Learn in a… natural way. That's the secret to achieving an 8.0 IELTS score at the age of 13, shared by Bui Huong Linh Giang, an 8th-grade student at Tran Dai Nghia Specialized High School (Ho Chi Minh City). When she received her exam results around the end of September 2023, many thought she had been studying intensely for a very long time. But in reality, Linh Giang only focused on IELTS preparation in the… last week before the exam. Rejecting luck, Giang's English learning was a process. “I started learning English when I was 4 years old. When I was little, I just learned while playing and exploring , not in depth. It wasn't until 6th grade that I really focused on academic English. I started finding ways to learn,” Linh Giang shared.
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Bui Huong Linh Giang. (Photo: Thu Phuong)

For this female student from Tran Dai Nghia Specialized High School, learning English is a passion and a personal hobby, so she completely immerses herself in it. Besides online classes from the center, Giang studies English at home by reading books and newspapers, listening to music, watching YouTube, and even following English-language comedy shows. Sharing her learning secret, she said: “Learn naturally by creating enjoyment for yourself.” Of the four IELTS skills, Giang likes Writing and Listening the most. During her preparation, she increases her listening speed when doing exercises at home to gradually get used to the pressure and pace of the actual exam. For Writing, she only focuses on writing 1-2 large essays a week before the exam to memorize grammar and simple vocabulary. Her secret is not to rigidly memorize difficult vocabulary, but to know how to use it correctly in context and situation.
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Linh Giang receives the trophy at The World Scholar's Cup (WSC) competition in South Korea. (Photo: Provided by the interviewee)

Unlike many people who study for the IELTS exam to obtain an international certificate, for Giang, IELTS is just one small milestone on her foreign language learning journey: "My ultimate and longest-term goal when learning English is to use this language as a tool to read, understand, research foreign materials and study other subjects." Because of this passion for foreign languages ​​in general and English in particular, Giang is currently studying German at school, self-studying Spanish at home, and she also aims to be able to communicate at a basic level in Chinese by the age of 15. For Giang, self-directed, proactive, and pressure-free learning has nurtured her love for foreign languages, making it grow stronger every day. Extracurricular activities help the female student hone her English skills. Because of her passion and natural way of learning foreign languages, Giang doesn't restrict herself to any particular learning method. The student from Ho Chi Minh City has participated in countless extracurricular activities to improve her English. Around the same time as the IELTS exam, Giang focused entirely on The World Scholar's Cup (WSC) competition in Vietnam and South Korea, and won the 7th place in the top 10 nationwide in the individual Writing category, with over 1,100 participants.
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Linh Giang with her mentor - her mother. (Photo: Thu Phượng)

In addition, to see English as "a part of life" and avoid becoming "out of practice," Giang also participated in many debate competitions both domestically and internationally with her team. She also thoroughly enjoyed the "Tran Dai Nghia Open Model United Nations (MUN)" program organized by her school, a model United Nations conference… Giang shared that these extracurricular activities helped her improve her writing and speaking skills very effectively. Giang shared that this journey wouldn't have been possible without her mother – her teacher. "My mother is the biggest motivator for learning English. Whenever I didn't understand a lesson or found something unconvincing in class, I would ask her," Giang proudly shared. Ms. Phan Ly Thuy Mai (38 years old) shared: “Having accompanied my daughter on her English learning journey since she was very young, I always tried to be her friend, sharing, encouraging, and teaching her every day. When she achieved the results she has today, I am happy but not too surprised because in each stage of learning, both mother and daughter had a clear plan; this is just the result of her long and persistent efforts.” Currently, Linh Giang is completely self-studying English at home without attending any tutoring centers. Her next goal is to get into the specialized English class in high school and continue studying foreign languages ​​every day.
In October 2022, Bui Huong Linh Giang won a Bronze medal in English Mathematics at the American Mathematics Olympiad (AMO). In 2023, Giang won a Gold medal in English and a Bronze medal in Science at the ASMO International Science, Mathematics and English Olympiad. Giang was also among the top 10 out of 1,100 participants in The World Scholar's Cup (WSC) in Vietnam and South Korea, and won an individual Writing award.
Thu Phuong