Factors affecting the Intention of taking the International English Certificate Examination (IECE) of High School Students in Vietnam’s Capital

The trend of globalization has greatly impacted the economies, politics, cultures, and societies of various nations and has given people several chances for personal growth. In that setting, English has developed into a vital instrument for communication and global integration. In Vietnam, the trend of taking an international English certificate examination is constantly rising, and the age of students who test for these qualifications are getting younger. The study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the factors affecting the intention to take the international English certificate exam of high school students in Vietnam. The author has collected 480 responses from high school students in Vietnam’s capital who have been and are intending to take the international English certification exam. The research results show that the factors Attitude, Subjective Norms, Self-study ability, Financial ability and Perceived risk have an impact on the intention to take the international english certification exam (IECE) of Vietnamese high school students. In particular, Attitude (29.1%) and Self-study ability (26.7%) are the two factors that have the strongest impact on the dependent variable, respectively. On that basis, many solutions are proposed for students and stakeholders such as parents, teachers, high schools, and English centers. From there, helping them understand students' needs and expectations to improve the quality of teaching, and propose right orientation for students who intend to take the international English certificate examination. Keywords: international certificate examination, English, IECE, high-school student, Vietnam DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/14-7-08 Publication date: December 30th 2024