Using extracurricular activities to motivate the studentsenglish learning passion of he classes 11a1,11a2,12a1 in quan s

PART I. THE INTRODUCTION
I. The reasons for choosing this theme.
English has always become an effective media of communication in the
world. In Vietnam, it has gradually played an important role in the process of
recruitment and enrolling. The importance of English is once again
acknowledged when the Ministry of Education and Training issues a new policy
in which Literature, Mathematics and English are compulsory subjects in the
national examination for high school students. Furthermore, all officials,
managers or the leaders of the organizations who want to get promotion have to
achieve an English cirtificate. Besides communicating well in English, students
also have to master English grammar so as to perform perfectly in their exams.
Moreover, English is a requisite criterion when applying for a job. Each
occupation requires a certain level of English. Perhaps, that’s why the English
centers training learners of different levels are mushrooming. The question is
how to inspire student’s interest in English.
Working as a teacher of English for a long time, and working in a
mountainous area, I understand who my students are and what difficulties they
have to face when learning a language. Also, I have found out the disadvanges
we have to encounter when working with students coming from ethnic
minorities. Therefore I always try to look for the most effective way of teaching
so that my students can understand the lesson easily and love learning English. I
together with my collegues have applied a variety of different ways of teaching
related using teaching aids and other technologies. However, the most effective
method is allowing students to participate in extracurricular activities. Because
students relax and learn in the same time, they have no pressure of studying, and
they learn with very comfortable mind. Based on my long working time and real
activities I and my students have done in the last nine months, I have made a
decision to choose the theme: “Using extracurricular activities to motivate
the students’s English learning passion in classes 11A1, 11A2, 12A1 at Quan
Son high school.” to research in my experienced initiative.
I. The purpose of this theme

When selecting this theme, I want to provide some useful tips which help
teaching English in mountainous schools less hardship.I will explain the
theorical base and real evidence of using extracurricular activities in schools and
that what we have applied to teaching in our school really brings great effect.
Taking part in extracurricular not only helps students master academic
knowledge quickly but also trains their living skills and other social skills. I
would like to prove that learning English does not mean simply to learn by heart
new words or grammartical structures but students learn English in a real
atmosphere and have chances to experience real situations in their life. I also
want to persuade my students that English is not a very difficult language as
they assume, the more we learn it, the wider our mind becomes. Learing English
will give them a good opportunity to discover new things in a creative way.
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III. The researched subjects
Generally speaking, teaching English is a rather arduous task in our
country, especially in the remote and mountainous areas where students hardly
have interests in English. Even, their parents never pay attention to children’s
study. Foreign language is something which is luxurious for them. Most of the
students in my school find English difficult and hate learning it. They told me
that it was not only difficult but also boring because they had to learn by heart
endless vocabulary, and so strange structures. Whenever doing an English test
they usually did it unconciously without clear basis. It’s due to their lack of
English basic knowledge and their shortage of interest to this subject. When
English becomes a compulsory subject in the national exam for high school
students, it becomes a big barier for students in the same time. A long-term
method is how to inspire student’s learning passion from the beginning of the
education process. I have conducted a survey on students in class 11A1, 11A2
and 12A1 in Quan Son high school during the school year 2017-2018 and I

personally admit that students are really interested in outdoor activities related to
the subjects in the class. This is one of my main encouragements which lead me
to do the research.
IV. The method to study.
As I said above, when doing the research, I have done a survey among
124 students at class 11A1, 11A2, 12A1 in my school. I gave out the handout to
identify the way of learning and teaching students want to take part in. The
result of the survey is shown clearly in the table below

Way of learning

Like very much

like

dislike

Being
taught
and 24
20
80
guided to do exercise in
the class
Learning
and 30
44
50
sometimes
playing

games in the class
Attend extracurricular 50
50
24
activities outside the
class
Attend extracurricular 80
34
10
activities outside the
school
I also have found the information from other sources such as my collegues’
advice, other schools’ ideas and variety of valuable one from the internet. All the
evidence proves that extracurricular activities really attract to students in
general.
V. The new points in my initiative.
In the last experienced initiative, we set up an English club in my school
and enabled my students to attend its activities. This contributed to increase the
learning spirit of my students to the subject. In this research, I continue to widen
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by organizing outdoor activities outside my school. This is much more difficult
and complicated but much more interesting to my students. And the result of our
trial is rather positive to myself as well as my students.
PART II. THE CONTENT
I.The theorical foundation of this theme
Traditional learning activities are rather popular and familiar to school.
And new ways of learning surely gives them curiosity and excitement. Factually,
almost schools have extracurricular activities such as sport activities, intelectual

