Outstanding former UK student shares his secret to learning English

Contrary to the view that learning English is about learning communication, grammar..., Mr. Nguyen Chi Hieu - an excellent student in the UK in 2004 - believes that parents need to determine that learning is to expand their children's knowledge, develop their thinking and personality.

In the discussion "How and why to learn English?" organized by the IEG Academy for Thinking and Skills Development on May 27, Mr. Nguyen Chi Hieu, an excellent student in the UK in 2004 and one of the top 100 outstanding students in the world in 2006, frankly pointed out the wrong way of thinking of parents about learning English.

According to a 20-year study by the US Department of Education, the three skills that make a student successful at any American university are critical thinking, multi-dimensional problem solving, and argumentative, analytical writing. Absolutely no university professor considers language ability (English) as a decisive factor. And in a survey by the world economic organization with employers, the results of the skills they need in employees are similar.

From the above studies, Mr. Chi Hieu believes that students speaking 100% standard English is not as important as each child's ability. "Today, my child does not speak well, but if he is put in an English environment for two years, he can speak well. Therefore, studying English is not a long-term goal for parents to focus on for their children to study for 12 years," Mr. Hieu affirmed.

The current trend of English learning for students is that primary school students learn communication, secondary school students learn grammar, reading comprehension and test preparation, and high school students focus on test preparation. "I don't dare say this approach is completely wrong, but it cannot help students develop their full potential," said Mr. Hieu, adding that learning English to develop knowledge, thinking and personality is important.

Mr. Nguyen Chi Hieu believes that finding the purpose of learning English is the most important. Photo: Thanh Tam

A former Stanford University student questioned whether many parents post videos of their children speaking English fluently online and are praised by many people as good students and geniuses, but compared to hundreds of millions of native speakers, are they good or not? According to him, primary school students are limited to learning to communicate. This is not a bad thing if communication is considered one of the goals. But if fluent English communication is considered the only goal that primary school students must achieve, it is completely wrong.

"At primary school age, parents should find ways to create an environment and habits for their children rather than forcing them to only learn communication," Mr. Hieu said, adding that an environment for children to be exposed to English naturally is most necessary. In addition, it is necessary to create a habit of listening, speaking, reading, and writing for children every day.

"If parents can afford to send their children to a center, hire foreigners to come to their home to talk, and talk to their children in English if they have the language ability, that's great. If they can't afford it, they can open videos on Youtube for their children to study, as long as they create an environment and a regular routine for their children," said Mr. Hieu.

Secondary school is the time when students learn a lot about grammar and reading comprehension skills at school. According to surveys, students nowadays do well on grammar questions but cannot write essays. According to Mr. Hieu, grammar is only relative, in many contexts breaking grammar rules can lead to good writing.

"The same goes for reading comprehension skills. Students can read a passage and answer all the questions correctly, but if given a 200-page book, it will take years to finish and when finished, they probably won't remember anything," Mr. Hieu added.

At the end of middle and high school, parents start to have the mentality of scheduling their children to take exams for gifted students, standardized tests like SAT, IELTS, TOEFL. Mr. Hieu believes that each exam has its own value if it is considered as a motivation for children to test their level, as short-term pressure or to recognize their efforts. However, long exam preparation makes children lose time doing other things while parents do not know what abilities the exam tests.

"Practicing for the exam throughout 3 years of high school, even from middle school, but taking the exam still doesn't guarantee good results because the child is not equipped with the knowledge foundation from lower levels," said Mr. Hieu.

According to Mr. Hieu, secondary school is the stage of expanding children's knowledge and thinking in all fields and English at this time is only a tool to gain basic knowledge and develop thinking. Instead of letting children learn grammar every day and practice for exams, parents need to let their children read documents in English such as academic books, stories, newspapers. With the environment and habits equipped from primary school, children will gradually get used to and be able to read longer, more difficult documents.

"A 9th grader reads Harry Potter. If a parent asks if there is anything in the book that is not economically or religiously reasonable and the child can answer, then that is knowing how to read, think, and solve problems from many perspectives. That thinking is possible because in 4 years of secondary school, this student has accumulated enough background knowledge," Mr. Hieu gave an example and said that no score can compare to that thinking ability.

In high school, students need to have a correct social awareness, understand their own values ​​and must determine to learn English to serve this. Mr. Hieu commented that many students receive scholarships to study abroad in the US but do not know who they are, leading to quick stress. "Admissions officers and employers are very smart. They only ask one question: who you are or who has the most influence on you, and they can guess your social understanding," Mr. Hieu said.

By determining the English learning goals at each stage, parents and students will find the right learning method. "Once again, I have to say that English is just a tool to develop students' knowledge, thinking and personality," Mr. Hieu emphasized.

According to VNE