National top student shows how to not be 'afraid' of literature

As the valedictorian of the national excellent student exam in literature, Le Nguyen Thuy Duong, grade 11 literature major 1 at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted (HCMC), shared about her efforts and nurturing her passion for literature.

Le Nguyen Thuy Duong and her literature teacher

"The most important thing is to cherish your experiences"

Le Nguyen Thuy Duong, the valedictorian of the national literature exam in the 2024-2025 school year, said that her passion for learning was partly nurtured by literature, but mostly nurtured by her family members and the dedicated teachers she had met. "From a young age, my parents taught me and my twin sister, Le Nguyen Anh Duong (a student at the Gifted High School - Ho Chi Minh City National University), who won third prize in the national literature exam this year, that education is the path that leads people to a better life and nurtured that belief in me from childhood. In some literary works, the female characters that I love also have a strong belief that education is closely related to the rights and status of women. The vitality of those characters and the hope of my family give us the desire and passion for learning," Thuy Duong shared.

"So I think that to study literature well, the most important thing is to appreciate your experiences - in literature and in life - and convey them sincerely and appropriately in your work. This is also what the instructors reminded me and my friends throughout the learning process," Thuy Duong added.

Passion for literature comes from "afternoon dreams"

The top student in literature in the national excellent student exam shared about the most memorable memory of her journey of reading and learning literature, which was probably her afternoon naps in primary school. Duong said that she did not have the habit of taking afternoon naps because she had slept enough at night. Lying still and not knowing what to do, she borrowed books from the small library in the classroom to read. "The fairy tale collections collected and rewritten by teacher Nguyen Ngoc Ky, the old poetry pages of poet Tran Dang Khoa... those were my "afternoon dreams", the official moments marking my search for literature. At that time, I did not seek literature for any specific purpose such as to study literature well, to acquire knowledge... I only came because of a carefree interest. Perhaps literature will accompany readers for a long time when we build an innocent connection with it", the female student of Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted recounted.

Team of excellent students in literature of Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted

Reading is also a prerequisite to become a good student, not only in literature but in any subject.

Le Nguyen Thuy Duong, valedictorian of the national excellent student in literature in the 2024-2025 school year

To learn literature in a gentle way

In fact, students today are greatly influenced by technological devices, somewhat distant from reading. This leads to fear and hesitation about literature, and a lack of vocabulary and emotions to write. Therefore, Thuy Duong shares with you the most gentle way to learn literature.

According to Duong, start with the things you love in literature, such as the genres or content you love. The content of literature represents all aspects of life. Therefore, we can start reading works that talk about the fields and topics we love.

Applying skills and knowledge in literature to daily life; from reading common informational texts to scholarship essays... The 2018 General Education Program focuses on the application of literature, this is a great advantage to help young people absorb literature better.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) or technology is the development trend of the times, so we must take advantage of it to serve the purpose of learning literature, even making learning literature more interesting and vivid. AI can be a virtual assistant or a place to provide other opinions for us to refer to, consider, and filter, thereby having a diverse reflection on the texts we have learned. AI can also illustrate works, diagram lesson content... making literature much more interesting.

According to Thuy Duong, reading books not only helps us practice reading comprehension and increase vocabulary, but also helps us accumulate knowledge about all aspects of life. More importantly, reading and contemplating what is written in books will give us an indirect experience that will help each person become much more mature. ''Reading is also a prerequisite to become a good student, not only in literature but in any subject,'' commented the top student in literature in the national excellent student exam.

''For specialized books, you should choose and learn about the basic authors, read first; then read more deeply according to your learning goals and interests. As for general knowledge books, you should first find book sources from the introduction of experts, awards or prestigious rankings. Because those bases have helped you pre-screen and choose for yourself works that are considered valuable,'' Thuy Duong further analyzed.

He who has gratitude will have everything in life.

As a teacher, for me the happiest is when I congratulate my students on their success, this is a great joy, an explosion of happiness. We have had students win first prize in the national excellent student competition, but this is the first time we have had such great results, the top student in national literature, and they are 11th grade CV1 students.

Since entering their dream school, Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, the 10th grade literature students have been very excited about their new learning environment. When I told them about the learning traditions of students at the specialized school, all of them were full of determination and desire to study well. Among them, Le Nguyen Thuy Duong is very good at literature and has beautiful handwriting.

During my time teaching directly, I realized that Duong has a talent for literature, her writing style is gentle but profound, her understanding is rich, showing her serious contemplation and study. Therefore, even though she was just entering grade 10, Thuy Duong passed the exam to be in the national excellent student competition team, which had never happened before in literature. Next, Thuy Duong won the Gold Medal in the traditional Olympic competition on April 30.

When those good results came to me, Duong studied harder, I was very pleased with his ability to concentrate on studying. Every time he listened to a lecture, I observed that he listened attentively and passionately, and from there he discovered a good idea, enriched his intellectual treasure, and added a more attractive way of expression. Reading his writing, I was very happy when he understood the problem deeply and chose to express the essay in a flexible and creative way, so his essays often stood out the most in the class. I was very pleased to know that he read a lot of books and the difficulty gradually increased, each book helped deepen his experience and his thinking progress every day. It can be said that in the process of daily exchanges, living with the characters, feeling the good words, feeling the author's torment... nurtured his love for literature seamlessly like the breath of life, simple but useful.

Thuy Duong is a very good student majoring in literature, she reads each page of literature with great understanding. I often encourage her, sincere and timely compliments give them more enthusiasm and confidence. Duong is also willing to share and exchange her learning experiences with friends while still maintaining her own uniqueness. She sees the passion of teachers in imparting knowledge, appreciates this very much and has determined to fulfill her dream as the most practical gratitude. I appreciate her heart for literature, I often tell her, whoever has gratitude will have everything in life.

Teacher Nguyen Thi Ai Van,

Head of Literature Group, Le Hong Phong Specialized School

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thu-khoa-hoc-sinh-gioi-quoc-gia-chi-cach-khong-so-hai-mon-van-185250120163341279.htm