SUBJECTS AND FIELD OF APPLICATION

3. Subjects and field of application:This research can be applied by English teachers who are in charge of teaching high schoolstudents for the Provincial Gifted Student exam among high schools in An Giang.

Trang 6

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1AN EXPERIENCE IN STUDY STRATEGIES: “ HOW DID I STUDY ?”

By Diệp Thanh Hào – the 3

rd

prize student in the 2013 National Exam for Gifted Students

With the ongoing process of globalization and

integration, it is irrefutable that English is

playing an increasingly important role in our

society, especially in developing countries like

Vietnam. This in turn has triggered the start of

various English competitions in the country to

promote better English learning and teaching,

most notably the National Competition for

Gifted Students in English. In this essay, I, as a

Third Prize recipient in that competition, would

like to deliver a brief discussion about my

experience as well as some useful tips on how to

master the language in general, and thoroughly

prepare for the contest in particular.

First of all, to improve listening and reading skills, I believe that self-study is the determining

factor. There are a large number of easily accessible sources of material on the Internet, and our task

simply is to devote our time studying and make the best use of those resources. Some of them are the

“BBC Learning English” program, the FCE, CAE and CPE series, or the 10-book series of “Cambridge

IELTS”. Regarding the method, I always listened at least three times for every recording and learned

new vocabulary from the text scripts to ensure I could clearly understand all the important details. I also

learned to apply the SKIM and SCAN methods in reading and they proved to be very effective to me.

In terms of writing and speaking skills, I think it is essential to find a partner that can practice

together with us, give us helpful feedback and help correct our mistakes. Also, for the writing skill,

doing research and reading sample essays about the topic before writing should be laid great stress on,

because this would provide us with insightful knowledge and advanced vocabulary about the mentioned

issue. When practicing, we should not concern about the time limit and should only focus on perfecting

our essays as much as possible. For the speaking skill, watching English movies and listening to English

radio channels are my ways to practice pronunciation and intonation, and I would also recommend the

two books of Matt Clark and Mark Allen as a great guide to improve your speaking skill.

All in all, I still strongly believe that perseverance and determination are the two most crucial

elements to achieve proficiency in English. Hopefully, my experience and several small tips discussed

above would be of help to those who are striving to improve their English command.

HAVE A GOOD TIME !

APPENDIX 2

(THE PROVINCIAL EXAM FOR GIFTED STUDENTS)

References:

-Trần Văn Hải –Trần Văn Sinh, Basic English

Grammar -Betty Schrampfer Azar, English Grammar -

Raymond Murphy, Grammar in use

-Michael A. Pyle M.A , TOEFL CLIFFS

-B.D Graver, Advanced English Practice