During the national competition of excellent students in 2024-2025 academic year, Nhat Minh was the only student from Hanoi winning the second prize (which was the highest achievement for the Hanoi team, ranking above students from other prestigious schools including the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, Chu Van An High School, Japanese International School, and Viet Duc High School) with a total score of 16.7.

Minh told VietNamNet that he felt great joy as this was a significant milestone in his journey of mastering Japanese and an opportunity to challenge and prove himself on "a big playing field".

"I am very happy but also surprised by this result because the other candidates were excellent, including the competitors from well-known high schools. My performance on the written and spoken tests exceeded my expectations," Minh said.

Minh has learned Japanese from an early age since his father is Japanese. However, his passion and interest in Japanese became clearer when he entered the 5th grade and watched YouTube videos in Japanese.

Before and during the exam, Minh said he felt most confident with his Listening and Reading skills, and said his Writing and Speaking skills were limited. To improve his Japanese, Minh spent time reading news on Japanese sites like NHK NEWS and watching news programs and briefings in Japanese.

"Reading newspapers not only helps expand my vocabulary and knowledge but also teaches me how to present a written piece clearly and logically. When reading and watching, I practice pronunciation and speaking by reading aloud, which greatly improves my speaking skills," Minh said.

He said he is not too bound to grammar rules in textbooks but also spends time to watch channels on the internet, mass media and listen to music. And he doesn’t reserve too much time for Japanese practice, but often plays badminton with friends in his free time.

"I think that to learn a certain subject well, you first have to love it and explore it. Without understanding the subject and connecting its knowledge to real-life situations, it will be hard to cultivate interest," he said.

By self-identifying as an introvert, Minh said he feels a cultural resonance with Japan. He said Japanese allows him to be fluent in another language, which facilitates communication with international friends and knowledge acquisition, and allows him to learn about Japanese culture, such as the virtues of perseverance and eagerness to learn.

Thanh Hung