Teachers suggest ways to do the 10th grade English exam to get good scores

TPO - Ms. Luu Tu Oanh, a Foreign Language teacher at Trung Vuong Secondary School, Hoan Kiem District (Hanoi) advised students that with only one week left until the Hanoi 10th grade entrance exam, they should not learn new knowledge or take on too much knowledge, but should practice questions and learn each content firmly.

According to the exam schedule of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, the 10th grade high school entrance exam in 2025 will take place from June 7-9.

On the morning of June 7, candidates will take the Literature exam, with a duration of 120 minutes; in the afternoon, candidates will take the Foreign Language exam, with a duration of 60 minutes; on the morning of June 8, candidates will take the Math exam, with a duration of 120 minutes; on June 9, candidates will take the specialized subjects exam.

The foreign language test is in the form of objective multiple-choice tests. According to the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, there will be many test codes in one test room to ensure that no two adjacent candidates have the same test code. Candidates will take the test on the multiple-choice answer sheet and the test results will be graded by computer software.

This year is the first year that 9th grade students will take the exam to move up to 10th grade according to the new general education program, so the Hanoi Department of Education and Training has announced the structure and format of the exam early for students to review.

The English exam will consist of 40 multiple choice questions. The questions are structured at 3 levels: Recognition, Comprehension and Application. The sample exam is assessed to have new types of questions and remove some familiar types of questions from previous exams.

Ms. Luu Tu Oanh, a Foreign Language teacher at Trung Vuong Secondary School, Hoan Kiem District (Hanoi) shared that she has more than 11 years of teaching English to 9th graders. Through each exam season, each class, each generation of students leaves her with her own feelings, especially when she and the students enter the most important stage, which is preparing for the entrance exam to grade 10.

“The last days before the exam, students always feel a heavy pressure. Each student has a different feeling, excited, worried, confused, sometimes tired when not knowing what the exam will be like, whether they can do well on the exam or not. As for teachers, after months of accompanying and teaching, it is a source of anxiety,” Ms. Oanh confided.

Ms. Tu Oanh (second from left) takes a photo with students of Trung Vuong Secondary School.

For English, in each course, there will be students who are good at studying, have a good grasp of vocabulary and grammar, and do their work quickly and neatly. Besides, there are also students who study well but are often in a hurry, miss seemingly small mistakes and lose points regrettably.

Therefore, Ms. Oanh told students that there is not much time left until the exam, so they should review all the key content of the program that teachers have taught in class and practice questions to gain skills and gain experience.

When entering the exam room, the time to do the test is only 60 minutes, so candidates should calmly read the questions and answer quickly but not subjectively. Must know how to cherish every 0.25 points.

There are also students whose academic performance is not really outstanding, not because they are not capable, but maybe they did not pay attention to the subject before. By the 9th grade, when they realize the importance of the exam, they try twice or three times harder, but are still always pushed back by time. There are students who study hard all day, but due to lack of system, fragmented knowledge, and lack of direction in reviewing, the results are not as expected.

You need to calmly do the test with confidence, from easy questions to difficult ones. Especially, you need to review the easy questions that you can do to be sure, so as not to lose points. There is only about 1 week left until the exam, you should not panic, not take on too much, and be ambitious to study too much, but divide your time reasonably, and study each part firmly.

Ms. Oanh is concerned that among the students taking the annual exam, in addition to those with clear goals, there are still those who do not know what they are studying for.

You don't give up, but you don't really understand the meaning of trying. You study because your parents ask you to, you study because your friends around you are studying. Your eyes are still absent-minded, your notebooks are still blank. You need to pull yourself together, determine your goals, your path, and try your best in the upcoming exam.

No staying up late, no learning new knowledge

Hanoi's 10th grade high school entrance exam is highly competitive, not only testing knowledge, but also challenging the will and effort of each student.

Ms. Tu Oanh advises that students need to comprehensively review the knowledge system they have learned, including: Vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, writing skills...

With vocabulary, students review familiar topics such as environment, travel , school, media, lifestyle, etc.

Students cannot learn grammar quickly, but must study carefully to master each part: basic and advanced tenses, conditional sentences, passive, reported, articles, word classes, relative clauses... Structures such as suggest + V-ing, wish + past simple, or double comparison, conjunctions indicating result - concession - cause need to be repeated many times with specific examples.

Practicing reading and writing skills in the final week also requires a method. Students should not study widely or indiscriminately. With reading skills, students should practice identifying topic sentences, finding detailed information, guessing vocabulary meanings from context, and especially practicing eliminating incorrect answers.

After choosing a correct option, you should practice trying to fit the remaining three options into the blanks. This not only consolidates your knowledge but also helps to check the overall validity.

Ms. Oanh reminded candidates that with the 2018 General Education Program, writing skills in the exam no longer appear in the form of lengthy essays as before, but are subtly integrated into multiple-choice questions on sentence completion, choosing the correct words/structures to complete paragraphs or entire short essays. Although the format is multiple-choice, the essence is still to assess the ability to create texts, from simple sentences to paragraphs and short essays, according to A2 level standards.

Therefore, in the final week, students need to practice thoroughly the types of questions related to grammar and semantics in a writing context.

For example: Choose the appropriate tense to complete the sentence with a specific time (present simple, past simple, present perfect…)

Choose the correct structure (wish + past, suggest + V-ing, type 1 conditional, relative clause...)

Choose the appropriate conjunction to link ideas in the paragraph (however, because, although, so…)

Choose the correct pronouns, articles, and prepositions to maintain flow and coherence.

For the type of filling in the blanks in a paragraph or short essay, students need to read the entire text first to understand the topic, determine the tone, then choose in the direction: "choose the right - then try to eliminate the wrong". This is an indispensable skill to ensure absolute accuracy in each sentence and each point.

The goal is not just to choose the right option, but to choose with understanding and understanding correctly with the mindset of someone writing a short text. Therefore, even when taking multiple choice tests, students need to practice putting themselves in the position of the writer: "If I were writing this essay, would I use this word/structure?", "Why not use that option?" These questions will help students think more deeply about language, avoiding rote learning and coping.

Another thing to note is that in the last week before the exam, students should not learn anything new. Use the time to consolidate, practice and check for errors. Students should do less but do it well and most importantly, keep a good spirit, do not be stressed or have trouble sleeping.

“ Students should apply the 3 no’s rule: don’t study too late at night; don’t use your phone while studying; don’t eat or drink anything indiscriminately. Every day, students should spend a few dozen minutes breathing deeply and doing relaxing exercises,” said Ms. Luu Tu Oanh, Trung Vuong Secondary School (Hanoi).

Finally, this teacher told this year's 9th graders that the 10th grade entrance exam is an important milestone, but not the final destination. The journey ahead is long, and she believes that if they try hard, they will go very far.

She also hopes that parents, the silent companions, will accompany and support their children with understanding and love, not with pressure and expectations.

According to the exam schedule of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, the 10th grade high school entrance exam in 2025 will take place from June 7-9.

On the morning of June 7, candidates will take the Literature exam, with a duration of 120 minutes; in the afternoon, candidates will take the Foreign Language exam, with a duration of 60 minutes; on the morning of June 8, candidates will take the Math exam, with a duration of 120 minutes; on June 9, candidates will take the specialized subjects exam.

Ha Linh

Source: https://tienphong.vn/giao-vien-goi-y-cach-lam-bai-thi-tieng-anh-vao-lop-10-an-diem-post1746585.tpo