Top student majoring in English in Nghe An owns a series of impressive achievements

With a base score of nearly 26 points, Khanh Linh is one of the top candidates to enter the English major class this school year.

The above results do not seem too surprising to teachers and friends, because up to now, Khanh Linh has owned a rich collection of awards and achievements in English, including First Prize in the City-level English Competition for Excellent Students in Grade 8, Third Prize in the City-level English Competition for Excellent Students in Grade 9 and First Prize and Top Student in the Provincial English Competition for Excellent Students in Grade 9.

Khanh Linh is one of the outstanding students of Dang Thai Mai Secondary School in this year's exam. Photo: PV

Four years ago, when she was in grade 5 at Truong Thi Primary School, Khanh Linh was the youngest contestant to enter the final round of the English Challenge organized by Nghe An Television. She was also a special contestant, as she won the two weekly and quarterly rounds with the extra questions and won third prize overall.

That same year, Khanh Linh achieved 163 points in the B2 certificate, a difficult result for an elementary school student, and two years later she won the National Encouragement Prize in the TOEFL Junior International English Competition (organized by IIG Vietnam Education Organization).

In grade 9, Khanh Linh tried twice to take the IELTS exam and both times she achieved high results. The first time, she got 7.5. The second time, Khanh Linh got 8.0 and she shared that she was very sorry because with just a little luck, she could have raised her score to 8.5.

Despite her outstanding achievements in foreign languages, few people know that Linh was a slow talker when she was little, and it was not until she was 3 years old that she could say her first words. However, what is special is that Linh showed her talent for languages ​​early, and by the age of 4 she could read Vietnamese fluently, even though she could not write yet.

During his high school years, the valedictorian of the 10th grade English major won many awards in many competitions. Photo: PV

Linh’s parents are both English teachers. When Linh was young, her family lived on Bach Lieu Street, near Vinh University, so the first lessons for her and her mother were the billboards along the way to the university.

To help her child get used to the language early, instead of just learning Vietnamese, Linh's mother often taught her English as well. With perseverance, patience and daily nurturing, by elementary school Linh, her mother and family were able to communicate in English normally.

To achieve high academic achievements, the valedictorian of the English major in 2022 shared that her mother was the one who greatly influenced her studies. However, Linh shared that the "pressure" was not small and since going to school, Linh set a goal to try constantly and make efforts to achieve the best results. This is also the reason why, although Linh met the conditions for direct admission, she still registered for the specialized class and was determined to get the highest score, simply because she wanted to assert herself.

As the mother of a rather individualistic daughter, teacher Dang Thi Kim Oanh - a teacher at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted added: My family does not put pressure on my daughter but is always strict in educating her children and in daily life. The family also encourages her to participate in competitions and considers this a playground. Because, after each competition, she may not need to win but knows her limitations to overcome them. For example, in grade 9, she took the city exam and only won third prize, she was very sad. But then, she herself found out her weaknesses such as doing the test too quickly, or getting easy questions wrong, so she could adjust them in the next exam.

Image of Khanh Linh when participating in the English contest on television in grade 5. Photo: MH

During Khanh Linh’s growing up, she also shared that she had two special teachers. The first was her mother, and the second was Ms. Cao Thi Huong, Linh’s English teacher at Dang Thai Mai Secondary School.

Sharing about her student, Khanh Linh's teacher said: Khanh Linh is a hard-working student and has a strong passion for English. Therefore, although she has a very good foundation since entering school, she is not subjective, from easy to difficult lessons, she studies enthusiastically and cooperates actively with the teacher. In addition, Khanh Linh is also a meticulous student, always tries to complete the homework assigned by the teacher in the best way.

Phan Khanh Linh at the award ceremony of the 2020 TOEFL Junior International English Competition. Photo: PV

Trusting in her student, when Linh broke through and became valedictorian in both the Provincial Excellent Student Exam and the Specialized School Entrance Exam, the teachers were not surprised by her results.

The inspiration from her mother, her teacher and family tradition is also the motivation for Khanh Linh to be determined to become an English teacher in the future.

To learn English well, Khanh Linh loves reading foreign books and stories. Photo: MH

This dream is being nurtured by Khanh Linh every day and she said that the best way is to "take practical actions to maintain the flame of her passion", just like the words she wrote for the social argumentative essay in the 10th grade entrance exam this year.