Don't turn literature into formulas.

With the university entrance exam approaching, Mr. Tran Hinh (lecturer in the Faculty of Literature) shares his thoughts on current methods of teaching and learning Literature. He also offers some suggestions to help candidates perform well on the Literature exam. - After many years of teaching and grading university entrance exams in Literature, what have you observed as the most serious mistakes students make in their current approach to studying Literature?To fully answer this question, I think it's difficult, because I'm just a "small" individual, while there are many other teachers who may have different opinions. However, if you allow me to answer frankly from a personal perspective, I assert that the most serious flaw in the way literature has been taught for so long is that students are turned into "molds," learning from "model essays." Literature in particular, and art in general, as the writer Nam Cao said, "does not need skilled craftsmen who follow a few pre-existing models. Literature only accepts those who know how to think deeply, uncover sources that no one has yet uncovered, and create something that has not yet existed." Even though Nam Cao's perspective emphasizes fictional literature, the writing of creative individuals, rather than student-style writing, I still believe that the reason why current literature education is so disastrous is because textbooks, teachers, and teaching methods tend to turn students into "machines." When writers are machines, emotions disappear, individuality vanishes, and literature becomes a "disaster." We cannot blame the students.- So, when grading university entrance exams, what kinds of errors in Literature papers cause teachers to worry the most, sir?A common mistake students make is trying to copy model essays. Grading thousands of papers in an exam reveals that they all look very similar. However, relying solely on model essays makes it impossible to memorize them all. When students can't memorize model essays, they become disoriented and lose confidence in themselves. This leads to a series of essays with common flaws such as: lack of structure, unclear arguments, dry and convoluted sentences, naivety, lack of persuasiveness, and slogan-like writing. Honestly, in my nearly 40 years of grading university entrance exams, since the introduction of model essays, I've encountered many essays like these. Of course, in an examination board, you occasionally come across a few truly excellent essays. These are genuinely good essays, not those that follow model examples. That's when students are being themselves. They reflect on their feelings and write genuine, authentic sentences. I wish that one day we could bring the teaching and learning of Literature back to that way.- The annual university entrance exam in Literature often includes questions requiring students to express their feelings about a poem, a character, or an issue in a prose work. With this type of question, what should candidates pay attention to in order to achieve a high score?It's true that recently, university entrance exams often feature questions asking for your personal feelings about a poem, a passage of prose, or a particular issue in one or more prose works. Specifically, university entrance exams in Literature from 2008 to the present have included numerous questions of this type: "What are your feelings about two poems from the poems 'This Village of Vi Da' and 'Trang Giang'?"; "What are your feelings about two poems from 'Tuong Tu' and 'Viet Bac'?"; "What are your feelings about two prose passages from the essays 'The Ferryman on the Da River' and 'Who Named the River?'"... In general, with this "unusual" exam question type, students should note that it's just a common essay question, not something unusual. Of course, when the question links two works or two issues together, it should be considered a comparative exam question. Students must be able to find the similarities and differences between the two poems/passages. The exam questions ask about "perception," meaning the examiners want to emphasize the students' emotional response. Therefore, with this type of exam, students can use analytical, commentary, argumentative, or interpretive methods, depending on the specific content requirements, as long as they can express the beauty, the similarities and differences in content and artistry between the poems and literary passages being compared. Students shouldn't worry too much about the word "perception" in this type of exam. However, I think that setting exam questions like this for high school students isn't really "standard." Because in the high school curriculum, there is no literary genre called "perception." It only includes analysis, explanation, argumentative, or commentary. Setting it this way will be difficult for students.

- For many years now, the university entrance exam in Literature has included a question asking candidates to express their thoughts on a social issue. How do you evaluate this question format? Based on your experience grading university entrance exams over the years, what are your observations on how students approach this type of question, and what advice can you offer to help candidates perform their best on this type of exam?This type of exam has actually been in use for several years now. If I'm not mistaken, I remember it starting in the 2009 exam. More precisely, it's a social commentary essay. When I took the university entrance exam [in the 1970s-1971], this type of question was very common. Now that it's being used again, many people think it's some kind of groundbreaking "innovation." Personally, I accept this approach, but I don't absolutize it. It's true that this open-ended approach can test students' social awareness and reveal their everyday thoughts. However, in reality, when grading exams of this type, I don't see that positive aspect. Most students' essays still fall into the category of "model essays," chanting slogans, repeating what teachers, textbooks, and the media have fed them, without expressing their own genuine thoughts. Even in exam questions about "honesty, hypocrisy, and deceit," I still see "dishonesty, deceit, and hypocrisy" in students' work. Therefore, in my opinion, to write a good essay of this type, students only need to sincerely present their thoughts and understanding and try to structure their writing according to the following four steps: 1. Introduction, emphasizing the key word (for example, honesty, deceit, hypocrisy, trust, indifference...); 2. Explaining the concept of the key word (what is honesty, trust, deceit...); 3. Discussing the key word in more detail; relating the key word to personal experience...- You've graded many high-scoring literature exams before, so what's your impression of what constitutes a good essay?In short, a good essay is one that doesn't follow a template, is well-written, comprehensive, has literary quality, and is unlike any other essay of the same type. If you don't mind the length, I'm willing to provide an essay from a student taking the entrance exam for Group D at Hanoi National University in 2006; you'll then fully understand my perspective on what constitutes a good essay.- In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of teaching and learning Literature?The goal is to teach students to appreciate the beauty and excellence of literary works. But even more important is to teach them independent thinking, the ability to read and understand specific texts, and how to express themselves fluently, accurately, passionately, and creatively in Vietnamese. I remember, though I'm not sure if it's entirely accurate, that the writer Nguyen Khai, during his lifetime, gave some excellent advice to young writers: "When reading, try to remember. When writing, try to forget." I oppose rote memorization in the subject of Literature.- What adjustments should be made to the annual university entrance exam in Literature to better align with the above objectives, sir?We should revert to the previous exam format. Just one question per exam is sufficient. And the content shouldn't be limited to the curriculum. We should encourage concise exam questions that still effectively assess students' literary knowledge. Three criteria should be considered: understanding the issue and text in the question; fluent and clear expression in Vietnamese; and creativity in the answer, avoiding repetition from textbooks.Thank you, teacher, for your sharing..