7th grade girl with 8.5 IELTS reads New York Times every day

Hanoi Ha Phuong, Hoang Mai Secondary School, has the habit of reading English newspapers like New York Times and BBC every day to expand her knowledge.

Bui Ha Phuong, class 7A3, Hoang Mai Secondary School, Hoang Mai District, achieved 8.5 IELTS, of which Listening and Reading were 9.0, the remaining two skills were 7.5, in the first computer-based test in early April. Phuong was surprised when she was told this result because initially she thought she would get 8.0.

"I thought my mom was joking," Phuong recounted.

The female student assessed that the exam was suitable for her ability and what she had learned, but regretted that her Speaking skill was only 7.5.

"I was a bit nervous and spoke quickly so my answer was not coherent," Phuong said. "The question was also a bit abstract and personal, different from the everyday topics I practice at home."

Bui Ha Phuong. Photo: Character provided — Bui Ha Phuong. Photo: *Character provided*

The question asked about social relationships or good communication with friends will help candidates gain skills. Phuong also had to give her opinion about people who are too greedy for material things and do not pay attention to the outside world such as family.

In this situation, Phuong did not mention much about social relationships but applied the tactic of turning to a more familiar topic, which is whether success is always about money.

In addition to Speaking, Writing also confused Phuong in Task 1. The question required comparing the percentage of money each Australian spent on expenses such as food and transportation in 1968 and 2009 according to the data given in the table.

"About 20-25 different numbers look a bit confusing. I'm confused about how to group them appropriately for comparison," Phuong said.

The female student said that usually the Task 1 question would be a bar or fan graph, but this time it was a table. Phuong remembered that the way her teacher taught her was to group numbers with similar changes and only compare the prominent numbers.

At first, I planned to do Task 1 in 20 minutes, but the time was almost up and I still hadn’t finished it, so I decided to move on to Task 2 and then come back. Task 2 is a more familiar type of question, giving reasons and solutions to solve the problem of increasingly large cities today.

Of the four skills, Phuong is most confident in Reading and Listening when the topics revolve around animal protection in Australia, famous scientists and communication skills.

The female student said she took the IELTS test because she wanted to test her level. She started studying for the IELTS in July 2023, with two sessions a week for four skills.

Before that, Phuong had a foundation when she was familiar with English from the age of 3-4 through songs and cartoons. From grade 1, she started studying at the center and grade 4 focused on grammar. Not only learning about structure, Phuong also learned about the culture and customs of Western countries in English.

At first, Phuong listened and repeated without understanding the meaning of the words. Gradually, by listening and reading more, she was inspired to study this subject well. She likes topics about personal opinions on current issues on social networks, for example, women's rights, ways to reduce environmental pollution, or detective stories. Listening well helps Phuong pronounce well and has a native-like intonation.

Not only listening, I also love English books for entertainment and reading New York Times and BBC to broaden my knowledge. Phuong's way is to read the title and the summary to understand the content. If I am interested, I will read to find the main idea, paying attention to the bold titles.

To practice writing skills, Phuong applies the method of reading books and research papers, then rewrites them according to her own understanding or composes her own stories. This helps her understand the content and learn how to write academically.

Ha Phuong won first prize in the 2022 school debate competition. Photo: Character provided — Ha Phuong won first prize in the 2022 school debate competition. Photo: *Character provided*

According to Phuong, studying IELTS early helps her acquire logical thinking and argumentation skills and practice coherence and connection in writing.

"When you feel knowledgeable and confident enough, you can try the IELTS test," she said.

However, Phuong also admitted that studying and taking exams early can be too much for some topics that are not really suitable.

In addition to English, Phuong has good academic results at school, with many achievements in competitions such as TOEFL Junior Challenge, English Champion, World Scholar Cup, District-level English Excellent Student...

Teacher Nguyen Van Trung, homeroom teacher of class 7A3, said Phuong studied all subjects well and was always among the top students with the highest scores in grade 7. She was also the first student of Hoang Mai Secondary School to achieve an 8.5 IELTS.

According to Mr. Trung, Phuong has a passion for foreign languages, and thanks to her family's investment, she has had the opportunity to develop her abilities. She is currently also a teaching assistant at English centers, president of the English club at school, and is always assigned the task of guiding her classmates to review for exams.

Phuong has not planned to retake the IELTS exam in the near future but will focus on improving her speaking and writing skills after the first attempt. She aims to pass the English major exam when she enters grade 10.

Dawn

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