The "breakthroughs" of young English language talents

(Baonghean.vn) - At the 3rd National "English Talent" Olympic Competition, Central Region, which recently concluded in Da Nang, Hoang Bao Linh - a 5th grade student from Trung Do Primary School (Vinh City) - was the youngest contestant from Nghe An province and excellently won first prize.

It's been over a week since Bảo Linh returned from Da Nang, but the afterglow of the competition is still fresh in her mind. Although only in fifth grade, she displayed an early level of confidence. This was her advantage in winning over the audience and securing victory, even during the most challenging periods.

Although she's only in 5th grade, Bao Linh is a very confident student.

Before joining six other members of the Nghe An team to participate in the National English Talent Competition, Linh was the 40th person, and the one with the lowest score after the IOE competition, to be selected for the provincial qualifying round. With that mindset, Linh didn't have much hope entering the competition.

The first round, the written test, went relatively smoothly for Linh. However, in the interview and public speaking round, Linh found herself in a difficult position after being asked a question in a field she wasn't interested in: "Tell me about a cartoon you like." Recalling that moment, Linh said, "Honestly, I don't like watching cartoons because 'they're too childish' and I've never been able to watch a complete one."

Hoang Bao Linh is the youngest member of the Nghe An team participating in the 3rd National English Talent Competition in Da Nang.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and Linh "created" her own film titled "A Good Dream." The film's plot revolves around a pretty but lazy, untidy, playful girl who doesn't help her parents. However, after a dream, she repents and promises to change, becoming diligent, clean, and tidy...

During the interview, the teachers asked Linh about the harmful effects of watching television, and she replied: "Watching television provides me with a lot of useful information, but watching too much wastes time and affects my eyesight. Being engrossed in watching movies also makes me forget other tasks I need to do and become lazy."

One of the judges commented on Linh: "Although only a 5th-grade student, Hoang Bao Linh is quite mature, grown-up, and especially unafraid to express her own opinions. Bao Linh also shows creativity, a rich imagination, and very childlike thoughts."

Bao Linh (in the orange shirt) and the first-place winners of the competition.

Having passed the provincial qualifying round, the little girl advanced to the national finals in Da Nang. This time, Bao Linh's speech topic was "What is your favorite activity at school?" She confidently stated that her favorite activity was recess.

“People might think that school activities are mainly about studying, and that we have to enjoy some kind of academic activity, but I believe that not only me, but many other students also enjoy recess, enjoying the rest time. During recess, we have many games like jump rope, soccer, running, or taking advantage of the time to do some exercises. During recess, we can also do group activities and discuss many topics. Therefore, I find recess very interesting and beneficial.”

Regarding the remaining two sections, "What's the topic?" (Students view images and identify a common theme) and "Are you a good communicator?" (Watch videos with a theme and handle situations), Linh said she had experience from regularly watching videos, reading books, and looking at pictures at home. However, she noted, "Everyone takes the exam individually, so I don't know how the students before and after me performed; I just spoke based on all my thoughts and knowledge." Perhaps that's why she was so surprised when she received the news that she had surpassed nearly 100 other contestants in the region to win first prize.

Linh (in the middle) and her friends are having a self-study session.

Hoang Bao Linh started learning English in the second semester of first grade. Linh's biggest advantage was having an older sister in the specialized English class at Dang Thai Mai High School, so whatever her sister studied, Linh would happily learn along with her. Linh's parents didn't put much pressure on her, allowing her to freely develop her skills according to her interests, such as buying CDs and DVDs, letting her watch videos online, reading books, and looking at pictures at home.

Video about "English Talent" Hoang Bao Linh

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Ms. Dong Thi Van, Linh's English teacher at Trung Do Primary School, also shared: "While Linh might only be relatively similar to her classmates in terms of grammar or vocabulary, she has excellent pronunciation, confidence, and the ability to express herself well and command the stage. Linh's secret to learning English is very simple: listen a lot and practice speaking a lot. She usually watches online videos, and after understanding the content, she practices in front of a mirror, mimicking the character's intonation. In addition, Linh regularly reads bilingual books to enrich her vocabulary."

At 10 years old, for Linh, every success is just the beginning, and she will surely achieve even more in the future.

My Ha

Clip: Ngan Ha - Thanh Hai