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III
Soft but deep, simple but
meaningful, that’s the story in
“Connect with English” – our
listening assignment in the
second semester of the first year
in ULIS. “Connect with English” is
a moving and lively story abou t a
girl named Rebecca Casey, a
story about believing a dream
even when times are hard.
Rebecca lives with her father and
her younger brother in a small
department in Boston. Because
Rebecca’s mother is dead, she
has to take up the responsibility
to take care for the Casey’s
household, for both her father
and her brother – Kevin. She has
worked in a factory for six years,
with her best friend – Sandy. She
has many friends, and her
boyfriend is Matt. It seems to be
a good life. But deep down
inside, Rebecca wants to be
better. Deep down inside,
Rebecca has an intense dream to
write and perform her own music.
Therefore, she wants to go to
music school. To fulfill this
dream, she has to leave Boston,
leave out all behind her family,
her friends include her bes tfriend
and her boyfriend, her job. Some
people are happy for her, but
some others are not. Rebecca’s
boyfriend, Matt, does not want
her to go. Rebecca’s father
doesn’t want her to go, either. At
first, he opposes her decision
vehemently – “N-O. No way”. But
in the end, he supports her, and
so does Kevin. I really like this
scene, when Kevin says
moderately “Go for it”, when
Rebecca’s father tells her that he seem like too much for Rebecca.
is so sorry, and “Mother isn’t here Could she make a miracle?
to say all the right things. So I’ll
Soon things begin to change.
try myself.” and “This is your
Rebecca and her brother
home. If you ever need help, or
discover a family’s secret. It
change your mind or anything,
brings new opportunities and
remember, we’re here.”
more changes for everyone. And
Life is a long journey – always like the theme song of the series,
moves on, always changes, and Dreamcatcher :
through all that we can learn a
Everybody needs a dreamcatcher
great deal of new things, meet
Someone to be there
new people and even new
when your dreams start to fal l
trouble, but also can have more
fun and be happier. Leaving
Everybody needs a dreamcatcher
Boston, Rebecca drives across
Someone to be there
countries, to San Francisco,
when the bad dreams are all you
where her adventure really
can see
begins. She starts everything
Dreamcatcher, catch me
over again, since its very first
sight. She looks for a job, begins Bad moments are always gone.
school, and has to face diff icult There is always someday that
challenges in her new jobs. And they somewhat fade away. A
then, little by little, step by step, brighter future will definitely
Rebecca’s life in San Fransisco come, if you stick to your dream.
begins to come together, she Rebecca finally can open the
achieves certain successes in her door of hope, join into a new life
new life. in which she connects her life in
Boston with her life in San
However, this world is full of
Francisco, connects the past and
surprises, and fate, sometimes,
the present. And that, everything
plays with people. Family’s
is soon gonna be okay.
responsibility brings Rebecca
home, back to Boston. Her father “Connect with English” is n ot
has serious heart problems, and only a program which helps you
learn English. More than that, it is
died. From now on, there is only
a story that vibrates your heart,
Kevin as a member of Rebecca’s
touches to every single corner of
family. From now on, she has to
take a heavier responsibility than your soul, and creates wonders.
ever before. Beside her own
Trinh Lan Anh – 09E23
family crisis, Rebecca has to step
in with another one – in Sandy’s
life. There are some times that
Rebecca feels hurt, despair –
there are some times that it is all
After studying hard for a long time at high school,
I passed the university entrance examination. Finally,
I become a student of a famous university, which
makes me proud of myself.
As a student, I feel satisfied with myself. During the
time in preparation for the midterm test, I lived in
happiness and others’ compliments, so I ignored my
studying. I stated that “if I become a student, I will
enjoy my life rather than study hard”. My thoughts as
well as my actions caused me to get bad results in that
exam. At first, I didn’t care about whether my mark
was good or not because I could re-sit the exam if I
failed. Also, when I am a student, I can break free from
the adult’s control of my mark. I still continued enjoying
my life by indulging myself in many meaningless
sprees. But after the spree I didn’t find interesting, I
asked myself what the true meaning of life is?
There are three main reasons for the considerable
increase in the proportion of students getting part-
time jobs. Firstly, for many students, starting to learn
at college means that they have become adults; as a
result, they do not want to depend too much on their
families. Having a job to be devoted to is one way to
prove their adulthood. Moreover, this also shows their
awareness of and consideration for working and
earning money as mature people. The second cause
for this trend is financial problems. It is said that
students are among those who have the highest
consumption demand; therefore, it is legitimate and
obvious that more and more students are taking part-
I sat alone in the dark and thought long and hard. I
realized that I had slept on glory for too long. I lost the
direction for my future. The main reason for my failure
is that I let my thoughts go astray. I used to think that
passing the university entrance examination is all.
Now, I am regretful. Anyway, it is better late than
never. I also know that it comes as no surprise that
many first-year students have the same thoughts as
me. Rather than orient ourselves to the future, we
have immersed ourselves in that illusion. We are
interested in meeting our demands for pleasure rather
than invest time in learning.
I write this writing to share my thoughts as well
as my failure to others. Remember that “don’t
wait until you fail. Live to the full every day.”
Luong Thu Hien – 09E18
time jobs. Besides studying time, they do one or
several jobs to relatively get out of financial
dependence. Quite a few students can earn enough
money not only for their living expenses but also for
savings or even travelling. The third reason is that
they want to gain experiences in working and
professional behaviours. For them, real working
environment is the best way to train and challenge
oneself. These experiences are so valuable in their
studying and future career as well. Overall, students’
doing part-time jobs is a positive trend that should be
encouraged and fostered.
Do Hanh Chi – 06E1
INFORMATION

