Thanh Mai (left) and the champions of Africa, Europe, America, and Oceania - Photo: NVCC
Surpassing nearly 120 contestants worldwide , Nguyen Thanh Mai - grade 12 Chinese major, Foreign Language High School, Hanoi National University - has just won the Asian championship and ranked 3rd in the world in the "Chinese Bridge" contest for high school students.
The 17-year-old female student broke previous records, becoming the first Vietnamese student to enter the world finals. Previously, Vietnam's highest achievement was second place in Asia.
Explore your limits
Before coming to the International Chinese Bridge, in grade 10, Mai won third prize in Chinese at the Hanoi National University Olympic exam, and in grade 11, she won first prize.
The female student was also in the top 9 of the "I am a speaker" contest organized by the Chinese club of Hanoi University. Also in grade 11, the female student completed the goal of passing the HSK 6/6 Chinese certificate (the highest level).
Mai said that participating in the Chinese Bridge competition was a series of challenges to discover her own limits. Having known about the competition since grade 9, the female student only had the opportunity to participate in the school-level qualifying round at the end of grade 10 but did not make it to the top.
In grade 11, after a series of days of studying Chinese, Mai continuously passed the school's qualifying round and then broke through to become the champion of the national competition, officially becoming the sole representative of Vietnam to compete in the 18th International Chinese Bridge.
On September 12, Mai flew to China to compete in the international competition, competing with 119 contestants from 5 continents around the world. The female student went through four intense rounds: from 120 contestants, choosing the top 30 (6 contestants from each continent), from the top 30, choosing the top 15, from the top 15, choosing the top 5 (champion of each continent).
In both the top 30 and top 15 selection rounds, Thanh Mai ranked 3rd in Asia. In the top 15 selection round, the female student took the lead and became the Asian champion, which also meant winning a ticket to the final round to find the world champion on September 26.
Ms. Chu Minh Ngoc - the homeroom teacher and also Mai's companion in China - said that Mai's talent show was only prepared for about 3.5 hours after borrowing the practice room.
Despite the "lightning-fast" preparation conditions, the female student's talent competition score still ranked 3rd in the world. The final results of all 4 final round competitions, Mai ranked 3rd in the world - this is also an unprecedented achievement for the Vietnamese student team.
"This was the first time I was able to test my limits in such a short preparation time. When I received the results, I was happy, honored and proud to be able to bring the national flag to the international arena, and felt that my efforts had been duly rewarded," Mai said.
From watching my grandfather write calligraphy
Thanh Mai said her passion for Chinese was nurtured since kindergarten. This stemmed from the fact that she often watched her grandfather write calligraphy, and her grandmother and mother loved Chinese movies, which had some influence.
Mai came to Chinese with the love of a new language, found joy in learning Chinese by admiring some Chinese artists. However, with the language full of figurative language, difficult to read and write, the female student was discouraged and wanted to give up.
"When I first started learning Chinese, I struggled a lot with writing Chinese characters. There were times when I wanted to give up.
At the beginning of 9th grade, when reviewing for the language exam, my teacher told me that when choosing a major, I must be determined to pursue it to the end" - Mai said thanks to the teacher's encouragement and close support, she is no longer afraid of Chinese characters.
With the achievement of ranking 3rd in the world in the 2025 Chinese Bridge competition, Mai received a 3-year scholarship from the Confucius Institute.
The female student said that in the coming time, she plans to focus on her graduation exam and prepare her application for studying abroad. If she receives a scholarship from the Confucius Institute, Mai will choose Chinese language. If she attends another school, she plans to pursue communications.
Must use foreign languages regularly like Vietnamese
For me, the most important thing in learning a foreign language is to use it a lot, as often as my mother tongue. I often practice listening and pronunciation through movies and TV shows. This is also an effective way to learn and entertain at the same time.
Through that I can expand my vocabulary, grammar and practice pronunciation. After knowing the words and their meanings, I will practice writing the words and letters.
As for Chinese, this is a pictogram and has many strokes so you need to spend a lot of time and effort to learn how to write and remember how to write. For me, the most effective way to learn is to learn the story behind each character and diligently copy Chinese characters regularly, then you will remember them faster and longer.
In addition, I also use AI to check for grammar and word usage errors and ask AI to help score, especially before important exams such as semester exams and HSK exams.
(Nguyen Thanh Mai)
Teacher and students burst into joy
Since grade 10, Mai has shown the ability to pronounce like a Chinese person, speak Chinese fluently, have good reflexes and communication skills, sing and dance well, and master the stage.
In class, Mai is an active secretary, has the ability to lead, organize work, is responsible for work, and can withstand high pressure.
Accompanying Mai during the competition days in China, the thing that surprised me the most was the round to find the continental champion (top 15 choose 5). At that time, Mai had to compete with 2 other contestants from Laos and Indonesia, both of whom were extremely excellent contestants.
According to the assessment of the surrounding teachers, the candidate with the potential to win the championship was a Laotian candidate, which put Mai under a lot of pressure before the exam. Therefore, the fact that Mai achieved a high score, far surpassing the Laotian and Indonesian candidates made the teacher and students burst into joy.
(Ms. Chu Minh Ngoc - Mai's homeroom teacher)
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nu-sinh-xep-thu-3-thi-han-ngu-toan-the-gioi-20251005084215866.htm
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