Special English class of Deputy Chief of Commune Police in Nghe An

Concerns with rural students

Born into a farming family in Dinh Son commune, Anh Son district, Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong had a passion for learning English since he was young. From primary school to secondary school, Thong achieved many high achievements in district and provincial competitions for excellent students in English.

After graduating from high school, for two consecutive years, he excelled in being admitted to the Law and English Language Department of the People's Security Academy. In 2015, after graduating from the People's Security Academy, Senior Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong began working at the Anh Son District Police and was then transferred to Hoa Son Commune and held the position of Deputy Chief of Commune Police.

Upon receiving his assignment at Hoa Son commune, during his 8 years of work, First Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong has always actively learned from his senior teammates and excellently completed all assigned tasks. During his time working at Hoa Son commune, he realized that students here still have many disadvantages and limitations in learning and being exposed to English in a systematic way. Many students have not yet been trained in standard English listening and speaking skills. If they want to learn more English, some students have to travel a long distance to the district center to study. Besides, some parents are also afraid of spending a lot of money for their children to learn English, while life is still difficult, which makes him very worried.

After a period of thinking, stemming from his love for the children of Hoa Son commune as well as his passion for English, wanting to convey his knowledge to them, in March 2023, Senior Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong reported to the leaders of Anh Son District Police, the Party Committee, and the People's Committee of Hoa Son commune about opening a free English class right at the commune headquarters.

After receiving approval, Senior Lieutenant Thong borrowed the Hoa Son Commune People's Committee Hall to teach the children every Saturday and Sunday evening. Initially, the number of students attending the class was small, but gradually word spread and now the class has 30 students from grades 1 to 6 attending.

Senior Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong shared: Being born and raised in the countryside, he understands very well that the students here are at a disadvantage compared to students in the city, especially in accessing and learning English. With the desire to impart his English knowledge to the students where he works, he opened this free class.

According to Senior Lieutenant Thong, through the class along with imparting English knowledge, he also had the opportunity to interact and understand more about the family circumstances of the children and households in the commune. From there, he was able to improve the work of mass mobilization, acting as a bridge between the police force and the masses to do a good job of security and order in the area.

Inspiring and spreading passion for English to students in mountainous areas

Every Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 pm, at the Hoa Son Commune People's Committee headquarters, you can feel the bustling, exciting atmosphere of the free English class organized by Senior Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong.

Student Tran Diep Chi, class 5C, Hoa Son Primary School (village 3, Hoa Son commune) shared: Because my house is far away, I rarely have access to English outside of class time. Therefore, I find it very useful to participate in this class with Mr. Thong. I hope this class will take place throughout the school year.

Nguyen Kim Truong, class 6C, Hoa Son Secondary School said: “When I joined the class, Mr. Thong taught me every sentence and every word in detail, so it was very easy to understand. Since I started studying here, I have found learning English very interesting. After 5 months of studying, I have memorized a lot of vocabulary and grammar and can communicate with my classmates. I hope the class will be maintained so that my friends and I can come to class regularly and acquire more English knowledge.

Talking about lesson plans, for Senior Lieutenant Thong, it is knowledge that he has diligently learned over many years; at the same time, he spends time learning more about the students' learning level to teach appropriate knowledge.

Senior Lieutenant Thong shared: “Because the students are of different ages, in order to teach and learn English effectively, I have taught them in many ways. In addition to imparting knowledge, vocabulary, and new words, I also directly converse, practice pronunciation of vocabulary, grammar, or play catch-the-word games on the screen to make it easier for them to understand and make the classroom atmosphere more lively. From there, they will be able to absorb the lesson more easily. In addition, while teaching, I ask them if there is anything they do not understand, then I will explain it again, if it is too fast, I will slow down. If they feel tired, I will create a game to create a comfortable mentality, and at the same time help them remember the knowledge they have just learned.” In addition, not only imparting English knowledge, Senior Lieutenant Thong also spends time teaching the students about ethics, as well as practicing life skills.

