(VNF) – In order to make English a friend, not a foe, Vu Hai Dang, the Vietnamese student who gets 9.0 for the IELTS Writing (overall score: 8.0) focuses on the right strategy in reading, perfecting pronunciation and building vocabulary.

Vu Hai Dang (R) and Mayor of London Boris Johnson (source: Vu Hai Dang's Facebook)

With impressive performance in the IELTS exam, Dang received the prestigious Chevening full scholarship from the UK government to pursue his Master degree in 2008-2009.

He is now working as an IELTS instructor, who loves sharing his experiences with other learners who are striving toward excellent result in IETLS.

According to Dang, his high achievement with IELTS was attributed to several learning tactics, including:

1. Listening carefully:

Listening helps the learners quickly and naturally absorbs native English accent and pronunciation, and boost the capacity of vocabulary memorizing.

2. Reading frequently:

According to Dang, reading plays a significant part in putting grammar structure theory into practice. Reading fosters the learners’ capacity in understanding a paragraph and also serves as essential foundation for writing.

Dang advises IELTS learners to make reading become a habit, noting that reading English stories, magazines, newspapers everyday is compulsory, if the learners want to upgrade their English level.

Selecting the right learning materials is important, too, Dang said (illustrative photo: British Council)

Dang also revealed his own effective study method while reading. Accordingly, the learner should not limit his/her study to only note-taking of new words. Instead, they are recommended to use a pencil to quickly highlight areas that matter. For example, write down a “?” for unsure words, phrases (even after looking it up in dictionary) and “*” for the beautiful use of language.

3. Updating grammar and vocabulary is a MUST

In order to speed up the learning process, learners may consider categorize vocabulary they learn into two groups: one for understanding (input) and another for use (output).

Dang also emphasized that one should try to learn as many simple words as possible.

Besides, IELTS learners are adviced to pay attention to and follow the way native speakers use their mother tongue.

4. Relaxing your mind

Dang also suggested IELTS candidates to maintain a relaxing attitude while studying for the IELTS. “Thinking too much may be one reason that make you get stucked. Each time you keep thinking about the score, the tactics, the tips and hints, you lost your calmness and relaxation, while static mode improves your brain’s concentration and creativity.”

Therefore, instead of being gone with the flow of thinking, take time to relax and reflect to enrich your mind and come up with your own creative ideas" Dang said./.

( Translated by Phi Yen )