BOX

Chances for your talk

Hey guys, you are freshmen and you are want to improve your speaking? You really long to have
the chance to speak English but you hardly see any chance available? All righ t, I used to be in
your shoe, and I would like to share with you the way I sought the chance to practice my
speaking.
1. A short tour around tourist spots:
This is quite handy. You can decide the time and the place to go on your own. Lucky you that y ou
are now in Hanoi and you have plenty of tourist attractions to go to. For instance, you can go
around Sword Lake and initiate your talk with any foreigners. Most of them are really friendly
and curious about our country’s people and culture. Therefore, of course, they will give you a
warm welcome if you tell them more about Hanoi, Vietnam and its culture and people. You can
prepare yourself with relevant
knowledge and information before
coming to the place.
However, remember do not start a talk
with people going in their group or on
a tour, because they are busy chatting
with their friends and not available to
talk to you. You should target at
individual tourists. It should also be noted that some tourists are not willing to talk to you and
may refuse in an impolite way. They may be disturbed too much by students who want to talk
like you or not ready for a talk. So, don’t be hurt for that. Just continue going around and look
for a “potential” partner.
Note: Walking around the spot, you are doing exercis e at the same time
2. A tour guide organization:
You can log on to the forum of ttvnol.vn to search for this organization. Its name is Hanoi kids.
This organization is run by students who share the desire to speak with English speakers. This
organization will provide comprehensive help for backpack tourists, the tourists coming to
Vietnam by their own not on any organized tour or through any agency. The organization, after
asked for help by tourists, will find the hotels and reserve the rooms for them. W hat ‘s more, the
organization then will offer tourists a range of places to choose from, and then arrange students
to guide them around.
What is special about this group is that when you join with them, you can be trained by
professional tour guides, who volunteer to help the organization. The organization will hold
special trainings at certain tourist attractions like Ho Chi Minh Complex, or the Museum of
Ethnology. So, if you are keen to know more about tourist attractions, or you are interested in
becoming a tour guide, you should try this.
Note: When you become an official tour guide, the ones after traini ng
and passing a test, you can enjoy free meals and drinks offered by
tourists

