country was ranked 41^st out of 88 nations included.

Regionally, Vietnam placed 10^th out of 25 countries and territories, while it was 7^th out of 21 in 2018. The three highest-rated Asian states were Singapore (66.82), the Philippines (60.14) and Malaysia (58.55).

Unsurprisingly, within Vietnam, Saigon and Hanoi were the highest-ranked locales, with respective scores of 53.07 and 53.68. According to the news source, the north-central coast and the Mekong Delta scored lowest, at 47.13 and 47.73, respectively.

Vietnam wasn't alone in seeing its score fall, as over half of Asian nations included in the index saw a similar phenomenon, while overall global English proficiency improved.

The Netherlands (70.27), Sweden (68.74) and Norway (67.93) filled out the top three spots in the index.

[Photo by Flickr user Charles Chan]