Memorable scholarship for female valedictorian of the world's most difficult language major
Báo Dân trí•18/01/2025
(Dan Tri) - Nguyen Thi Ngoc Quyen (born in 2001) is the valedictorian of the Arabic language major - University of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Ngoc Quyen graduated with a score of 3.87/4.0, the highest in the Arabic language major - University of Foreign Languages (Vietnam National University, Hanoi). The female student from Hanoi was honored to be one of the 100 valedictorians at the ceremony to honor the excellent valedictorians graduating from universities and academies in Hanoi in 2024. "I was not too surprised with this result because the position of valedictorian was my goal when I first entered the school. When I stood on the podium to receive this title, I felt happy that my efforts and hard work throughout 4 years of university had been rewarded," Ngoc Quyen shared. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Quyen is the valedictorian of the Arabic language major at the University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National University, Hanoi (Photo: NVCC).Love and affection for the country and people of Arabia Thanks to her excellent academic achievements, Ngoc Quyen is one of four students representing Vietnam to receive a full scholarship to study for one year in Qatar sponsored by Qatar University. For Quyen, the opportunity to experience firsthand a country whose language and culture she has spent a lot of time researching is extremely valuable. Having never seen their country with her own eyes before, the opportunity to set foot there and explore it firsthand is something Quyen has always looked forward to. "During a year living in Arabia, I discovered many unique aspects of their culture. The friendliness, kindness and hospitality of the people here made me realize the deep similarities with the Vietnamese people. The experiences of traditional festivals and rituals, along with the enthusiasm of my friends, helped me gradually understand more deeply about Arabian culture. The traditional meals that my friends invited me to, the new knowledge shared, have fostered in me an increasingly deep love for this land and people," Quyen recalled. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Quyen (wearing Ao Dai, far left) at the Graduation Ceremony of the Arabic Language Program for Non-Native Speakers at Qatar University (Photo: NVCC). The female student said that what impressed her most was the time she was able to participate in the Arab month of Ramadan. This is considered the holiest month of the year for Muslims around the world. During this month, they will perform a number of special religious rituals, including fasting, praying and practicing charity. Ngoc Quyen was lucky to be able to study abroad at this particularly sacred time. Although the female student had learned and listened to lectures about their culture, when she witnessed it with her own eyes, she found it very magical. "When the cannon sounded to signal the end of the fasting time, people from all over rushed into eateries and restaurants. During this month, I also had the experience of visiting and praying at their mosques," the female student shared. A year of studying abroad helped Ngoc Quyen understand more about the culture and people of the native land. These experiences helped the female student have a clearer view of the language she was learning. After returning from her exchange study abroad, Quyen said that she was more confident in communicating and her listening and speaking skills had improved a lot. In addition to receiving an exchange study scholarship from the Qatar Embassy, Ngoc Quyen also won second prize in the Arabic debating contest organized by the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Vietnam in collaboration with the University of Foreign Languages (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), the world's largest Arabic debating contest Qatar Debate 2023 held in Oman... Nguyen Thi Ngoc Quyen (3rd, from left to right) in the Qatar debate 2023 competition (Photo: NVCC).Choosing to study one of the most difficult languages in the world In 2019, when starting the process of choosing a major, Ngoc Quyen accidentally read information about the Arabic language training program of the University of Foreign Languages. Because of curiosity about the phrase "one of the most difficult languages in the world", the female student gradually became drawn into Arabic culture and people. According to the US Foreign Service Institute (FSI), Arabic is one of the most difficult languages to learn in the world, along with Japanese, Korean, Cantonese (Chinese), etc. Experts estimate that the average learner will take 1.69 years (88 weeks) and 2,200 hours of study to become proficient. In addition, Arabic is also not a very popular language in our country. Therefore, if learners have the desire and need to learn the language, they must study on their own or find some language teaching facilities. Currently, in Vietnam, the Arabic language or Arabic studies major is being taught at only two universities: the University of Foreign Languages - Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City. When she decided to study Arabic, Quyen said that her parents supported her wholeheartedly: "My parents always supported and believed in me by encouraging me to pursue my passion and my own choices. When they heard that I became the valedictorian, my parents were the happiest and proudest because I had succeeded in the way I wanted." During her 4 years of university, Ngoc Quyen lost more than a year of online study due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Studying only through a computer screen, without interaction between the learner and the teacher, made Quyen feel overwhelmed and "out of breath" in the beginning. "Although the Arabic alphabet only has 28 letters, the position of each letter in a word greatly affects the way the word is written and its shape. That's why when I first started learning Arabic, I had a lot of difficulty remembering the alphabet, how to write and the meaning of the words," Quyen said. Ngoc Quyen (2nd, from right to left) visits the ancient market of Souq Waqif, Qatar (Photo: NVCC). Ngoc Quyen expressed that sometimes she feels discouraged when learning Arabic. But Quyen thinks that the decisive factor for the success of language learners is their perseverance and determination: "Because there is no language that can be mastered in a day or two. It is a process of reviewing, studying and honing that language". In order to avoid losing the basics, Ngoc Quyen spends time every day reviewing vocabulary and grammar. Investing a lot of time and effort when learning a language is the secret to helping learners conquer it, even though it is the most difficult language to learn in the world. The female student said that the Arabic vocabulary is extremely large with more than 12 million words: "For example, there are hundreds of words used to refer to and describe camels in Arabic. Therefore, I have a lot of difficulty remembering the meaning of words and grasping the correct usage context of these words". But for Ngoc Quyen, the more she studies and digs deeper into this language, the more interested she becomes. She spends a lot of time researching even though documents about this language are scarce in Vietnam. Thanks to that, the female student graduated with the highest score in her major. Sharing her future plans, Ngoc Quyen said she will continue to stick with this language. It's not just about the language, but also about the country, culture and people of Arabia. "Hopefully in the future, Arabic will no longer be an unpopular language in Vietnam. I hope that people will accept and love Arabic like other languages so that people who love the language like me have more opportunities to access it," Quyen confided.
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