Female master who skipped meals and forgot sleep to learn Chinese passes on passion to students
Báo Dân trí•29/12/2023
(Dan Tri) - Ms. Phan Thi Thu - who has a high-level certificate in Chinese language teaching - shares the story of reading newspapers and listening to Chinese radio every day, forgetting to eat and sleep, to practice foreign languages.
Before graduating with a degree in Chinese Pedagogy from the University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National University, Hanoi in 2007, Ms. Phan Thi Thu studied in China in 2005-2006 as an exchange student. The experience of living and studying in a neighboring country for a year opened up new paths of knowledge for the Chinese teacher in culture, economics and many other fields. Skipping meals to save money to buy newspapers, having to listen to the radio before going to bed To achieve the knowledge she has today, Ms. Thu skipped breakfast, saved money to buy newspapers in China and spent time studying in the self-study room for students and international students. Ms. Thu shared: "Instead of having breakfast, I used that money to buy the China News newspaper. I used a pen to highlight the content that I didn't understand, and looked up the dictionary for each content, then read it again until I felt that I had thoroughly understood the entire content that the article mentioned. In addition to absorbing new knowledge, I also had close friends who studied at the Literature Department of the school - friends who always helped me answer and explain the meaning, and from there I learned a lot of idioms, allusions, and became more passionate about Chinese culture. Later, those friends became as close to me as family."
Master Phan Thi Thu, author of many Chinese language teaching books for Vietnamese students (Photo: NVCC).
According to Ms. Thu, she also spends time every day before going to bed listening to Chinese radio to improve her other Chinese skills. The reason is because, she believes that the announcers are the ones with the best and most standard pronunciation. "Learning while working and self-cultivation and training are also forms of learning. At some point, if conditions allow, I will definitely continue to pursue my studies to improve my qualifications even though a degree is not the only measure to speak of a person's value," Ms. Thu said. Ms. Thu graduated from university in 2007, which was also the time when many foreign corporations poured capital into Vietnam, including Foxconn - the world's number 1 electronic component processing factory, Apple's partner in manufacturing and assembling all of Apple's electronic products in China. Ms. Thu was one of the successful graduates, becoming a potential employee sent to train and work in Shenzhen, China. "That was the time when I worked 24/7 with colleagues, bosses who were Chinese or foreigners working at our corporation. I gradually accumulated experience working in professional corporations. And also during that time, in addition to my professional work, I was also assigned the task of teaching Chinese to colleagues from Vietnam who came to work. I became the only foreign female MC of the corporation, hosting the program with another MC from Beijing, in most of the corporation's major events. I really appreciate such opportunities, and always try to fulfill my role as best as possible when assigned," Ms. Thu said. She has been certified by the International Professional Association of the United States in Beijing (China). Not stopping there, Ms. Thu also passed the Chinese Teaching Competency Assessment Exam at the Senior Teaching Chinese Teacher level. Writing Chinese teaching books for Vietnamese children With a passion for Chinese teaching, Ms. Thu put aside her job in the import-export sector to pursue her teaching career. Ms. Thu decided to return to Vietnam to "pass on" this foreign language to domestic students. "I want to build a systematic Chinese learning environment, so that students can confidently communicate right after finishing the program. For young people starting to learn Chinese, there needs to be a good environment for them to learn and practice this language," Ms. Thu said. From the first moments of choosing to commit to writing books and teaching, Ms. Thu has always devoted her whole heart and soul to each product she makes. "There were nights when I dreamed that I was editing the content of the book. I accidentally said a sentence in Chinese and woke up my daughter who was sleeping next to me," Ms. Thu recounted. Accompanying Ms. Thu were teachers from the Faculty of Chinese Language and Culture - Hanoi National University. The teachers spent many days working through the night, eating bread, debating and devoting all their heart to the smallest elements such as book covers, character depictions, colors in the book, etc. The result of the teachers' tireless efforts is a Chinese book series called "IchiLand", which fully converges cultural and linguistic elements, published by Hanoi National University Publishing House. The book series is for the Chinese language teaching segment for Vietnamese teenagers.
The book series was compiled by Ms. Thu and experts in Chinese language and culture (Photo: NVCC).
The book series is built on language acquisition ability, combined with children's psychology to create familiar characters in everyday situations. "The entire curriculum of the book is built on a consistent ideology: learning and teaching Chinese originates from the heart and mind of a Vietnamese person who deeply loves his country," Ms. Thu affirmed. Ms. Do Ai Lam, who was chosen to present flowers to General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping, is one of the collaborators who always accompany Ms. Thu in the days of bringing Chinese knowledge to Vietnamese children. "In meetings and training sessions with Ms. Thu, I feel that this is an environment that not only gives me the opportunity to learn, but also helps me develop in different areas," Ms. Lam shared.
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