contests, fashion competition or cooking ability…All these contribute to educate
students fully and give them a lot of fun, and especiall explore their unknown
ability. Generally, elementary and middle school is a crucial time for student’s
development and even top-performing academic students may not be meeting
their full potential without the opportunity to contribute or diversify their
interests and skills in an extracurricular activity or club. By allowing and
encouraging students to participate in activities outside of the classroom, you’re
giving them a route to make new friends, develop new interests, and deepen
their social and intellectual growth. For learning a language, this plays an
important role in communicative process between the teacher and students,
students and students, and students with others. Taking part in extracurricular
activities is simimar to living in a real English enviroment with true situation
and factual characters. Students do not have to imagine how they should behave,
how they should react and which expression they should use..ect…
II. The current situation of the issue
Nowadays, it’s essential to have a good command of English and fluently
communicate with English speakers in over the world. Being able to speak
English becomes the first and foremost criterion of all occupations and jobs
especially in foreign companies. Moreover, the Vietnamese government has set a
new requirement which forces Vietnamese officers, teachers, doctors…all must
have a certain level of English so that they can understand books, materials and
instructions in English. Therefore, all the people especially young ones should
know English and use it in the daily life, which helps them meet the
requirements easily. So, teachers need to guide students the most effective ways
to learn English, communicate in English and pass any English examinations.
Materials about English Grammar are available for students nowadays English
centres are mushrooming everywhere. However, it is not easy for learners
coming from mountainous areas like Quan Son high school students to approach
these sources of material because of the lack of necessary facilities, poor living
conditions and the too far distance from the centre. So, one of the most effective

way to enable them to attend extracurricular activities in which they will have
opportunities to experience real situations and react in a natural way. This is
very important to form a good habit, think and answer in English. Because of
contemporary situation, I always try to find out the best mode to help my
students overcome their difficulty and contribute to decreasing the current
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troubles. With my limited experience I presume to give some solutions to guide
students. I hope that I can share meaningful information with the teachers of
English to teach this subject effectively.
III. The methods to solve the matter
The extracurricular activity plays an important role in educating students
in all levels of education system. However, because of the limited scale of an
experienced initiative, I only focus on having outdoor activities outside school to
increase English learning passion of students in my school. First of all I will
give some information about the categories of extracurricular activities should
be used in high school and their benefits to students. Then I will illustrate some
activities my students have attended during the school year 2017-2018 and its
positive result.
1. The Definition of Extracurricular Activities
Before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s take a deeper look at the definition
of extracurricular activities.
The word extracurricular is a combination of the prefix extra, which translates
to “on the outside” and curriculum, which translates to “a running course
/career”. Generally, extracurricular activities are activities that fall outside the
scope of your regular curriculum and related to ourdoor activities in which
students have chances to look at real things, people, landscape or environment.
Completing extracurricular activities means you are going above and beyond
your school requirements and living in a real context.

However, simply playing soccer with your friends on the weekends for fun isn’t
actually an extracurricular activity, even though it has nothing to do with school.
Extracurricular activities require a regular time commitment and initiative such
as being on a sports team, forming a student newspaper, playing the violin in the
local orchestra, taking an online course on robotics, or visiting some historical
sites in the country.
2. Kinds of extracurricular activities for students
An extracurricular activity can be almost anything that isn’t required for
high school credit or paid employment. These activities will become very
important later, such as when you are applying to colleges, because they help
you develop your talents, interests, and passions. They can also teach you
practical skills like time management. With so many options out there, all
students should be able to find an extracurricular that they are interested in and
can develop a passion for! Remember that extracurricular activities do not have
to be sponsored by your school, so you should also consider things that you do
with your family or within your community as viable options.
Below I've listed many popular activities that you may not have thought of as
extracurricular activities.
2.1. Sports
Being a varsity athlete requires a great deal of time and dedication. If you
are serious about a sport, trying out for varsity athletics is a wonderful way to
make friends, improve your athletic skills and experience team camaraderie. It
may even lead to scholarships and/or professional athletic opportunities in the
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future. If participating in a varsity sport is not for you, most schools offer
students the opportunity to participate in intramural athletics. Though there are
typically no tryouts for these teams, they are often fairly competitive.
Participating in an intramural sport can have many of the same benefits as

