Ms. Vi Thi Nu's English lesson at Quang Chieu 2 Primary School becomes more lively thanks to the use of videos and illustrations.
Born in the border commune of Quang Chieu, Vi Thi Nu's childhood was associated with houses on the hillside, the sound of streams babbling day and night, and the days of following her mother to the fields when the sky was still foggy. It was not until she entered high school that Nu had the opportunity to be exposed to English. From lectures in class to conversations broadcast from the old radio, Nu quietly learned each word. Gradually, her love grew into a desire, urging her to pursue a career in education to bring English back to her homeland.
In 2013, after graduating from the English Pedagogy Department of Hong Duc University, Nu returned to her hometown and started working at Tay Tien Primary School, Muong Ly Commune. Nu understood that to sow a new language, one must first touch the innocence of children. From there, she flexibly incorporated grammar into familiar melodies, turned vocabulary into games, and turned simple greetings into joy every morning. She used Vietnamese to explain, Mong to bridge the gap, and English to open up a new horizon for the children. Thanks to that, the initial shyness gradually disappeared, replaced by confident eyes when the children spoke their first English sentences.
In 2020, she transferred to teach at Quang Chieu 2 Primary School, Quang Chieu Commune. The path of teaching English in the border area is still the same as the first day, small classes, quiet students... She both teaches and researches the application of technology in lesson preparation, using illustrative videos to make the lessons more lively and easier to understand. Thanks to the innovation in methods, her students have made remarkable progress. In 3 years (2022, 2023, 2024), Ms. Nu has been continuously recognized as an excellent teacher at the district level (old Muong Lat district). By 2025, she continued to achieve the title of excellent teacher at the provincial level.
The journey to bring English to the border areas is also a persistent effort of many teachers from the lowlands who have left their hometowns to go up the mountains and pass to stick with the mountainous areas in the province. For example, teacher Le Anh Dung, from Sao Vang commune, is currently working at Trung Ly 2 Primary School. The school has 5 satellite locations and 1 main location, of which 2 locations Ta Com and Pa Bua are about 15km from the central school. In those conditions, teachers have to divide shifts, taking turns to go to each school location to teach. But according to teacher Dung, the biggest obstacle is not the dangerous mountain roads, but the language barrier of the students. "The students live mainly in the village, have few opportunities to communicate, so their Vietnamese is limited. When the teacher teaches, many students do not understand everything, so their absorption is much slower. For Mong students who are quiet and shy, learning English is even more difficult" - teacher Dung shared.
To create an English communication environment, in each lesson, Mr. Dung prioritizes using simple and familiar sentences. From instructions like “Let's go”, “Give me the ruler, please” to compliments: “Good job!”, “Well done!”, “Great!”, he uses them repeatedly so that students can hear them often and get used to them. He also incorporates descriptive sentences related to real-life situations like “It's cold today”, “Look at the brown dog!”, “This ice cream is yummy!” - short sentences, easy to understand, easy to respond to for children in the highlands. According to him, the most important thing is to create comfort between teachers and students, so that English becomes a natural part of the classroom.
At Lin and Pa Bua schools, where there are no projectors, televisions or online connection devices, Mr. Dung's English lessons are flexible and spontaneous. Maps, globes, cassette tapes... are prepared by him; any plants, animals or objects around the village become illustrative teaching aids. "At first, I let the children get acquainted with the simplest things, single words; teaching and playing at the same time. Due to the lack of equipment, I had to use many actions and gestures to help the children understand the lesson," said Mr. Dung.
According to Mr. Do Minh Thuy, Vice Principal of Trung Ly 2 Primary School, in recent years, the quality of teaching and learning English in the border commune of Trung Ly has had positive changes, despite the low starting point. Students are mainly children of Mong and Thai ethnic groups, so accessing foreign languages is extremely difficult. However, with the efforts of teachers and the support of the school, the students have become more confident, know how to communicate in simple English sentences and love the subject. Through each lesson, listening - speaking - reading - writing skills are practiced step by step.
In the era of integration and digital transformation, English is considered an important "soft infrastructure" of development. Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo identifies foreign language proficiency as one of the strategic breakthroughs to improve the quality of human resources. On that basis, the Ministry of Education and Training has submitted to the Government the Project "Making English the second language in schools for the period 2025-2035, with a vision to 2045", marking a shift from the mindset of "learning to take exams" to "learning to use", in line with the requirements of the times.
Despite the lack of conditions, every day the teachers in the upper Ma River still persevere to overcome slopes and cross forests, carrying with them a simple yet great desire to "carry" the world to their villages.
Article and photos: Tang Thuy
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/cong-ngoai-ngu-len-non-269848.htm
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