3. A part-time job: These jobs are not so available as the

previous ones. However, if you put yourself out to seek
the chance, it is not really impossible. You can go directly
to any bars, cafeterias which foreigners often pay visits to,
and ask their manager for a job. Do not feel shy because
sometimes, they are impressed b y your determination
and your confidence, who knows, they may try to find a
position that fits you. Or you can work as an assistant in a
shop that often receives foreigners. At least as far as I know, Kim Huong ruby, gold and silver
shop at Trang Tien Plaz a offers part-time jobs for students of Language College. The shop
manager particularly likes to recruit students who can communicate in English and she always
creates the best flexible working timetable for these students.
This option requires your higher time and energy commitment, but besides practicing speaking
English, you can earn some money to support your st udent life as well.
Note: The manager of Kim Huong are still welcoming students to work
part-time for her. If you are interested, you can conta ct me for more
details. Or you can go to the shop at Trang Tien Plaza. It is very easy
to find the shop there.
Hoàng Thanh Huyền_061E1
Question
How to overcome the fear named “Reading”? I am afraid of letters!

Answer
Reading is the fear of almost every student, but it is not as scary as you
think. To get rid of that fear, you should begin to read what you like first.
It can be English story books like Harry Potter, Witches in OZ, etc, or
famous English novels. You can also read English news or fun stories on
the Internet as a way to entertain and gain information. Gradually, when
your “letter-fear” reduces, try something more academic like reading text
or essays. We hope you all will soon fall in love with Reading.

Question
How to deal with boring General Subjects? I cannot help myself from
falling asleep.

Answer:
Here are some suggestions:
1. As some of them are boring because of… being difficult, so try to
read the textbook before class? That will help you a lot when
listening to teacher’s lectures. When you understand something
clearly, it is easier for you to love it.
2. Are you sure that all the general subjects are boring? Or it is you
who have never tried to love them?
3. Go to class early and seat at the first tables.
Force yourself to learn. Believe me, you
cannot fall asleep when teachers are so close.
Question
Listening is my nightmare! I listen a lot but I cannot hear a word in class
or in the exam. Why?

Answer
It’s the matter of psychology. Practice
listening at home is totally different with
listening in the exams. You miss a word and
you panic, then you miss more words and
you get more panic, is that how it goes?

However, don’t worry because it really takes

much time to be good at listening, and the key factor is that you should
practice continuously to keep your ear’s ability stable.

Thank you very much for concerning those matters. For further
information or answers, you can contact us directly at
englishalumni@yahoogroups.com We are here to help you every time
you need.

A customer came into a luxury
restaurant and ordered the most
expensive dishes. After enjoying
the meal, he called the manager
and said:
“I have no money, please call the
police.”
The manager was infuriated. But
after thinking for a while, he said:
“OK, I will forget about this if
tomorrow you visit the restaurant
on the opposite and have a free
meal as you did here today.”
The customer refused with regret:
“I am afraid, I can’t because
yesterday I had a free meal there
already and the owner told me to
come here today”
Collected by Vu Quyen
09.E21
The policeman asked the man,
whose watch was stolen:
Why didn’t you shout?
There was a couple who often
had quarrels. One day, angry It’s stupid to do so, because I have
8 golden teeth.
with the husband, the wife
cried and said:
“I would rather marry a devil
than you!”
The husband replied in a
hurry:
“It’s impossible to do so, my
dear! Under the marriage
Code, the consanguineous are
not allowed to get married to
each other.” 4. “Don’t worry!”
“Doctor, is this kind of operation
dangerous?”
“Yes, it is. One out of five
operations is successful.”
“Oh, it is terrible!”
“Do not worry. Four people before
you have died.”
Vu Thuy Linh – 09.E21

A Friend
A Accepts you as you are

F Forgives your mistakes

R Raises you spirits

I Invites you over

E Envisions the whole you ( even the unfinished parts )

N Never judges

D Doesn’t give up on you