From zero to hero

Mr Nguyen Ngoc Thuy’s story begins when he was still a student of a gifted high school in Hanoi. Back then, students of these special schools can choose to specialize only on a few subjects without having to study on others. As for Mr Thuy, he enjoyed every other subjects at school, except for English. “I always had a terrible fear for this subject. Not until the end of my secondary high school did I start on English. Therefore, I always felt left behind my peers and the curriculum”, he recalled, calling himself a “defect of education”.

But his story does not stop there. Upon his first year at the University of Mining and Geology, he was also partnering with one of his teachers to open a center for university entrance exam preparation. It was a hard time for him because he needed to balance between university coursework and his job at the center. After several thoughts, Mr Thuy finally decided to quit university and focus on the education company. Mr Thuy firmly believes that people do not necessarily go to university or have formal education to succeed; working, experiencing and self-researching are also good ways to learn as well.

Great passion for education

As time passes, his decision turns out to be the right one. With his endless passion in education, Mr Thuy started out by developing “Chinh phuc vu mon” – an education game that aims to support learning through entertainment. From his high school time, Mr Thuy understands that students are often only interested in certain subjects at school and neglect the others. Therefore, student performance are skewed towards fields that they like, which will result in their capabilities and skill sets being narrowed to a few disciplines. “My desire is to create a learning environment in which students learn for themselves in a passionate and interested way. Therefore, I would like to apply technology into education so that learning is made excited and students can explore and unleash their ability better”. “Chinh phuc vu mon” is an education game that emerged out of this philosophy.

After “Chinh phuc vu mon”, Mr Nguyen Ngoc Thuy further expanded his dream of making learning an easy and comfortable experience for students. Apax English is then born, which he called “a revolution in teaching and learning English”. Sharing about his motive for Apax English, Mr Thuy commented that the traditional teaching methods are too focused on vocabulary and grammar without stressing enough the practical use of the language. Mastering a language is not just about learning words and structures by heart; it is also about getting a sense of the language by actually putting it into use. Therefore, he is enthusiastic in methods that requires learners to both think and communicate in English as he believes this is the fastest way to absorb the language.

Apax English is a product of this philosophy and from 2-year continuous research of international cases. The initiative is a revolutionary teaching method that comprises 3 channels: textbook, teacher and technology. The textbooks are composed by top experts from developed countries on familiar topics of daily life. All teachers are competitively recruited and required to have degrees in education or teaching English, most of whom are from English-speaking countries. Finally, technology comes in to support the teaching and learning process both offline and online. Offline learning involves the students going to classes and making contacts with teachers and textbooks through interactive devices and softwares, while online learning is faciliated by an e-learning system on which students can prepare, practice and explore more outside the classroom. All these methods serve not only for basic language skills (reading – listening – speaking – writing), but also for developing creativity, critical thinking and public speaking skills in students.

From a student who was so afraid of English, Mr Nguyen Ngoc Thuy now rises as a successful entrepreneur in English education and creating excellent learning experience. Despite all achievements so far, Mr Thuy insisted on keeping a bit of naivety to himself. He concluded that entrepreneurs should remain a little naive so that they do not fear of failure, and that they are willing to take away lessons from their downfalls and move forward. He also reminds people to never lose faith in themselves: “The worst thing in entrepreneurship is to fear that we cannot do this or that. Losing faith is the first step to failing. Losing money is temporary, but losing faith means the end. We must never stop believing in ourselves and what we can do!”. And this spirit is concisely expressed in his motto “Let’s dream! Let’s conquer”, which remains a beacon for all his future endeavours and his followers.