The valedictorian majoring in English was once so afraid of this subject that 'every time he saw an English question, he would throw up'
Báo Dân trí•27/12/2023
(Dan Tri) - Nguyen Nam Bao Ngoc had no English background before becoming the valedictorian of the English major and the founder of a free foreign language teaching project.
Nguyen Nam Bao Ngoc, a 12th grade English major student at Phan Ngoc Hien High School for the Gifted ( Ca Mau ), has a series of achievements in English such as: Top student in the English major entrance exam of the high school, Excellent prize in the English speaking contest, bronze medal in the April 30 Olympics in English...
Nguyen Nam Bao Ngoc is a 12th grade English major student at Phan Ngoc Hien High School for the Gifted (Photo: NVCC).
Despite achieving many achievements thanks to her excellent English skills, the female student confessed that she had lost her English roots and started studying foreign languages seriously since grade 6. "Without your mother, you can't do anything." Not learning English from a young age like many of her peers, Bao Ngoc began her journey of seriously learning English since the summer of grade 6 after a long period of losing her roots. The female student's determination stemmed from a reason that she herself assessed as "quite strange and unique".
Bao Ngoc at the TESOL certification ceremony, a certificate in teaching English (Photo: NVCC).
Bao Ngoc recounted that in 6th grade, the female student sat at the same table with a friend who was very good at English but had no advantage in the remaining subjects. This was in contrast to Ngoc who was good at all the remaining subjects but had no English foundation. At this time, Ngoc and her friend agreed that Ngoc would support her friend in all the remaining subjects and the other friend would support Ngoc in English. At the end of the semester, Ngoc was first in the block and the other friend was second in the block. However, a saying from her deskmate changed the female student's thinking about English, a foreign language that would bring her many opportunities in the future. "That friend told me: "Without your mother, you can't do anything." The reason for this statement is because all the subjects at school were taught by Ngoc's mother, except for English because her mother studied Russian. Her friend's words inspired her to learn English, and at that time she also received a scholarship to study English because she was the top student in her class," Ngoc recounted. From then on, Bao Ngoc's journey to conquer English began but also encountered many difficulties. Studying English six hours a day, every time she saw an English question, she would vomit. Bao Ngoc recounted that in the beginning, when she first got acquainted with a foreign language, the female student used a method that she now thinks is very extreme and does not encourage everyone to follow. The female student used to spend six hours a day studying English, while still having to maintain time to maintain knowledge for the remaining subjects. For English, Bao Ngoc mainly does grammar exercises and practices writing skills, in addition, listening and speaking skills are only studied at the center for three sessions/week. "Having to study English and other subjects at the same time makes me overloaded," the female student recounted. Ngoc admits that she is a perfectionist and always wants to know a little bit of everything. Since her primary school years, the female student has set a goal of maintaining good results in all subjects. Until the beginning of grade 9, the female student from Ca Mau would immediately vomit every time she looked at an English test, almost obsessed with English. At this time, the female student decided to stop studying English for a while, focusing on reviewing math and literature to take the entrance exam to a specialized school. Ngoc said that she only returned to studying English one month before the entrance exam to a specialized school took place.
Bao Ngoc received an award from the Youth Union of Ca Mau province (Photo: NVCC).
Later, Ngoc decided to approach this language in a more natural way through movies. At first, it was just a hobby, but gradually the female student learned the pronunciation and intonation of the actors in the movies and gradually formed the habit of speaking English. Ms. Minh Thu, the teacher who accompanied Bao Ngoc from the first days of getting acquainted with English from zero, shared about her student: "My first impression of Ngoc was that she was a good student, had a voice, was talented in foreign languages and had determination. Teaching students like Ngoc was also quite stressful". In addition to accompanying Bao Ngoc in her studies, Ms. Thu also always understood the pressure of the female student: "Many times when studying with me, I also scolded her a lot, but I also understood that she was under pressure in many subjects. Since I saw that Ngoc had a tendency to be a perfectionist, I didn't want to force her to study too much anymore. I didn't want Ngoc to go from liking English to hating English, so I let her study comfortably, as long as she was happy and making progress." Not wanting to be called "other people's child" In addition to achieving many high achievements in studying, Bao Ngoc always spends time participating in many other activities outside of school hours. One of them is the project to open an English class of the female student, which has helped nearly 500 students in Vietnam or Vietnamese people abroad to learn foreign languages for free. Up to now, the target students of the project are primary and secondary school students with difficult circumstances but are studious. The female student aims to expand the project to different provinces and cities to spread the opportunity to learn foreign languages to young people in other regions.
Ca Mau female students also regularly participate in many volunteer activities organized by the Youth Union (Photo: NVCC).
In addition, the female student also regularly participates in volunteer activities and movements of the Youth Union such as: "Cooking for children" program, participating in "School Youth Union Cadre Training Camp", etc. Each experience brings the female student from Ca Mau valuable memories when meeting and interacting with like-minded friends and sharing the same patriotism as the female student. Despite achieving many achievements in academic and extracurricular activities, Bao Ngoc still does not consider herself "someone else's child". "I see myself as just a small flower trying to contribute and beautify the big flower garden of my country. Out there, there are still many friends who are much better than me", Ngoc shared. Sharing about her future plans, the female student will finish her study program in Vietnam and will study abroad in Finland in the future.
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