The paper summarizes the situation of English Language Teaching (ELT) at a general education level in Vietnam and briefly reviews bilingual education, its advantages and its disadvantages. The implementation of a bilingual program in the Vietnamese American School System (VASS) is also described. To compare the English proficiency of pupils studying bilingual program at VASS with those who study English as a foreign language (EFL) as in most cases in Vietnam, a study using standard Cambridge English examinations for all Grade 5 pupils in District 2 of Ho Chi Minh City as well as Grade 5 pupils of VASS has been conducted. The results of the study show big differences in the levels of English competency of bilingual pupils at VASS and those of pupils attending a normal Vietnamese program. This is clear evidence of the advantages of a bilingual education, and maybe a solution for teaching foreign languages in Vietnam's general education system.