The unexpected change of direction of the guy who got IELTS 9.0 on the first try

Former IT major student, after a chance meeting to become an English teacher, Phong Tien Thanh is one of the few Vietnamese people who achieved a perfect IELTS score of 9.0.

Phung Tien Thanh (born in 1999, Vinh Phuc) received an IELTS score of 9.0 on his first test registration, including a perfect score of 9.0 in the three skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and 8.0 in Writing. "I am happy and satisfied with this result. Before that, I only dared to set a goal of 8.5," Thanh said.

According to statistics from the IELTS homepage, in 2023, only about 1% of test takers in Vietnam achieved a score of 8.5 or higher. This achievement makes 9X Vinh Phuc one of the few Vietnamese people to achieve a perfect score.

From former IT student to English teacher

Tien Thanh was a student majoring in IT at Vinh Phuc High School for the Gifted. From a young age, he showed a passion for Mathematics. That's why Thanh didn't spend much time on English.

In grade 12, when he decided to switch to block A1 (Math, Physics, English) to take the entrance exam for the International Business major at Foreign Trade University, Thanh focused on studying systematically. As a result, he achieved 9.8 points in English in the high school graduation exam, a near-perfect score after only one year of studying.

After graduating from university, he decided to stick with English more because he found this language useful for both studying and entertainment. In his final year of university, Thanh and his friend came up with the idea of teaching English.

From familiar relationships, 9X opened the first class with about 10 students. With everyone's introduction, the class size gradually expanded and became the young man's main job after graduation. Thanh's students range in age from grade 6 to grade 12.

Thanh had thought about taking the IELTS test for a long time, but it wasn’t until the beginning of this year that he was able to arrange time to focus on studying for the test. According to Thanh, to learn English and do well on the IELTS test, the most important thing is to build a solid foundation of vocabulary and grammar, because if you don’t have a solid grasp of grammar and your vocabulary is too limited, learners can easily fall into a state of discouragement because they can’t keep up.

“My motto is that I will try to learn any word I see a second time. I understand that learning one more word is not a big deal, but the truth is that after each new word I learn, I will feel a little better, and the reading becomes a little easier," Thanh said.

Thanh is currently an English teacher. (Photo: NVCC)

Tips to get perfect IELTS score

Regarding Reading skills, 9X believes that, besides learning vocabulary, there is not much to prepare. The most important thing is still to learn a lot of vocabulary, because IELTS scores will not change if the number of new words does not increase.

“With the Reading test, vocabulary mistakes are acceptable because not everyone has time to learn all the words, but grammar and test-taking skills mistakes should never be repeated. To fix this, you should create an Excel file with two columns, one for errors and the other for solutions, so that you can progress through each topic,” Thanh shared.

With Listening skills, it is important to improve reflexes (speed of processing and understanding a sentence in English). This skill takes a long time to master, so for many years, Thanh has always listened to his favorite fields such as science, history, law, and life entirely in English.

“Make listening to English a hobby instead of something you “have” to do,” the 9X shared.

With Speaking skills, according to Thanh, before practicing speaking, one needs to master the English phonetic table and learn pronunciation characteristics such as stress and linking sounds. After that, learners should practice the habit of talking to themselves, starting with the simplest structures such as "It's about".

When this skill is better, you should find a friend to practice with, increase the frequency of using this language in life. As for Thanh, he asked for support from his girlfriend. The two sides set a rule that they must speak 100% English to each other, whoever accidentally speaks Vietnamese 5 times will have to wash the dishes, gradually the fluency increased significantly.

“Don’t be discouraged if you speak poorly, practice can change everything. If you can’t speak well, it’s because you haven’t spoken enough, not because you can’t speak,” Thanh revealed.

Writing is the most difficult skill that 9X Vinh Phuc assesses. Candidates need to have a wide vocabulary and understand the requirements of the test to write a good quality essay, along with the understanding to write a convincing essay.

According to Thanh, "brainstorming ideas" (a method of thinking quickly to find a solution to a problem) is very important. Not focusing on this area will lead to you writing with bad ideas or not having enough time to complete the test.

“For this part, candidates should prepare ideas in advance to save time. For example, when writing about traffic, we can look up reports on traffic congestion in different countries, see which countries are doing well and what policies they have applied to use as examples. When we learn enough, we will have a source of information so that we do not run out of ideas when entering the exam room,” Thanh said.

Happy to have achieved 9.0 IELTS in the first time registering for the exam, Tien Thanh wishes to be able to share his experiences and lessons with everyone. In particular, effective time management and studying with the highest determination are two pieces of advice that the 9X wants to send to those who intend to conquer this type of certificate.

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cu-chuyen-huong-bat-ngo-cua-chang-trai-gianh-ielst-9-0-ngay-lan-thi-dau-ar917449.html