varsity athletics.
If you are more comfortable on the sidelines than on the field, you can still be
involved in athletics. Spirit organizations like cheerleading and pep band are
available on many campuses. These groups are also a great opportunity to form
friendships, be part of a team and improve your social skills.
2.2. Academic and professional organizations
Look for on-campus academic or professional organizations that are
relevant to your major or intended field of study. Depending on your college,
campus organizations may focus on any number of fields, from acting to applied
mathematics. As a member of such organizations, you will meet with other likeminded students, professors and professionals. In such meetings, you will
discuss issues of importance and also learn field-related job skills that can help
you be better prepared for your future career.
2.3. Volunteer and service-related activities
Volunteering your time or partaking in service-learning activities can
benefit both you and the world around you. Most campuses offer “alternative
spring break” programs, in which students can participate in community service
projects during their spring break. Other service groups and organizations
function year-round.
Another option is service learning, which allows students to take what they learn
in the classroom and combine it with community service. Though volunteering
in general will help you make friends, grow as a person, and most importantly
help others, service learning also emphasizes self-reflection.
2.4. Multicultural activities
Becoming involved in campus multicultural activities can help you increase
your awareness and understanding of the world’s cultures and its different ethnic
and racial backgrounds. Such activities can include concerts, festivals, lectures
and other events that encourage multicultural awareness on campus.
Participating in such activities can broaden your cultural consciousness, as well
as help you develop or better understand your own cultural identity.
2.5. Arts

Whether you have a love of painting or a love of playing the trumpet, there are
many ways to become involved in your college’s art scene. Students interested
in fine arts can choose from theater troupes, musical groups and art fields like
sculpture or drawing. Participating in the arts can help introduce you to new
friends and professional contacts, all while improving your artistic abilities.
2.6. Real trips
Making real trips to enable to visit culatural and historical sites is one of the
ideal actitivites which are attracted by the students. However, a successful trip
need a careful preparation from school, family and students themselves.
3. The Benefits of Extracurricular Activities
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3.1. Improving Academic Performance
Some students worry that participating in extracurriculars may take away
too much time from their schoolwork, thus hurting their grades; however,
extracurricular activities can actually improve your grades and your outlook on
school in general! Participating in activities you are passionate about can
increase your brain function, help you concentrate and manage your time better,
all of which contribute to higher grades. High endurance sports, for example,
will train you to focus and build stamina in the face of intense difficulty. This
gives you an advantage when it comes to studying and taking exams. Actually, it
is estimated that students who participate in outdoor activities have higher
grades, more positive attitudes toward school and higher academic aspirations.
While students usually have the opportunity to pursue a wide range of study
areas through core subjects and electives, extracurricular activities allow
students to explore an interest in more depth than what is covered in class — or
maybe even find a completely new interest that they wouldn’t have been
exposed to otherwise. They can also provide a great chance for students to
broaden their perspective of the world, particularly those involved in

