Outstanding young citizen of Ho Chi Minh City: Learn English to use, not for the certificate

If counting from the time of conceiving the idea, starting to teach a few classes, it took 8 years for WESET English Center to take shape as it is today.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Sang - Photo: WESET

The person who took the first steps so far - Mr. Nguyen Tan Sang - has just been officially voted as "Outstanding Young Citizen of Ho Chi Minh City" 2024. He studied criminal law, graduated and worked for two foreign banks, had a good job with a good salary, but Mr. Sang still directly taught several English classes at night. He thought it was a side job, but as it grew bigger and bigger, he quit his job at the bank and started a foreign language center. Mr. Sang started the story: - In the past, I still thought that if I could speak English and work in foreign companies, everyone there would probably use English a lot. In reality, it is not necessary to be too good, as long as I can communicate and understand, I can do everything. The biggest thing I always think about when learning English is to be able to use it, not to chase after certificates or degrees, unless the research is in-depth and too specialized, requiring another level.

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* But why English and not start a business with something else? - When I was in high school, I was quite good at English so when I entered university, I started tutoring a few friends. Through introductions from one person or another, many friends got to know me, asked more questions and wanted to study with me. After graduating, I worked in a bank during the day, and in the evenings and on weekends, I still maintained English classes. For me, foreign languages ​​in general or any foreign language are just tools. But they should be and are necessary for each person in addition to professional knowledge as well as other skills for work. I built a foreign language training center with the orientation of teaching so that learners have to use it, confidently use it, not to show off "I know a foreign language" but cannot do anything with it. * Did the years working in a bank help you when starting a business? - There is a lot of knowledge and skills that, thanks to the time working at the bank, have supported me a lot. Because it was not until 2019 that I officially registered to establish the English Center for Collaboration (English name is WESET English Center LLC) even though I had taught for a few years before. Establishing the new company was when I applied what I learned while working in the banking sector in the corporate customer segment. Thanks to the opportunity to interact with many businessmen, I learned about business administration, human resources, cash flow... - things I learned from my work at that time and now apply to my own business.

I hope to share in some of the young people’s desire to learn foreign languages. Don’t consider foreign languages ​​as something too esoteric, but learn and use them to serve your life, study and work.

Mr. NGUYEN TAN SANG

Teachers need to create excitement in class.

* What is the difference between you and many other foreign language training facilities and units that are operating? - I don't dare to say anything different, but we prioritize recruiting teachers who have graduated from English pedagogy or English language. I believe that knowing English can teach, but teachers must be able to attract students. Students must be interested in coming to class, confident in learning and using the foreign language they learn. In a way, we focus on providing customer service so that they have the best possible experience and are satisfied with what they receive. Therefore, I need you to have pedagogical skills and will be trained and practiced teaching for at least two months. After that, the professional department must check and re-evaluate all aspects before that teacher officially teaches the class. During the teaching process, there will be unexpected class observations as a way of cross-checking between the center and the teacher. The center targets students aged 14 and over, so most of our teachers are currently in their 30s to better integrate with students. * Along with teaching, he and the center are also known for participating in many social work activities... - The center organizes activities, English clubs with activities, foreign language experiences, and communication with foreigners. These activities are held at the center's teaching locations and are completely free so that whether they are students of the center or not, they can participate. Many parents and students who come to register say they know the center through word of mouth, one person tells another, people who have studied or are studying introduce us to new people. The center does not invest too much in marketing, advertising or taking advantage of social networks and in our orientation, we aim for social enterprises, not just profit.

* I heard that studying English here requires installment payments? - This is also from the relationships I have when working in banking. Thanks to that, we can support those who have difficulty paying installments when studying at the center. Usually, students have paid, finished the course and want to continue studying but are facing financial difficulties. At this time, there will be a department in charge of discussing in detail with parents to agree on paying this installment payment. If there are difficult circumstances, after discussing specifically, verifying and having enough documents to prove family circumstances such as poor or near-poor households, the center is willing to support free tuition, as a scholarship to reward your studiousness.

53,000 English scholarships

Mr. Nguyen Tan Sang presented a symbolic board of English scholarships to excellent new students of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education - Photo: WESET

In 2024 alone, WESET announced and awarded 53,000 English scholarships to students in many places and units. The highest scholarship is up to 80 million VND, the rest are commonly at 15-20 million VND/scholarship. The scholarships are courses and within three months from the date of receipt, students will contact the center to register and arrange a suitable course time and are required to study seriously. In addition, the center has an incentive policy for students with difficult circumstances who are studying well at the center by granting English scholarships for the next course if these students have good academic results or better. The center also accepts scholarship support for a number of students affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, orphans, and people with difficult circumstances...

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cong-dan-tre-tieu-bieu-tp-hcm-hoc-tieng-anh-de-xai-khong-phai-vi-chung-chi-2024122709440855.htm#content