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TPO - This year's 10th grade entrance exam is the first year that the Literature exam does not use material from the textbook. Students are worried that approaching a new text in a short period of time, while requiring correct understanding, good writing, and creativity, will be a challenge.

TPO - This year's 10th grade entrance exam is the first year that the Literature exam does not use material from the textbook. Students are worried that approaching a new text in a short period of time, while requiring correct understanding, good writing, and creativity, will be a challenge.

Historically, Literature exams have typically used texts from works students have studied in their textbooks. For example, in 2024, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training's 10th-grade entrance exam in Literature included an excerpt from the work "Comrade" in the 9th-grade Literature textbook, requiring candidates to answer reading comprehension and write a paragraph (worth 6.5 points).

Starting this year, 9th-grade students will take the entrance exam to 10th grade according to the 2018 General Education Program. Accordingly, the Literature exam will not use materials from the textbook.

In August 2024, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training released a sample exam with a structure of two parts: reading comprehension (4 points) and writing (6 points). The sample exam used a poem outside of the textbook as source material for both the reading comprehension and writing sections.

Many students are worried and anxious, even though their teachers have taught them reading comprehension and essay writing skills for a new literary work or excerpt. However, when they enter the exam room and are limited by time, it will be a challenge.

This year's 10th grade entrance exam is the first year that the Literature exam questions have not used material from the textbook.

Ms. Hoang Tue Minh, Head of the Literature Department at Giang Vo Secondary School, Ba Dinh District (Hanoi), said that recognizing the 9th-grade entrance exam to 10th grade as a crucial and pivotal test for each student, the school has had a plan and strategy for exam preparation since the beginning of the school year to achieve the goal.

At this time, graduating students receive increased class time in exam-related subjects, and free tutoring classes are organized for those who need them. Teachers will review each student's knowledge to ensure they have a firm grasp of the content and guide them on exam-taking skills.

In class, students haven't completed the main curriculum yet, so teachers are teaching in a progressive manner, ensuring students understand each topic thoroughly as they learn.

For example, after finishing a section on a particular genre of story, the teacher will summarize all the knowledge related to stories from grades 6 to 9, emphasizing characteristics and skills.

In the previous curriculum, students only needed to thoroughly study the content of the works in the textbooks to confidently take the exam. However, in the new curriculum, the content in the textbooks is no longer as crucial. The entrance exam for grade 10 will certainly use material outside of the textbooks; therefore, during the teaching process, teachers are also encouraged to search for additional materials for students to become familiar with.

What has been essential over the years is that teachers guide students in developing reading comprehension skills, teaching according to the types of exercises and characteristics of each genre. Using excerpts from poems and stories as source material, students must be able to read and understand the content and ideas of the work correctly before connecting that understanding to the writing section.

Students lack literary "capital".

Ms. Tue Minh stated that during the teaching process under the 2018 General Education Program, teachers noticed a positive aspect: the results of tests and assessments were not as rigid and conventional as before. The output was like a "garden of a hundred flowers blooming," with students clearly demonstrating their outstanding literary abilities. However, many students still struggled and felt confused when encountering new material.

Despite its positive aspects, the new teaching method, which doesn't allow students to delve deeply into and thoroughly study any literary work, is considered a drawback. Students easily forget or get "lost" due to misinterpretations of the content. During the grading process, some students still write naively, express their personality and personal opinions too much in their essays, or fail to manage their time effectively, thus not completing their assignments on time.

"It seems that today's students are lazy readers and have accumulated little literary knowledge, so when asked to write an essay based on their literary experience, few can express themselves in a good and engaging way. Therefore, although the curriculum doesn't require students to memorize poems, teachers at school still encourage students to read poetry and other good literary works to have material to use to enrich their writing," said Ms. Hoang Tue Minh.

To best prepare students for the Literature exam under the new curriculum, teachers have closely followed the curriculum framework and required learning outcomes to develop students' test-taking skills.

Then, students will be able to complete any assignment they encounter. Each type of assignment will have a specific "framework." Students must learn how to summarize the content, analyze and dissect it, and draw lessons from it...

"Based on the methods taught in class, what's needed now is for students to practice writing a lot, then reread their work and make adjustments and expansions," Ms. Minh said.

For average students, in addition to teaching reading comprehension skills, teachers also guide them on how to write essays, ensuring that the content and knowledge are accurate. For above-average and excellent students, the requirements are higher, focusing on literary appreciation and producing well-written essays, which can earn them extra points.

The teacher also stated that, with a 120-minute exam time, students have to complete both the reading comprehension and essay sections. If the exam includes lengthy and difficult texts outside of the textbook, it will be a significant challenge for them.

Because even teachers, when encountering new material, have to read it repeatedly to understand it, and read additional related materials to gain a deeper and broader understanding. Therefore, students may have poor reading comprehension skills, easily misunderstand, write incorrectly, and lose points. Although nowadays, open-ended answers accept all student arguments, as long as they do not violate the law, ethics, or distort the truth.

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training has stated that the Literature exam will not exceed two pages, but according to teachers of this subject, with limited time, students must demonstrate many skills including reading, answering questions, and writing paragraphs and essays. Therefore, the exam needs to be concise, use familiar materials, address contemporary issues, and be appropriate for the age group.

For students, teachers advise that to prepare well for this year's exam, students need to increase their search for reading materials outside of textbooks, expand their vocabulary, and diligently practice with sample questions. Only through extensive writing practice will students become familiar with different question types and develop text processing skills.

Ha Linh

Source: https://tienphong.vn/thi-ngu-van-lop-10-hieu-dung-ngu-lieu-moi-la-mot-thach-thuc-post1724433.tpo