volunteering and community service programs.
3.2. Explore Interests and Create Broader Perspectives
When students participate in multiple different activities, they will get the
opportunity to explore a range of interests and unlock passions they never knew
they had! Plus, diversifying their interests subsequently broadens their
knowledge and world view. Let’s take English club as an example, if you join an
English club, they will have more opportunities to communicate in English, read
English materials and understand Western countries’cultures. In the same way, if
students attend a philosophy club they will begin to look at the world through
the eyes of a budding philosopher. They will begin to question everything and
anything they see or hear, which may annoy their friends a bit but will also help
them think more critically and not take everything at face value – both valuable
skills in today’s “fake news” world.
3.3. Higher Self-esteem
The more they achieve success through activities you’re passionate about,
the more their self confidence will improve. For example, when students are
good at English and the teacher encourages them to get involved in
competitions. They join the school’s English club and starts training for singing
and presenting in English at the competition among high schools in the region.
During the process they will realise how fun English can be and how talented
they actually are, which gives their confidence a massive boost. Besides, they
also have good chance to work with the students who have the same interest
coming from other schools. It is a good time for them to show their abilities.
And they will be more and more self-confident.Working hard and mastering new
skills in a fun, relaxed and sometimes competitive setting allows them to be
successful without the pressure of getting a good grade.Plus, once their
confidence improves, they will be more open to taking risks in all aspects of the
life, not just in English competion in scale of their school.
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3.4. Social Opportunities
As being said above, when students participate in social activities they
certainly meet a lot of new people and make new friends. Especially, the friends
have the same hobbies and interests. Each extracurricular they engage in
provides them with another opportunity to expand the social network, which will
also come in handy when they finish school and look for a job in the future.
Plus, if pupils make friends in extracurricular activities, they will be more likely
to get more deeply involved. For example, if they make a few friends doing
community service at school they might decide start a volunteer club together
and really make an impact in their community. In addition to building skills
within a specific discipline, extracurricular activities are great for developing
general academic and soft skills. Think debating for public speaking, academic
competitions for exam strategies and sport for teamwork. Balancing a number of
commitments can help to improve your child’s time management skills, while
finding an area they enjoy or excel at can boost self-confidence.
3.5. Productive Breaks
Studying will become stressful and a little dull if all students do is going
to school, doing homework and sleeping. Luckily, extracurricular activities give
learners something fun (and parent approved) to do aside from school. Instead of
sitting in the classroom, students join in activities out side their school in other
environment, learning and relaxing in the same time. Therefore, the lesson will
become more interesting, attractive and memorable. An image, a picture or a
real site often gives a deeper impression on students than a number or a
statement. Weekly activities can offer a welcome break from studies and
homework particularly for senior students if they can spare the time. Depending
on students’ interests, they may provide the chance to get outside and exercise,
see friends, pursue a hobby or simply destress and refresh their mind. They also
help limit the time your child is spending in front of a TV or computer screen.
General speaking, outdoor activities help students get rid of the pressure of

study, exams without making them forget their duty. But it is only another way
of learning.
3.6. Forming Essential life skills
On top of all of the benefits of extracurricular activities we already talked
about, one of the greatest advantages extracurricular activities give you are “real
world” skills.These skills include:
Goal setting: when attending useful activities, students will realise what is the
purpose of each action, then they also find out a specific objective for
themsefves whenever they do something.
Teamwork: When attending these social activities, students will learn how to
work with others, increasing the solidarity among the members of the team and
work with strict discipline, respect other members
Learning time management and prioritizing
When students take on additional extracurricular activities outside the
normal school day, they are also learning about time management and
prioritizing work. As an adult, you hold down a job, sometimes more than one
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job in addition to being a parent, plus working on your own interests; here
students will learn to manage time properly, prioritise what must be done first,
second…, balancing school, homework, and extracurriculars will help prepare
students for these adulthood tasks
Problem solving. when organising open air activities, students sometimes have
to face with unexpected situations and they have to learn how to deal with these.
It helps them react much more quickly and flexibly
Analytical thinking: when attending these activities, students will experience a
planned way of living. Therefore, they always think and prepare carefully for
their intention, which impacts positively on their future orientation of career.
Leadership: Besides when holding outdoor activities, each student has his own

responsibility. So they learn how to take responsibility for doing their task, and
occationally control the others of the group.
Public speaking: students can take advantage of attending extracurricular
activities to show their abilities. These may be their abilities of presenting in
front of their class, acting a play or making something. They gradually become
self-confident in public, which affects positively on
3.7. Resumes
Without much previous work experience, one of the only ways hiring
managers can assess your ability and work ethic is through your extracurricular
activities.
For example, if you were on a debating team, the manager would know that you
work well with others, can argue a point professionally and have public speaking
experience - all awesome skills to have in the workplace!
3.8. University Applications
Last but not least, taking part in extracurricular is also one of the
important criteria of university applications! Some students especially pay
attention to those who do varitety of outdoor activities and give them the
prioritation to take a seat in their stitutions. Because these students are
considered to be the dynamic ones and intend to be brilliant member in the
future.That is usually the case in many countries, like Australia, New Zealand,
Singapore and Thailand, especially, in US and UK, It’s pretty much impossible
to get into any university in the US or UK without extracurricular activities.
Universities in the UK want to see that you’ve gone above and beyond in your
intended area of study and have made a difference and/or excelled your field. If
you want to major in chemistry, a UK university is more likely to accept you if
you’ve joined a chemistry club, taken extra chemistry courses at your local
university and volunteered in a lab.
4.The selected kind of extracurricular activity and the lessons related.
4.1. Selection of a suitable extracurricular activity.
Basing on the purpose of the lesson or subject, teachers select a suitable

