Mr. Cao Van Truyen and the English class at Truong Sa Town Primary School - Photo: TRONG NHAN
In a small classroom in the middle of Truong Sa town, the third grade English lesson begins with cheerful melodies coming from the TV screen hanging on the wall.
Fun English class in the middle of the ocean
The whole class, which had less than 10 teachers and students, gathered in a circle, dancing and singing along to English songs for children. The sounds of "Hello! How are you?" and "Let's sing together!" resounded clearly through the TV speakers, making the class unusually lively. Every child took the opportunity to open their mouths to read and sing along, their arms and legs jumping with excitement.
"Previously, English or music lessons were often taught "without words". Without TV or computers, we could only learn through books or teachers would download a few songs to their phones and play them for the students to listen to temporarily" - Mr. Cao Van Truyen, one of two teachers at Truong Sa Town Primary School, shared.
From the 2024-2025 school year, a set of computers and a television have been officially equipped for the school. This change, although small, brings about a big change. "With English, students now not only listen to pronunciation from one person but also come into contact with many different voices through learning videos . Lessons also become more intuitive and vivid with images, colors, and interactive activities right on the screen," said Mr. Truyen.
Besides English, art subjects such as music and fine arts are also "unleashed". "Previously, music was mainly about memorizing lyrics and singing from memory. Now, students can listen to real music, see musical instruments, and see illustrations directly from TV, which is very valuable for a primary school on a remote island like Truong Sa," he added.
Sitting carefully at a small table, Le Thi Kim Duyen - a third grader at Truong Sa Primary School - said that she really enjoys learning English. "Before, we only had books and notebooks to study. Now that we have TV, we can watch many beautiful pictures and listen to songs. What I like best is when the whole class stands up to sing and act out the song. I even teach my younger siblings when I get home!" Duyen smiled brightly.
Typing, getting acquainted with the digital world
From the 2024-2025 school year, Da Tay A Primary School in Truong Sa island district will also officially put into use the first set of computers for teaching and learning.
Mr. Luu Quoc Thinh, the teacher in charge of the class, said that the computer has become a valuable tool, especially in the introductory computer lessons. "The students are guided step by step to learn how to type, get familiar with the mouse, keyboard and basic computer operations. From being surprised, now every student is eager to get on the computer to practice typing and manipulating files," said Mr. Thinh.
According to him, although conditions were still difficult, especially the electricity supply was only maintained during certain hours of the day, the first technological device really brought a new "lifeblood" to the classroom.
Nguyen Thanh Phong, a student at Da Tay Island Primary School, shared: "The teacher showed me how to type and open images. I really liked it! In the future, I want to study really hard to become a computer engineer."
Not only primary schools, but also preschool classes on the island benefit from new technologies. Teacher Ung Van Tuan, the preschool teacher, said that he officially left the mainland to work on the island from June 2023. Being used to teaching at the primary level, caring for and teaching preschool children is a completely new experience for him.
"Therefore, I proactively brought documents, pictures, and videos from the mainland and copied them onto a USB. Because the island does not have Internet, we used an old but effective method: showing videos on TV to create a lively learning atmosphere for the students," said Mr. Tuan.
Even though they are on a remote island, the children here still have access to the world through cartoon clips, English songs, life skills lessons or music hours filled with laughter. "Seeing the children excited in each lesson, we feel that all the effort is worth it," Mr. Tuan said emotionally.
Expectations to continue to narrow the gap
Currently, most of the islands in the Truong Sa archipelago only have 2G networks, making it impossible to access the Internet or use online platforms like on the mainland. Mr. Phan Quang Tuan, a teacher at Sinh Ton Primary School, shared that despite the difficult conditions, teachers and students still try to make each lesson as lively and effective as possible.
"We hope to have more investment in equipment, software and digital learning content suitable for offline conditions so that students on the island can access knowledge closer to their peers on the mainland," said Mr. Tuan.
To keep the game from "losing its rhythm"
Every year, Mr. Le Xuan Hanh - a teacher at Truong Sa Town Primary School - has a short vacation when he is allowed to go home during the summer, coinciding with the time when students are on vacation. In addition to resting, Mr. Hanh takes the opportunity to visit schools on the mainland, meet colleagues, and collect the latest review and test sets suitable for the 2018 General Education Program.
"The new program has changed a lot from the way it is tested, evaluated to the way it is set up. If we don't follow it closely, students on the island will be at a disadvantage," the teacher shared. The sets of questions were carefully copied onto a USB, marked by subject and class, and then brought along on the train back to Truong Sa.
Thanks to that, students on remote islands can still access knowledge that closely follows the curriculum and is not out of step with their mainland friends. "With just a little more initiative and dedication, geographical distance will no longer be a barrier to their studies," said Mr. Hanh.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cong-nghe-den-lop-hoc-truong-sa-20250614084654332.htm
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