Hanoi Kieu Ha Trang, a female student in grade 11 at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, achieved 9.0 IELTS, learned English naturally, and only started preparing for the IELTS test three months ago.
Trang achieved a perfect score of 9.0 for Listening, Reading and Speaking skills in the computer-based test in early September. In Writing alone, the female student achieved 8.0.
"Seeing three 9.0s next to each other, I couldn't believe it. Until now, sometimes I still can't get over the fact that I got 9.0," Trang said.
The female student believes that her English ability comes from natural exposure instead of forced learning. Except for the time she has to study for the high school entrance exam, she hardly goes to extra classes at the center. Trang has even only been studying IELTS since June this year.
Ha Kieu Trang achieved 9.0 IELTS while studying in grade 11 English major at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. Photo: Provided by the character
Trang shared that her mother was the first person to introduce her to English. Believing that this language would be very important in the future, her mother taught her basic vocabulary from kindergarten. Every day before going to bed, Trang was shown English learning videos on Youtube by her mother. She also started to enjoy watching English clips from then on.
In addition, Trang loves reading English books. She often reads books by author John Grisham, which deal with hot social issues such as race and skin color, which are presented in the form of court cases. Trang finds this form of communication very unique and always looks for his new works.
The female student is also very active on social media to watch English content on Twitter or Tiktok. She also often plays video games during summer vacation and chats with many foreign friends.
Gradually, Trang developed good English reflexes and accumulated a variety of vocabulary, which she applied well in her studies and exams. The female student won first prize in the city-wide English competition in grade 9, before being admitted to the English specialized class at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted last year.
This June, Trang took an IELTS class to get her certificate early before entering grade 11.
"I study four sessions a week, three hours each session, focusing on Writing and Speaking skills," Trang shared.
According to Trang, this is the first time she has become familiar with the types of questions in these two skills. Previously, female students often did not know how to handle questions in the Speaking test, or presented shorter than required. Trang has learned how to analyze questions into small ideas to develop ideas.
To do well in the Speaking test, Trang believes that you should choose topics that are familiar or have important meanings to you instead of making up new stories. The examiner can feel your passion through your expression and can give you a higher score. In addition, choosing familiar topics helps candidates do well in Part 3 - the part of the test that requires candidates to have quick reflexes when answering questions about social knowledge.
Applying the above rule, when faced with the question "Describe your childhood games" in the Speaking test, Trang chose to talk about the games she played with her friends in primary school because they evoked fond memories. Trang's natural and fluent presentation helped her score 9.0 in this skill.
The skill that Trang was most worried about was Writing. Trang wrote 400 words for Task 2, which was quite a bit more than the word requirement. She had to find a way to shorten it to make it more concise. According to Trang, an effective way to use vocabulary for the Writing section is to make sure what the context of the word is. Trang often observes the context in which the phrase is used in English texts written by native speakers. She also believes that instead of practicing from topic to topic, redoing the essays she has written is a better way to improve the quality.
Despite having a natural foundation and ability to use English from life, Trang did not neglect her studies at school. The process of practicing through exercises and competitions helped her handle the Reading and Listening tests easily.
Ms. Dang Huyen Trang, homeroom teacher of English 2 class 11, commented that Trang is a serious and persistent student.
"She uses English almost 100% in class and is very diligent in improving her knowledge through books and stories. She also balances her studies with participating in the Vietnam - Japan Culture Club and Rock Music Club at school," said Ms. Trang.
Looking back at her English learning process, Trang finds that the most important thing is to absorb English through daily hobbies. This method is more effective than learning from books, because it is less forced and more comfortable.
"It may take more time, but learning this way will help me absorb the knowledge longer," Trang said.
The female student plans to participate in many extracurricular activities to prepare for her study abroad application. She hopes to study Environmental Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
Khanh Linh
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