Teaching English to Meo Vac Students: A Special Journey

America 's Tears

The day Ms. Bui Huong Ly traveled from Hanoi to Meo Vac to visit and say goodbye, Vang Thi My could not stop crying. The special gifts from Marie Curie School (Hanoi) and Ms. Ly could not help My to calm down. "I don't want to say goodbye to you, I don't want to stop learning English," My said in tears.

Vang Thi My cried and did not want to say goodbye to her English teacher, making Ms. Huong Ly cry too.

PHOTO: TUE NGUYEN

For the past 3 school years, My and the 5th grade students of Can Chu Phin Primary Boarding School have been taught English online by Ms. Huong Ly. The students have a very special affection for their teacher and for this seemingly strange subject.

Vang Thi My said that at first she didn't think the English teacher was a real person, but only on... TV, until the end of a semester, she came to visit the classroom, the students got to hug her, receive compliments, and gifts from her... Day by day, My and her friends became more and more excited to wait for the 4 English lessons each week, and then eagerly waited for the end of each semester, to meet her "in real life".

With Ms. Bui Huong Ly, My had her own brilliant journey of learning English. After 3 years of studying, the shy Mong girl was selected to be part of the school's excellent student team to compete in the district-level English competition...

Ms. Ly also went through a special journey, which, according to her, can only be achieved through the teaching profession. She learned patience and sharing when teaching students in this particularly difficult place, which made her love and want to be more committed to the profession. She also learned how teachers in Meo Vac overcame all obstacles to stay in class, stay in school, and take care of every little thing for the students.

COMMAND OF THE HEART

To conclude the online English teaching project for Meo Vac district students, Marie Curie School coordinated with the local Department of Education and Training to organize the "Road to Ma Pi Leng Peak" contest in the rocky plateau. The intellectual games combined quickness and cleverness entirely in English. Yet the students understood and followed, answering in English surprisingly quickly and intelligently...

At this moment, perhaps Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khang, Chairman of the Marie Curie School Board - "Commander-in-Chief" of the English Teaching Project for Meo Vac Students, is the happiest person. In one day, he saw tears of love and happy smiles from teachers and students.

"In the morning, the tears of teachers and students fell during the farewell ceremony at the primary schools of Meo Vac district. In the afternoon, the smiles of teachers and students appeared when they "climbed" the towering Ma Pi Leng peak. This dear image will forever be a deep mark in oureducational career," said Mr. Khang, choking up.

Although Vice Chairman of Meo Vac District People's Committee Ngo Manh Cuong called Mr. Khang "a god in everyday life" because of the special projects he did for Meo Vac, he simply replied: "We are doing a necessary professional job of the education sector in a particularly difficult area. Teachers at Marie Curie School have followed orders from their hearts, with all the enthusiasm of youth. We are proud and assured of what we have done in the past 3 years."

Meo Vac students are excited about the "Road to Ma Pi Leng Peak" contest, showing surprising English skills

Photo: Trung Kien

K CLOSE UP TO BEGIN A SUSTAINABLE JOURNEY

When talking about their dreams, many students confided: "My hometown Meo Vac has many foreign visitors every day. I want to learn English well to talk to them and introduce them to my hometown Meo Vac." Some students even want to set foot in English-speaking countries to see the world ...

Learning a new language also makes the dreams of the children here longer and wider. As Ms. Dang Linh, one of the people who has been involved in the project since the first day, shared: "At that time, we realized that we were not only teaching English but also contributing to instilling confidence and hope in the children...". That is also what will last forever after the online English teaching project for Meo Vac.

Closing the 3-year journey, teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang is at ease because 2 years ago he initiated and started implementing another, more fundamental project for Meo Vac. That is to support the training of English teachers for Meo Vac with a total estimated budget of up to 12 billion VND. Next school year, 3 out of 33 students of this project will graduate and according to the commitment, they will return to Meo Vac to apply to be English teachers in their hometown. Meo Vac will gradually stop being in the situation of "eating today's meal, worrying about tomorrow's meal" due to the lack of teachers.

Ha Giang has "extremely difficult" access to teacher recruitment

Sharing with Thanh Nien reporter, Mr. Bui Quang Tri, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ha Giang, expressed his appreciation for the meaningful special education projects of teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang and Marie Curie School for Meo Vac district, which is also for Ha Giang education. Spreading from this way of doing by teacher Khang, the Department of Education and Training of Ha Giang was also connected by the Department of Education and Training of Lam Dong, a volunteer group in Ho Chi Minh City and assigned teachers to teach thousands of other students...

Mr. Tri said that, besides the timely support in urgent and "extremely difficult" times for teachers through the online English teaching project, the project to support English teacher training is especially meaningful for Ha Giang when it is forecasted that by 2030, it will still be very difficult to recruit teachers for this subject. Mr. Khang's approach helps to fundamentally solve the problem of teacher shortage not only for Meo Vac but also for some other places in the province with the assignment and mobilization of the education sector.

The Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ha Giang stated that the province is currently short of nearly 3,000 teachers compared to the quota set by the Ministry of Education and Training and compared to the assigned quota, there is still a shortage of nearly 1,000 teachers. That means there is a quota but no recruitment, especially in subjects such as English, IT, natural sciences... Meanwhile, there is no specific policy to attract and recruit, teachers will choose more favorable places to work.

Mr. Bui Van Thu, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Meo Vac District, said: The 2022-2023 school year is the first year that 3rd grade students nationwide study English according to the new regulations of the 2018 General Education Program. At that time, Meo Vac District had 2,609 students in 18 primary schools preparing to enter 3rd grade but only had 1 English teacher.

Teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang knew about the matter and agreed to help by setting up a project, recruiting and paying more than 20 teachers just to teach English to students from grade 3 in Meo Vac until they graduate. Although teaching online, teachers are assigned to each class, ensuring that one teacher does not teach more than the prescribed number of periods; the professional requirements are as strict as in direct classes. Thanks to that, after 3 years, the students' learning results have improved every year. Up to now, no student has been assessed as not achieving in English, the completion rate is quite high; dozens of students have won prizes in district-level English competitions...

At the project closing ceremony, the People's Committee of Meo Vac District also announced the decision to establish Marie Curie - Meo Vac Ethnic Boarding School, a school worth about 100 billion VND invested by Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khang, Marie Curie School, as a gift to people in the northernmost part of the country. The school is expected to be completed and put into operation from the 2026-2027 school year.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/day-tieng-anh-cho-hoc-sinh-meo-vac-mot-hanh-trinh-dac-biet-185250518204850446.htm