kind of extracurricular activity for students to join. English is a special subject
which can be integrated to other aspects such as sport events, environmental
problem, celebrities, or cultural and historical sites… For students in Quan Son
high school, I want to choose one type of extracurricular activity in which they
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can do many things related to their life, and they can semultaneouly also have
new experiences they have never seen.So I planned them to make a trip to visit
natural park and cultural and historical sites in the nearby. Specifically, I
together my students visited some tourist attractions in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An
provinces, not far from our school and it didn’t cost too much money.
4.2. The lessons related.
There are a lot of lessons in textbook English 10, 11, 12 – basic curriculum,
which can be integrated to apply extracurricular activity in teaching so that
students are motivated and more interested in the lesson .
Unit 10. ENDANGERED SPECIES – English 12
Unit 10. CONSERVATION – English 10
Unit 11. NATIONAL PARKS – English 10
Unit 16. HISTORICAL PLACES – English 10
Unit 10. NATURE IN DANGER – English 11
5.The preparation
5.1. Preparation for the trip
It can be denied that the preparation for outdoor activities is really
important, especially when we want to make a trip outside the school. Based on
real experience we have done in our school I can give some useful tips as
followed.
- Making a specific plan at the beginning of the school year to ask for the society
of students’s parents for a permision. In the plan we need to cover the
destination, the expense, time, the transportation and the schedule of the trip.

After informing the plan of the class, we need to ask for some advice from the
society of student’s parents because it is very important and some parents may
not want their children to sleep overnight outside. Furthermore, the destination
is rather far from their houses. Besides that, we should take advantage of their
help by accompanying of some representatives of the class society of students’
parents. This will make the trip much more useful.
- Calculating the fund for the trip including fares, accommodation, meals and
possibly unexpected expense.
- Handing in a specific plan so that the mamager of the school goes over and
gives the permision of the management.
- Inform the regulations to all the members of the trip. So as to make sure for the
trip, we should have strict rule for the group. We divided the class into groups of
four, they will take care of one another, and stay together at the hotel.
Reminding students to be careful with all the facilities of the hotel to avoid
breaking them. And the most important is that noone leaves the group for any
reason. Because, the safety of all the members is the most important to the
leader of the trip. Students may be too excited to go out without asking for our
permit.
- Booking the hotel as well as the restaurant in advance so that we do not have to
look for anywhere during the trip.
- Prepare some necessary things such as medicin, fast food…in case unexpected
trouble may happen.
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- Making a specific outline of the trip so that all the students and their parents
know and have a good preparation.
All we can see in the table below

The plan

1.Time
2.Transportation
3.Destination

4.Members

5.The total
expense
6.The Schedule

The content
From 30 – 31th of December

Note

th

Thanh Hoa-Nghe An
-The Muong Thanh eco-natural park in
Dien Chau, Nghe An
- The Ho Chi Minh square at Vinh city
- The Lotus Village – Uncle Ho’s
hometown
- The temple of the Emperor Tran
Hung Dao – Quyet mountains
- The cow farms of TH true milk
factory with The hill of sunflower.
- Lam Kinh historical site in Thanh
Hoa
-30 students of class 11A2

- 2 teachers
- 2 students’ parents
- 1 driver
-650 000 per a student
Booked
-including
fares,
meals
and advance
accomodation

in

The first day
-Starting at the school gate at 5 a.m on
30th of December
-Having breakfast in Thanh Hoa city
then going to the Vinh city
- Having lunch and taking a rest in
Vinh city and then visiting The Lotus
village and The Ho Chi Minh square at
Vinh city
The second day
-Having breakfast at the hotel at 6 a.m
and then visiting The temple of Tran
Hung Dao, about 8 a.m going to the
Muong ThanhEco-natural park,
-about 12 o’clock, having lunch at the
park then leaving for the TH true milk
cow farm and visiting The hill of

