Do You Need to Take IELTS to Study the English Language? A Detailed Answer

A general look at whether studying the english language requires taking ielts?

IELTS is a test that evaluates the 4 skills of Listening – Speaking – Reading – Writing according to international standards. Thanks to this certificate, candidates will have a big advantage in admission, being prioritised or given bonus points at many schools. However, IELTS is not a mandatory condition. If you don’t have it, you can still be admitted by graduation exam scores, academic transcript or other methods.

The common English Language admission methods today

To create favourable conditions for candidates, universities today have applied many admission methods for the English Language field. Below are the main admission methods at HUFLIT:

• Consideration of National High School exam scores: Based on the high school graduation exam results, candidates who reach the benchmark score of 17 points will be directly admitted to the English Language field.
• Consideration of the high school academic transcript: Based on the average score of related subjects in the 3-year high school transcript. This method at HUFLIT has a benchmark score of 20 on a scale of 30.
• Admission by the Competency Assessment exam: Some schools also organise their own competency assessment exam. At HUFLIT, if you reach 600/1200 points on the VNU-HCM Competency Assessment test, you will pass the English Language field.

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Converting IELTS scores in university admission: A doubled advantage

HUFLIT is currently applying the form of converting IELTS scores into English subject scores in admission, usually falling in the range of 7.0 – 10.0. Specifically as follows:

Top 4 advantages of having an IELTS certificate when studying English Language

The IELTS certificate is evidence of each student’s foreign-language capacity. Besides, an IELTS certificate also helps you be more confident in both studying and career opportunities. Below are the top 4 advantages you can refer to.

Exemption from English courses, saving time and cost

Owning an international English certificate helps you be exempted from basic English courses in the university programme. Thanks to this, you can save both time and certificate exam costs. At HUFLIT, if learners meet the English standard, they can write an application to be exempted from studying the English subject.

Easily meeting the graduation output standard

Although the English Language field’s admission usually does not require having IELTS. However, most universities today require learners to meet the IELTS foreign-language output standard to be considered for graduation. For example, at HUFLIT, English Language students must own an international English TOEIC certificate of 650 points or higher or equivalent certificates.

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Expanding job opportunities

The training programme at HUFLIT equips students with four English skills at the C1 level according to CEFR. Besides, the programme also supplements business knowledge and communication skills in an international environment. This is an opportunity for students to train English and achieve high scores in international certificate exams. From there, you will open the golden ticket when applying for jobs at corporations.

At the “Job Fair” held on the morning of December 7, 2025, with the theme of connecting students and enterprises, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Huỳnh Quyết Thắng – Director of Hanoi University of Science and Technology shared that students who can use English well usually receive a starting salary about 20% higher.

Increasing the ability to hunt for study-abroad scholarships

With a good IELTS score, you increase the chance of hunting for study-abroad scholarships, because most international schools consider this a mandatory criterion in admission. Besides, IELTS also helps you easily apply to multinational corporations such as Unilever, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung,..

Studying English Language effectively at HUFLIT

Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages – Information Technology builds the English Language training programme following an applied direction so that students comprehensively develop English skills. Besides language knowledge, students are also given conditions to train communication skills and academic thinking.

How does HUFLIT admit the English Language field?

HUFLIT applies many flexible admission methods for the English Language field. Thanks to this, candidates will easily choose according to their strengths. The methods include:

• Consideration of National High School exam scores by the subject combination suitable to the field.
• Consideration of the high school academic transcript, based on the whole-year average score or the 3-subject combination score.
• Combined admission with an IELTS certificate, in which candidates with IELTS at the required level or above will be prioritised in admission or given bonus points.
• Admission by Competency Assessment exam scores (depending on each admission year).

What is special about the training programme and output standard at HUFLIT?

The English Language training programme at HUFLIT is designed modernly, closely following real-world needs and enterprise requirements. Students will develop skills, experience technology and comprehensively enhance foreign-language capacity. Specifically such as:

• Student-centred: Focusing on developing self-study ability and independent thinking.
• Technology application: Using Moodle, MyELT,… in teaching.
• Experiential learning: Carrying out real-world projects, case studies and enterprise simulations.
• Integrating a second foreign language: Chinese, Japanese, Korean or French, helping to increase professional competitive advantage.
• Approaching modern technology: Using software to support translation, teaching and research.

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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Surely many students will have questions about the English Language field? Let’s answer the common questions to better grasp the study programme, requirements and career opportunities.

Can you study the English Language field well without IELTS?

Yes. You can still study well because the university programme trains from foundation to advanced. However, you should still plan to revise IELTS to meet the school’s output standard and increase your competitive advantage when applying for jobs.

Should you take IELTS before or during university study?

Taking it from grade 12 will support you quite a lot in admission. If you haven’t obtained the certificate in time, year 1 or 2 of university is still a suitable time to revise and take the exam. If you have an IELTS certificate at this stage, you will reduce end-of-course pressure and can be exempted from some English courses.

Besides IELTS, are there any other accepted certificates?

Many schools today accept other international English certificates such as TOEFL iBT, or domestic certificates such as VSTEP. However, IELTS is still the most common and widely recognised certificate. Therefore, having IELTS will bring many advantages in studying and future career opportunities for students.

Whether studying the English language requires taking IELTS is a question that many people still wonder about when wanting to improve their level. In reality, whether or not you take the exam does not determine your success; what is important is how you approach, practise and apply English in reality. Whatever the choice, HUFLIT believes that persistence and the right learning method will help you progress quickly.

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