The Nghe scholar "caused chaos" in the capital's poetry village

(Baonghean) - This year, or maybe another year, it is said that Mr. Tan will go to Vung Tau to live with his children to enjoy his old age (and maybe even switch to the job of... babysitting). That also means that Hanoi will soon lack an "unprecedented" English class, a beautiful memory in many generations of student lives: The class is crowded with hundreds of people, but is completely silent when the teacher's Nghe accent is heard. And all Nghe students (the teacher's hometown), or poor students in general, will have their tuition fees waived by Mr. Tan, with the promise: When you get a job, if you have one, pay me back...

"New" like "New" teacher!

The Facebook (FB) community has a special account: The English Learning Association of Mr. Thai Ba Tan. But when you click on it, you will see not only English lectures, but also... Buddhist lectures. It turns out that Mr. Tan is also a Buddhist. Mr. Tan's students, in class or on FB, are therefore taught life philosophies by him. And his teaching method is very easy to absorb! The person who was once famous for his translations of Russian poetry, especially Pushkin's poetry, when teaching students, immediately released his "homegrown" knowledge: "Poeticizing" everything he wanted to say, using his specialty of 5-word poetry, so that even if he closed his eyes or covered the author's name, he would still know whose poem it was.

The profile picture on this famous English teacher's personal page is a picture of a gray head with a violin. It's not an act at all, but anyone who knows Mr. Tan knows that he is especially fond of classical music. During his busy days, when he teaches, when he writes poetry, when he sells "homegrown" books (including more than 70 volumes of translated poetry, original poetry, short stories, English books, Buddhist books... published), Mr. Tan even takes the time to record CDs of music played by himself. Having fallen in love with classical music since his student years at Moscow University of Foreign Languages ​​(English translation department), he has learned to play all kinds of musical instruments: violin, saxophone, piano... The personal page of this 66-year-old teacher attracts nearly 63,000 followers, so there are also captivating songs that he wants to inspire people to live, especially the young.

Music is one of Mr. Thai Ba Tan's passions.

The "poor" class of the "Western god"

“Teacher Tan”, a play on words would mean “Western god”, is also the way many young people jokingly call their especially funny and skillful English teacher. A strange English class, opened at the University of Science and Technology (sometimes the University of Construction), has been present in Hanoi for the past 25 years like a miracle of the Nghe scholar: the class opens every day (except Sunday), starting at 6pm, attracting an average of 300 students, at least 200 and at its peak… 500 (many people who have gone to work still like to return to their student class), causing each table that is normally only for 2 people to now be burdened with the burden of 3-4 people. And mostly… sitting on the floor. Those who are slow to come can only… hang by the window for nearly 2 hours. His students therefore jokingly say that studying in Mr. Tan's class is not only to practice English but also to help… train physical strength, if they don't want to "slow buffalo drink muddy water" (meaning sitting in a remote place).

Yet strangely, when the teacher's warm Nghe accent was raised, all those people (mostly young people) fell silent, absorbing every word he taught. Hanoi has never lacked large English centers with attractive offers such as native teachers, international curriculum or degrees recognized worldwide... but many people said that, after trying, they just wanted to return to the class of the "Western god". Not necessarily because the tuition is cheap, almost never known to increase tuition, and can even owe until... graduation, work, "if you have money, pay the teacher later"... but also because there, they not only learn English but also many other life lessons that the teacher skillfully incorporated into it, and vividly conveyed in a humorous, self-deprecating voice, typical of the Nghe scholar who is well-read and talkative. Something like: “My husband and I are telling the truth/ We really like children/ There was a technical problem/ We only had one baby”, so we decided to tell our child: “Get rid of planning/ Population and family/ Women have to give birth/ The more they give birth, the prettier they are”…

If anyone still doubts the youth, perhaps they should try to come to Mr. Tan's class once. Because there, they will witness a truly studious atmosphere, with hundreds of young people enthusiastically striving to improve - something that is increasingly rare in the lecture hall, and this is also what has inspired passion for those who are feeling tired and exhausted on the path of making a living, studying...

Surely only in Mr. Tan's class does the concept of "poor learning" and warm advertisements like this exist: "The teacher gives away free study materials every day... If you are poor and have no money, you can study poorly for a while. You can buy a card to keep for free, study anytime, anyone can study, while studying, you can give it to someone else. If anyone suddenly needs money, they can bring an unregistered card to class, the teacher will sell it for them at the same price they bought it. Or you can exchange the card for the teacher's books. Isn't that great?...".

“Poor students” is a “monopoly” concept of Mr. Tan, referring to students who do not have money to buy cards and he lets them pay on credit until they start working (this number probably accounts for half of the average class of 300 students), with the “threat”: “When you are rich, don’t forget me”. He said: “If you don’t have money, then just come to poor students, as long as you don’t lie about forgetting your card…”. Furthermore, there are days when, without any occasion, the teacher suddenly gives a card to… a fat person, a thinnest person in the class, or a person who smiles brightly, or a person who does not have money to buy a card…

Therefore, Mr. Tan's class is always filled with laughter, even though behind it are tears of gratitude and emotion from poor students, and tears of pity from the funny old teacher...

Nghe An Newspaper would like to introduce some witty, simple, popular five-word poems containing profound life lessons by poet and translator Thai Ba Tan. His five-word poems are like everyday conversations, so some people call them “oral poems”.

239

Trust is like paper.

Once crumpled,

It will be very difficult to swipe back.

As smooth as new.

Likewise, in communication,

One slip of the tongue.

I will regret it.

But sometimes for life.

259

May not be reached

The destination we need.

But as we keep walking,

That means we're getting closer.

The important thing is to take steps.

It doesn't matter how long.

Can't come today,

I will come tomorrow.

265

One person sees the world

In my fifties

Same as before,

In my twenties,

Then clearly that person

Wasted my

Thirty years old,

Intentional or unintentional.

Say this philosophical sentence,

Muhammad Ali,

Former boxing champion,

What do you want to remind me?

Time is an asset

The most precious thing in the world.

Not used properly,

It is difficult for us to grow up.

267

Words have weight.

Everyone knows this.

So choose your words carefully,

To speak correctly, to speak well

A person who is very likely

Pain or smile

After listening to him.

Remember, choose your words carefully.

Nguyen Le