When asked about memorable memories after the classes, Senior Lieutenant Thong smiled and told. There was a memory that he always remembered that day as usual, the teacher and students were preparing to start the English lesson, the whole class was bustling, the laughter was crisp when the teacher and students were organizing a competition to pronounce English correctly. The class was interrupted by his phone ringing, through the exchange of information from the people at that time in the area there was a fire and he needed to be there immediately to handle it. At that time, the students were bustling and asked: "Do you have to go put out the fire, teacher?", "Where is the fire, teacher?". He quickly informed the parents to pick up the students and ran to get the car to go to the scene to handle it.

The action that touched him was when he went to get his motorbike, the students ran after him and stood around the motorbike, their faces filled with worry, one grabbed his shirt, another held his hand worriedly, one pulled his shirt and said "teacher, be careful when you put out the fire, we'll wait for you in class"... At that moment, he was stunned for 3 seconds and his nose was stinging with emotion because of the feelings the students had for him.

Or in the class, there is Nguyen Van Duc Chuong, 8 years old, in village 2, Hoa Son commune, who also left a lot of impressions on him. 3 years ago, while playing, Chuong had an accident and lost a finger on his right hand. When he was old enough to go to school, Chuong felt self-conscious, self-conscious, and afraid to interact with friends, becoming a shy boy. Through gathering information and knowing Chuong's situation, Senior Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong came to his house to encourage him to join his free English class. After a period of perseverance and persuasion, Chuong agreed to come to class. In class, he was always attentive, close, and talked a lot with Chuong, helping him to open up more. What surprised his family as well as Mr. Thong was that Chuong improved visibly every day. He not only loved English but also became more and more bold, confident, and sociable with his friends. In the class there is also Le Van Dat, from Tuong Son commune. Although his house is in another commune, far from the school location, every week, regardless of rain or shine, his mother, Nguyen Thi Kim Duyen, takes the time to take him to class and wait for him to come home.

For Senior Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong, the current success after opening free English classes is that many students have made remarkable progress. Some students who were shy and slow in learning English have become bold and confident in communicating in English, as well as mastering basic knowledge. The students' progress has created motivation and inspiration for him to continue to perform better as a "police" teacher.

Good impression of the "police" teacher

Ms. Bui Thi Van Anh, village 3, Hoa Son commune said: Recently, the people of Hoa Son commune are very grateful to comrade Thong for opening a free class for their children. When bringing their children to study here, parents are completely assured. My child is very excited and interested in English, he has made significant progress and is more confident in communicating in English. Through this class, people also have the opportunity and time to contact and exchange information with the police force, helping the commune police to promptly grasp and quickly handle cases at the grassroots level. From there, they can do a good job of managing the area.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Tho - Chairman of Hoa Son Commune People's Committee, Anh Son affirmed: The Party Committee and the commune government also see this as a meaningful work and acknowledge and highly appreciate the effectiveness of the model. During the implementation process, the Commune People's Committee also supported facilities such as auditoriums, speakers, projectors and other conditions to serve the classes well.

Although opening an English class is very busy, with his professional work, Senior Lieutenant Thong always completes his tasks excellently. As Deputy Chief of Commune Police, Senior Lieutenant Thong and his fellow Commune Police have many solutions to ensure security and order in the area. Since the beginning of the year, Hoa Son Commune Police have investigated and clarified 5 drug cases, arresting 15 subjects. In particular, during the "70-day and night peak" of issuing citizen identification cards and the "greening of electronic identification accounts" peak, Senior Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong has been a pioneer, taking the lead in participating, regardless of overtime or holidays, he goes to the villages to perform his duties. Recently, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Chairman of Anh Son District People's Committee. The work of Senior Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong has contributed to spreading the beautiful image ofPeople's Public Security soldier"courage, humanity to serve the people".

Saying goodbye to us, Senior Lieutenant Duong Minh Thong confided: The free English class was opened with the hope of helping children experience and learn English better, and in my heart I always want to give and receive more joy in life. The love of the children and their parents will be the motivation for me to maintain this class. /.