Sunflower.
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- about 3 p.m going to Thanh Hoa,
visiting The Lam Kinh historical site
and buying some souvenirs.
- about 4.30 p.m going home, about 8
p.m present at school
- ending the trip.
This praparation mostly is made by the teachers. Once we have a good
preparation, we do not have to worry about anything during the trip. Everything
occurs smoothly and works well.
5.2. Preparation for the topic of the lesson
In term of the content of the lesson, both teachers and students have to
accumulate the information about the destination in English. The teacher should
understand clearly about the place they are going to arrive in so that he or she
can present, analyse and explain to the students during the trip as a professional
tour guide. This makes the tip more meaningful, students understand the lesson
easier and contributes to improve students’ vocabularies. Besides, students also
have to brainstorm all vocabularies related to the places they will come to. And
after the trip, each student has to do a report about what they have seen and done
during the trip. This aimes at forcing students to go sightseeing without their
duty. Because this is one part of their lesson.
The teacher’s preparation
Quyet Mountain: As this place is so famous for its natural beauty, this place is
an obvious choice for many tourists. Thus Mountain is about 5 km from the city
and is a perfect place for you to visit. This place is an ecological tourist area.
This mountain park was developed so that the local authorities can conserve the
200 years old history and culture of this place.

Mường Thanh Safari Land: The Mường Thanh Safari Land is the very popular
tourist destination in this place , located in Dien Lam, Dien Chau about 60 km
North from Vinh city centre. Many people come to this place for fun and
relaxing. You can see different wild animals in the zoo here. Some of these are
Rhino, giraffe, white tiger, yellow tiger, etc. There is also a very famous water
park here where you can relax and enjoy the water games.
Sunflower field in Nghia Dan, about 100 km North West from Vinh city, which
is 80 hetares wide. Those flowers are in full bloom from late March to mid-April
and mid-December yearly.
The Xo Viet Nghe Tinh museum
Museum displaying relics and documents during the Xo Viet Nghe Tinh
highs 1930-1931. This is a unique cultural works preserve over 5,000 original
artifacts and documents express the spirit of the unyielding revolution of Nghe
Tinh people in the Soviet highs 1930-1931. The museum was built in 1960 on a
beautiful campus. The museum attracts a large number of domestic and foreign
visitors. In front of the Museum, there is a vestiges where President Ho Chi
Minh talked with officials and people of Nghe An when he visited the country in
1957 and the Vinh City Stadium. Behind the museum is a deep ditch surrounded.
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On the right is Ta Gate, on the left door of the ancient Vinh. This is the place
where the original artifacts and the original image of the local movement and
collections such as the drums used in the struggle, the collection of publications,
the weapons collection, the collection of children The collection and artifacts of
the Party cadres ... and a list of systems of 49 vestiges of the Soviet Union in
Nghe An province are classified by the Ministry of Culture and Information as
national historical monuments.
Nghe An General Museum (4th Dao Tan street): General Museum introduces
the whole country, people, history, culture and continuous activities and typical

people of Nghe An from ancient to present. The museum has many artifacts
unearthed in Nghe An: archaeological sites of Village Vac, cultural sites of
Quynh Van.The museum has displayed in detail the formation and development
of Nghe An inhabitants during the period of history from the ancient Vietnamese
who left traces at Tham Tham, Quy Chau district, thousand years, to residents of
the culture of Son Vi and Hoa Binh (from 200 thousand years to 9 thousand
years ago) and continuously to this day. The history of Nghe An has been richly
presented.
Sen village, popularly known as the birthplace of President Ho Chi Minh is
located at Kim Lien Town, Nam Dan which is about 20km from Vinh City, Nghe
An. From the outer sight, the place is almost identical with any village in rural
area of Vietnam, but which makes it become famous is that it is the motherland
of the greatest leader in modern history of Vietnam: President Ho Chi Minh.
Annually, thousands of travelers visit this destination to not only know more
about childhood and lives of Uncle Ho, but also express their respect to the
mighty father of Vietnamese race. Like other normal rural villages in Vietnam,
Sen village is quite tranquil, peaceful and poetic with green bamboo, public
well, temple’ ground where festivals or crucial occasions of the village taking
place. The village landscape is further adorned by numerous mountains far away
that are hidden in vague cloud and blue sky. There is also a fragrant lotus lake at
the beginning of Sen village, in between the way to Chua Village which is
mother’s homeland of President Ho Chi Minh.Travelers come to this village
mostly to visit the house where Uncle Ho has grown up before he travelled
abroad the find the way to rescue Vietnam from colonization. The house was
built by donation and effort of local residents in 1901 to celebrate high result in
national examination of Uncle Ho’s father Nguyen Sinh Sac. It has been
preserved with almost original structure and design, with all simple objects of a
Confucianism family like traditional brushes or ink boxes, and popular items
that can be seen in any house in rural area such as bamboo mat, trays or rice
mortar. Around the house is a lush garden with numerous green plants, including

