Learning a foreign language: From 'understanding nothing' to graduating as valedictorian

Young delegates present at the camp "Vietnamese Youth: Mastering foreign languages ​​- bravery for integration" 2024 - Photo: Q.HUY

Young people from 18 to 35 years old with many different professions and fields, sharing the same passion for improving foreign language skills, international integration, as well as achievements in Youth Union - Association activities and social work, gathered in the city named after Uncle Ho.

The important thing is the desire to spread the spirit of foreign language training and international integration to young people nationwide so that young people can confidently integrate and reach out to the world.

Secretary of the Central Youth Union NGUYEN TUONG LAM

The key to opening up many opportunities

The camp was held at Ly Tu Trong School (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) with many activities. Secretary of the Central Youth Union Nguyen Tuong Lam said the world is entering an important stage of the 4.0 revolution, fundamentally changing production and business methods globally.

This context creates many opportunities but also many challenges in which foreign language skills and international integration play an increasingly important role in improving the quality of the country's human resources. This is also an urgent requirement for young people today.

"This camp is an opportunity for young people to exchange and share knowledge and experiences in learning foreign languages, becoming a community connected by friendship and knowledge," said Mr. Lam.

Speaker Hoang Minh Thong brought to the camp the theme "Vietnamese Youth with International Integration".

Currently the head of the training program development and quality assurance team, and deputy head of the English team at the Gifted High School (Ho Chi Minh City National University), Mr. Thong does not hide that when he was 16 years old, he could not use English and was mainly familiar with grammar tests at school.

But six years later, Minh Thong graduated as valedictorian of the international relations department at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University) and achieved a C2 foreign language level and IELTS 8.5.

"I went from knowing nothing about foreign languages ​​to being able to equip myself with English with effort. Foreign language ability and constant learning have opened up many opportunities for me," Thong shared.

Sharing this view, Master Tran Tuan Dat - KOL "Teacher Beo U40" with 5.1 million followers on TikTok - said he is in his 40s and still constantly improves his foreign language skills whenever he has the chance.

"That is the luggage that brings trips and scholarships to yourself. Arranging time every day to practice and develop in parallel with improving foreign languages ​​is necessary if you want to have more opportunities in the future" - Mr. Dat said.

Confident integration luggage

Student leader Vo Lap Phuc believes that improving international integration capacity is the key to helping each person become more confident when integrating globally. For Phuc, international integration is not about answering the question of how good I am at foreign languages ​​or how outstanding I am, but international integration must be about understanding more deeply the spirit and soul of the nation to love the homeland more and contribute to the country.

In 2022, Lap Phuc was one of two delegates attending the high-level leaders' meeting, meeting many leaders and heads of state from Southeast Asian countries. You said that changing your mindset will change your actions, even when learning a foreign language.

Phuc shared: "We can come from many regions, and that is just a geographical border. Aspiration has no border. International integration must come from patriotism."

Sharing, Master Hoang Minh Thong said international integration is inevitable in the current period because we are working with many different communities. Integration helps us share our stories and listen to stories from others.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Hao - General Director of AMES International English System - said he decided to try his hand at working as a tour guide at some coffee shops when he entered university even though he was not strong in foreign languages ​​at that time.

At first, he could hardly understand what the foreign guests said. After completing university with an IELTS score of 7.5, he studied abroad in Canada.

"English is not just a language, but a treasure trove of common knowledge for humanity" - Mr. Hao said about his own experience.

Student Ha Hong Ngoc (Quang Binh) is interested in using media in learning foreign languages. In the discussion, Teacher Beo U40 said that any field can cleverly connect trends and spread positive things.

Personal experience, Mr. Beo U40 when participating in the content creator festival in Indonesia took the opportunity to make clips recording "trending" quotes with international friends in many languages, including Thai and Filipino. And these clips became more attractive and closer to the audience thanks to the multilingual, youthful approach.

Learn foreign languages, travel around the world

Hoang Minh Thong has been on many trips around the world, from the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSEAYP), participating in the Global Young Leaders Network, being a delegate to the world youth festival in South Africa and the Russian Federation to international exchange programs in India, China and many Southeast Asian countries...

Most recently, he was a Chevening scholar under the British Government's scholarship program. These activities were opened when Thong was determined to study and improve his foreign language skills.

"I believe that no matter where they are or what they are doing, every Vietnamese youth can still contribute to the country. And to do that, each person needs to cultivate their own abilities and knowledge, starting with foreign language skills," Thong shared.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoc-ngoai-ngu-tu-khong-hieu-gi-den-tot-nghiep-thu-khoa-20240930213535965.htm