English class for students in their 80s

Every Saturday at 9am, the English class on the 2nd floor of the B1 apartment building on Nguyen Cong Hoan Street (Ba Dinh District, Hanoi) begins. The special thing about this class is that all the students are in their 70s and 80s. Learning at this age, not just English but any subject, requires perseverance and a love of learning. For the past 6 years, the class has been maintained, and the students have been attending regularly, showing a spirit of lifelong learning.

The class is currently taught by Ms. Phung Hai Yen (32 years old). Originally an office worker, 4 years ago, while teaching as a substitute, Ms. Yen learned about the class's activities. After that teaching session, seeing the eagerness to learn of the teachers, Ms. Yen decided to register to teach and has been doing so ever since. "Every day I go to class, meet and exchange with the teachers is a day full of energy for me. The spirit of learning of the teachers has given me a lot of motivation. I wonder why I am so young but do not contribute to life with my own knowledge," Ms. Yen shared.

By studying persistently, many elderly people have been able to grasp some knowledge and use it in life.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thu (in Ba Dinh district, Hanoi) has been studying for nearly 5 years. The distance from his house to the class is not far, so Mr. Thu walks, both to exercise and to "take advantage of any signboards on the road to review lessons". "When I learned about this class, I boldly registered and have been studying until now. In the class, I can learn an additional language, make friends and interact with people. Moreover, going to school trains my brain, which will reduce the risk of dementia in the elderly", Mr. Thu shared.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thang (left) said that realizing the significance of English classes, she converted her family’s 20m2 apartment building into a classroom. At the age of nearly 80, Ms. Thang and other students still diligently study English every week.

The class has been held for 6 years with 14 students. The youngest student this year is over 60 years old while the oldest student is 83 years old. As one of the oldest students in the class, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Da (residing in O Cho Dua ward, Dong Da, Hanoi) said that every Saturday morning, she arranges her family work, then travels more than 4km to get to class. At this age, her ears, eyes, and brain have aged, so memorizing is very difficult. However, Ms. Da and her classmates still tell each other to be determined. When she was young, she could read 20 times and remember, but now that she is old, she has to read 50 or 100 times to remember. After nearly 6 years of diligently studying, Ms. Da said that learning English has helped her in her daily life. “Now, when I see an English sign on the street, I can know what this store sells and what they do. It’s simpler, when I come home and my children and grandchildren speak English, I can know what they are arguing about,” Ms. Da shared.

The elders raised their hands to speak and build the lesson very enthusiastically.  

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/nhung-ong-ba-u80-miet-mai-di-hoc-tieng-anh-20240802141131512.htm