many souvenir trees grown by guests who have visited this place.
Lam Kinh - A national historic relic
Lam Kinh is located in Xuan Lam Commune, Tho Xuan District, Thanh
Hoa Province. It is 50km from Thanh Hoa City towards the Northwest. Here,
tourists have a chance to visit a well-known historic relic related to the life and
career of King Le Thai To, a famous king in Vietnamese history, and the
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uprising of the Lam Son troops in the 15th century. After ten years of leading the
Lam Son uprising to fight against the Northern invaders, Le Loi won and
became a king in 1428 with the official name of Le Thai To. He set up the
capital in Dong Kinh (Thang Long – present-day Hanoi). Simultaneously, he
ordered an imperial city built in his birthplace and called it Lam Kinh or Tay
Kinh.According to historical documents and evidence found in the excavations
in the area, the imperial city of Lam Kinh was built on a large-scale with the
architectural style of “Noi cong, ngoai quoc” (the internal shape looks like the
Chinese character “gong” and the external shape looks like the Chinese
character “quo”).It includes magnificent buildings like a palace, a southern gate,
an imperial temple and a dragon yard. The imperial city sits on Dau Mountain in
the north and faces towards the Chu River in the south. In front of it is Chua
Mountain, on the left is Phu Lam Forest and on the right is Huong Mountain.
After five centuries, most of the structures in Lam Kinh were ruined and now
there remain only four imperial tombs of kings from the Le Dynasty and the
tomb of Queen Ngo Thi Ngoc Giao, mother of King Le Thanh Tong. In 1962,
Lam Kinh Historical Relic was recognized as a national historic relic by the
State. In 1994, the Government approved a project to restore 50 of the
structures, including the citadel, the Ngoc River, an ancient well, a triumphal
arch, the southern gate, imperial temples, the palace and imperial tombs. With
these valuable historical structures, the relic has become a famous tourist

destination in Thanh Hoa Province.To reach the central area of the royal citadel,
visitors pass over a stone bridge crossing the Ngoc River. Walking for about
50m, tourists see a green plot of grass and an ancient well with clean and clear
water. Next is the southern gate with a 300-year-old banyan tree covering up the
roof of the gate and then a dragon yard. Passing the dragon yard, tourists come
to the central palace where kings gave audience and discussed state affairs.
The central palace includes three large wood buildings which had great
architectural value in the Le So Dynasty (1428-1527). Behind the central palace
are nine imperial temples that were successfully restored. From the central area
of the royal citadel, on the roads paved with red bricks to forests tourists visit the
tombs of kings in the Le Dynasty under green leaf canopies or climb up to the
windy Dau Mountain and enjoy Tay Lake with its wild and poetic beauty.
Students’ preparation
Besides preparing enough facilities for the trip, students also have an important
assignment. The teacher will give some handouts with specific questions so that
students collect the information during the trip
Write a paragraph in about 200 word …………………………………………
to describe the trip.
…………………………………………
1. When did you make the trip?
…………………………………………
2. Where did you go?
…………………………………………
3. How many people attended the trip …………………………………………
4. what did you do?
…………………………………………
5. What do you think about the trip?
…………………………………………
…………………………………………
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…………………………………………
5.3. Some images of students of Quan Son high school visiting historcal sites

Students visited the temple of the Emperor - Quang Trung at
Quyet Mountain (Dien Chau – Nghe An)

The students visited the IV military Museum
(Dien Chau-Nghe An)
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The 11A2 students visited Muong Thanh Safari Land in Nghe An

The 11A2 students visited Lang Sen – Kim Lien – Nam Dan – Nghe An
(Uncle Ho’s hometown)

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The students visited Lam Kinh historical site – Thanh Hoa province

Students visited the Sunflower field in Nghe An
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6.The effect of the trip
After the trip students have useful experiences
1.Personal lesson

