French language eclipsed in Vietnam as students turn to English and Chinese

More than six decades after the end of French colonial rule, the language once imposed through classrooms and administration is steadily disappearing in Vietnam as English and Chinese take precedence among students. The trend is highlighted as the country marks its independence from France this week.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training reported that in the 2025 graduation exams, onlyfr 400 high school students chose French as a subject, compared with more than 358,000 who registered for English and about 4,400 who selected Chinese. Reflecting a wider generational shift, 25-year-old content creator Hoang Thu Ha said, “If I must choose, I would prefer Chinese over French as the second foreign language to study because it feels more familiar. And China is our neighbor.” According to the French embassy in Hanoi, around 63,000 students remain enrolled in French courses nationwide, taught by roughly 400 instructors.

French once served as the language of administration and higher education during colonial rule, but its role has diminished sharply in the decades since independence. Usage declined significantly after 1975, and today less than 1% of Vietnam’s population speaks French. Although the country remains the largest Francophone nation in Asia and retains membership in the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, French is now largely confined to universities and cultural programs.