Meet National English Competition winner Kim Anh

Having top scores at the entrance exam to high school, winning the Olympic English Contest, the little girl with a lovely smile from 11A1, Hanoi – Amsterdam High School, Dam Ngoc Kim Anh, has once again proved to be an extraordinary student. She has obtained the first prize in the National English Competition again in February 2012.

We recently had a talk with this talented girl and let’s find out more about her and her amazing progress.

Interviewer: As far as we know, the win in the National English Competition came to you as a surprise. How are you feeling now?

Kim Anh: I knew I won the first prize of the competition last Thursday. I was very happy and surprised at the same time. This actually means a lot to me as my hard work has eventually paid off. Now it’s been over a week and I’m still feeling the same about it.

Interviewer: So, you have made much academically outstanding progress with many prizes. Could you share us some tips for English study?

Kim Anh:I attend the school’s English team’s lessons, and at home I spend time practicing with reference books, such as those published by Vinh Ba or the 30-4 Olympic Tests Book. Besides, I do the tests of previous years over and over again. And I think group study is also very effective as you can talk and discuss the subject with your friends.

Interviewer: How do you practice listening and speaking English? Do you often communicate with foreigners?

Kim Anh: Studying in A1 gives me great opportunities to meet teachers and students from other countries. Each time I get to contact with them is a chance for me to improve my pronunciation and intonation. Besides I listen to music and watch English movies without subtitles to practice listening and imitate the intonation of native speakers.

Interviewer: Do people around you help you with your study?

Kim Anh: Other people do help me a lot. Teachers clear up my queries about lessons, and they show me effective ways of studying, researching and taking notes. Also thanks to studying in groups with my friends, I can discuss difficult exercises with them and share study documents.

Interviewer: Being a student in A1, who has won many prizes and is famous for your achievements at school, you must sometimes be compared with Le Thanh Thuy, who was previously an A1 student in the class of 09-12, right? How do you feel being compared with her?

Kim Anh: Being compared with Thuy is a great honor to me. All her academic achievements and extra-curricular activities that she went in for are so admirable, so this is not only pressure but also motivation that urges me to work even harder.

Interviewer: As a brilliant 11A1 student, you were chosen to attend international workshops and conferences. Can you tell us a little bit about that

Kim Anh:They were very interesting and memorable experiences to me. Last year I had a chance to attend a conference at UNIS (United Nations International School Hanoi), and this year I’m going to Japan for one week for further study. It is very exciting to get to know friends from many parts of the world and discuss global issues, as it makes me feel like I can speak up and to some extent change the world.

Interviewer: Many students specializing in English wish to study abroad. Some say studying English for competing in English competition contradicts that for taking international exams to get scholarships. What do you think about that?

Kim Anh: I myself would love to win a scholarship to pursue my dream of studying abroad. I think that the English you learn to compete in competitions is on a higher level than common English, so sometimes this makes us think they contradict each other. But I believe that it doesn’t matter where we learn or what for, it’s useful for our future anyway, what do matter are time and our passion.

Interviewer: Is there any habits you would like to share?

Kim Anh: I love reading books. I usually spend time reading English literature such as “The day after tomorrow”, “Gone with the wind”,etc… Besides, I organized a book club in my class where we read and discuss books together.

Interviewer: What do you want to be in the future?

Kim Anh: I want to be a doctor. I like biochemistry.I think Medicine is very interesting and challenging and I hope to discover methods to treat diseases that are now incurable.

Interviewer: At this time of the year many ninth graders are going to take the entrance exam to Hanoi – Amsterdam High School. Is there any advice you want to give them?

Kim Anh: The exam is not difficult but stressing, so you must be prepared mentally and academically. It’s important to be good and work hard on the subject you’re specializing in and also spend time on some other subjects as you will have to take 3 or 4 subjects for the exam. Don’t be pressured about your study, just make sure you grasp the knowledge and be prepared so that you don’t get nervous. You may also take mock exams to get used to the tense atmosphere and adjust you study.

Thank you for the interview. Wish you success with your studies.

Author: Nguyen Sieu (A1 10-13)

Translator: Thanh Thao (A1 11-14)