final score

Today my students in Thanh Hoa finally found out their TOEFL scores. It's been a long, hard road for them; they attended classes 20 hours each week, with 20 hours of lab work required on top of it. For just about a year. It's been a lot of work and the test took hours and was so difficult. Many did not receive the passing score, I've been told, but some will be given a chance to up their scores with a crash course on the TOEFL and a re-take.

It's scary because so much relies on this one test score. For those who scored too low, they will be required to take the course over again or pay for the course (an amount that equals a year's wages for many).

The test is difficult, but IIG has not done very well with their textbooks, listening materials or keeping teachers. They did not encourage anyone to stay until it was too late (they never even mentioned the possibility of staying on to me until I said we'd be leaving and the same happened to Dung [pronounced more like Zoom]). It's been frustrating to watch as teacher after teacher passed through, often staying for less than a week and a few so-called teachers who stayed for less than one day. IIG's disregard for the teacher and for the students has resulted in students not being fully prepared for the big, enormous important TOEFL test. And that upsets me.

I miss those friends and students so much and every day I wish for good luck for them. With Tet approaching, I hope that the new air and life of spring will not only bless me, but my students as well. They all deserve it.