-Students are more responsible in their life, in the trip all of them followed
the regulation told before therefore noone broke the law and there was no
unexpected thing happening.
- The solidarity is improved because all the members take care of each
other and enjoy time together, noone left the group.
- Students are more independent from their parents. This is the first time
they have been far from their family and had to do everything without their
parents’ help. They follow the rules seriously and become strict to themselves,
being punctual respect the others.
2. The historical lesson
- Through the visit of the historical site, Students understand more about Uncle
Ho’s life and career, know clearly about his childhood, family and hometown.
Students understand the history of our country with great kings who built the
country from the early day. They consolidate their patriotism and pride of their
nation. Moreover, students apreciate what they have nowsaday so that they try
the best in their study and life have proper orientation in the future.
- Through the visit of eco-natural park, students know more about kinds of
animals which they nearly only see on television or on newpapers. Now they can
see with their eyes. They also learn how to save the nature and how to protect
wild animals. It will be meaningful lessons for students to apply to the forests in
their hometown.
- Students widen their knowledge, improve their memory and consolidate their
lessons at school.
3. Other positive impacts
- Students have a good time together, get rid of study pressure they usually have
with the lessons in the class.
- Students can make more new friends, meeting more people and understand the
culture of the nearby regions.
- Students can improve their self-confidence, meet and communicate with
foreigners at the tourist attractions. This is considered to be valuable chance for

them to practise English with native speakers. This gives them much fun and
increases their interest in English.
PART III. CONCLUSION
1.The strong points of the initiative
Taking advantage of outdoor activities is a good way to educate students
in general. It is suitable for students in Quan Son high school because they
rarely have a chance to go on holiday or go some where to sightseeing. It is a
good opportunity for them to widen their view and understanding. We had a
successful trip, and students had interesting experiences, a relaxing period of
time after a hard working semester. The trip was held in the end of December
when the first semester has just been finished. The distance is not too far, and
the expense doesn’t cost much. Almost student’s families can afford, so we
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receive a complete approval from the students’ parents and the permision from
the leader of the school. Moreover, the trip was completely safe thanks to careful
preparation of both students and the teachers. Therefore, everyone enjoyed it and
finished the task given before. However, the idea is rather new and depends a lot
on different conditions. So, when we want to apply this to any class or school,
we need to have ful preparation.
2.The weak points of the initiative.
As it has been said before, this is a rather new opinion in Quan Son high school
because most students come from poor family or in difficult economic
condition. The trip is not sponsored by the school, so students’families have to
support them totally. This idea is now only applied in some certain classes in the
school. And, we can’t complement our intention without the allowance of the
school and students’families, especially the poor ones. Furthermore, we only
choose near destinations and in a short time 2-3 days because it is convenient
students. The far ones with long trip are impossible for high school students.

3. Some suggestions
- In order to enable for students to learn English well, the management of
schools need to pay much attention to learning foreign language by adding
necessary equipments for learning English; building professional room, lab,
- Schools also have to create a good opportunity for the teachers of
English meet each other and exchange experience, and teaching method.
And the most important thing is each school should have more
extracurricular activities so that students have chance to attend and have
intriguing experiences
Lessons in the class are specially important, but outdoor activities are really
meaningful. It contributes to consolidate what learners have been taught by the
teachers. Therefore, I presume the teachers to organise more activities especially
real trip outside the school so that students are totally educated. It is more
necessary for the students coming from moutainous areas. With limited
experience, I hope to contribute useful information in order that my collegues
can apply to their classes in an other time. Surely my analization of theme
remains certain mistakes, I hope to be shared and remarked by all readers.
Thank you very much!
XÁC NHẬN CỦA HIỆU TRƯỞNG

Quan Sơn, ngày 20 tháng 5 năm
2018
Tôi xin cam đoan đây là SKKN của
mình viết, không sao chép nội dung
của người khác.

Nguyễn Thị Thu
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PART IV.THE REFERENCE BOOKS
1. Sách giáo khoa tiếng Anh 12 (Hoàng Văn Vân chủ biên – Nhà xuất bản giáo dục)
2. Sách giáo viên tiếng Anh 12 (Hoàng Văn Vân chủ biên – Nhà xuất bản giáo dục)
3. www.tienganh123.com
4. www.hellochao.com
5. Tiếng Anh cơ bản (Phan Kiều Trang chủ biên – Nhà xuất bản Thanh Niên)

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