Vietnamese man, 25, achieves perfect IELTS by learning a new word every day

Phung Tien Thanh, 25, from Vinh Phuc Province, credits self-talk in English and learning one to two new words daily since 12th grade for building the strong foundation that enabled him to achieve the perfect IELTS score.

Phung Tien Thanh in photo he provides.

Thanh received the results for the Listening section of his IELTS exam on the evening of Dec. 25, after an anxious day of waiting. This was a retake for Thanh, who had scored 8.0 just a few days earlier.

Achieving a perfect 9.0 in Listening filled Thanh with joy. Combined with 9.0 in Reading and Speaking and 8.0 in Writing, his overall score rose from 8.5 to a perfect 9.0. According to the official IELTS website, in 2023, only about 1% of test-takers in Vietnam scored 8.5 or above.

"I’m extremely happy and satisfied with my results," Thanh said.

As a former student specializing in Informatics at Vinh Phuc High School for the Gifted, Thanh focused heavily on Math during his school years. It was not until his 12th grade, when he decided to apply to the Foreign Trade University (FTU), that he began concentrating on English to meet admission requirements.

After being accepted into FTU's International Business program, Thanh deepened his engagement with English, recognizing its value for both academic and recreational purposes. During his final university year, he began teaching English to high school students, a role he continues to this day.

Thanh considered taking the IELTS last year but began seriously preparing at the start of this year.

Vocabulary: The key to all skills

Thanh believes expanding vocabulary was crucial to improving all skills, particularly Reading. Since university, he developed a habit of learning words upon encountering them for the second time.

"I know learning just one more word might seem insignificant, but when you've mastered 100–200 words, you'll notice your reading skills improve, and the texts become easier. That motivated me to keep learning," he said.

"Thanks to my consistent vocabulary practice, no Reading test could overwhelm me with unfamiliar words."

For Listening, Thanh emphasized improving reflexes—processing and understanding spoken English quickly. He noted this skill takes years of practice to master. Thanh has long listened to English content he enjoys across various fields, including science, history, law, general knowledge, and daily life.

Having a strong foundation meant Thanh did not need to learn new knowledge for Listening and Reading during his preparation. Instead, he refined test-taking strategies. For example, he often struggled with True/False/Not Given questions. To tackle this, he documented tricky scenarios in Excel and noted strategies for choosing the correct answer.

Thanh began practicing speaking English by talking to himself during his 12th-grade year while on his way to school. In his first university year, he befriended a foreign student, allowing him to practice conversational English regularly.

In preparation for IELTS, Thanh worked on improving pronunciation, verb conjugation, and speaking reflexes. He observed that examiners might ask additional questions outside the prompts to test fluency and responsiveness.

For Writing, Thanh devoted significant time during his 10 months of intensive preparation. He stressed the importance of brainstorming, as poor planning often leads to weak ideas or running out of time.

"I don't practice writing with isolated topics but think about themes instead," Thanh explained. For instance, when writing about transportation, he studied reports on traffic congestion worldwide and examined policies implemented by successful countries as examples.

This approach not only prepared him for exams but also expanded his knowledge. Thanh, who previously had only a vague understanding of climate change, gained deeper insights into its causes and effects through his studies.

"Learning and discovering new things make me happy," he said. "The environment is also my favorite topic."