Born into a poor family in Thai Binh province and deaf in his left ear, Tran Viet Dung still managed to earn four university degrees.
Viet Dung completed four undergraduate degrees in 6.5 years, including two with honors in Economics and Law, and the other two were Bachelor's degrees in English Language and Finance - Banking.
Currently, Dung is an English teacher in Ho Chi Minh City. The 31-year-old achieved an 8.0 IELTS score, with a 9 in Reading and an 8.5 in Listening, on his test on August 10th. He also achieved the maximum score of 990 on the TOEIC exam.
Dung currently teaches English in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Provided by the subject.
Dũng recounted that he was deaf in one ear, a consequence of meningitis he contracted before he was one year old. It wasn't until he was nine that his family discovered he couldn't hear, but by then it was too late for intervention. According to the results of an ear, nose, and throat examination at the National University Hospital of Hanoi in 2016, Dũng had severe deafness in his left ear.
Nevertheless, Dung studied hard and passed the entrance exam to Thai Binh Specialized High School. Admiring the older students who passed the entrance exam to the Foreign Trade University, he also applied to the same school in 2010. Dung was subsequently admitted to the Economics major, specializing in International Trade.
Upon starting his studies, he met many young, highly qualified professors from the Finance and Banking department who taught general subjects. Inspired by their insights and shared career opportunities, Dung became interested and decided to enroll in a second major, International Finance, at the end of his first year.
But for the first two years, Dung felt out of place among his classmates who were academically gifted and spoke fluent English.
"It was like a duck hearing thunder, especially in English classes. One of my ears couldn't hear anything, so going to school was a real struggle," Dung recalled, adding that he only achieved a GPA of 2.64/4 by the end of his first year.
Worried about falling behind, he considered taking an English course at a language center, costing 1.6 million VND for over 20 sessions—almost the same amount his family provided for his food for a month. However, one course wouldn't immediately improve his proficiency, while his family's finances depended on his mother's small beverage stall and his father's motorbike taxi earnings. Dũng took on tutoring math, physics, and chemistry for the landlord's children, and gradually stopped having to ask his mother for money each month.
Wanting to learn English extensively and in depth but at an affordable price, Dung subsequently studied for and passed the entrance exam for the English Language major at the University of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, in June 2012.
In 2014, after completing his first major in Economics at the Foreign Trade University, he chose to study Law as well. Dung explained that he pursued multiple majors because he wanted to stand out from the crowd, especially in the competitive environment of the university. Furthermore, at that time, he had decided that Finance would be his main career, with the other three degrees being supplementary. To become a successful finance professional, he needed not only fluency in English but also a strong understanding of the law.
"I study a lot, but I have a clear direction. I study because I'm eager to learn and want to develop my abilities, not to show off by having many degrees," Dung shared.
Dung during an English lesson. Photo: Provided by the subject .
Dũng said that at one point, he registered for 16 courses, totaling 44-48 credits per semester, across all three majors. His class and exam schedules frequently clashed.
"The pressure of exams drove me crazy; I considered dropping out of the Foreign Language University. But remembering how my mother longed to learn Russian but lacked the means, I decided to study for her," Dung said. Dung's schedule consistently ran from 6 am to 2 am the following day for seven years.
To understand the lectures, he always had to arrive early, sit in the front row, record the lectures, and listen to them again in the evening. According to Mr. Dung, he never needed a hearing aid since childhood, so he can understand conversations in Vietnamese. However, with English, because his hearing isn't accurate, he struggles with pronunciation.
To hone these two skills, he used the Shadowing method and always listened three times. The first time he listened with headphones until he memorized the script, the second time he listened through speakers, and the third time he played each line and repeated it until his pronunciation matched the recording.
"This method is very time-consuming but effective. Being deaf is a disadvantage, but in my circumstances, it turned out to give me perseverance in learning," Dung said.
In 2017, after completing four degrees, Dung moved to Saigon to work for a financial company, but he continued teaching English at a language center in the evenings. After two years, he decided to dedicate himself entirely to teaching because he wanted to inspire learning and help underprivileged students who couldn't afford extra tutoring.
Although she didn't directly teach Dung at the Foreign Trade University, Dr. Dang Thi Minh Ngoc, a principal lecturer and specialist in the Inspection and Legal Affairs Department, has had over a decade of professional interaction and exchange of legal knowledge with this student. According to Dr. Ngoc, Dung has always been conscious of striving to improve his skills and knowledge.
"Dung is very intelligent, polite, and ambitious. He wants to develop his own career to help more people. I admire Dung's determination," said Dr. Ngoc.
A TOEIC class taught by Dung. Photo: Provided by the subject.
Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Thuy, Dung's mother, is proud of her son's achievements, saying that not only is Dung a good student, but he is also well-behaved and loves his parents. From a young age, he determined that the only way to change his destiny was through education.
Dung also feels happy looking back on the journey he has taken.
"The pressure of studying for four degrees over five months has never been repeated in my life. It proves that hard work has given me great mental strength. That's what I'm most proud of," Dung said, adding that he will continue studying to help his family and poor students.
Dawn
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