At 10 years old, we are often in the legendary age of not eating enough and not worrying about much. At this age, aside from diligently going to school, eating on time, and sleeping on schedule, people don’t expect anything else from you.
However, a 10-year-old boy has recently amazed the online community with his extraordinary talent. His name is Nam Long, from Ho Chi Minh City. Despite just finishing fourth grade, he has 3 years of experience programming in Scratch, Python, and C# Unity. Additionally, Long is fluent in English, boasting a native-like accent and natural communication skills. His TOEIC score of 900 has left many adults in admiration.
Behind Nam Long’s outstanding achievements is the unwavering support of his father, Mr. Nguyễn Bình Nam, who is currently the director of a digital transformation consulting company in Ho Chi Minh City. Mr. Nam considers himself a patient father and has directly taught his son since he was little.
Teaching his son programming and English since kindergarten, applying the method of not answering immediately when his son asks
Nam Long is a boy who often asks questions, which is why, according to Mr. Nam, the journey of teaching programming and English to Long has been quite natural. Noticing his son’s enthusiasm for learning a new language, Mr. Nam started Long’s English lessons from kindergarten.
“Nam Long is a boy who loves to ask questions; he asks me hundreds of questions a day across various fields. But instead of answering all his questions, I create a habit for him to seek out information and solve problems on his own.”
“When he asks me, ‘Dad, how do you do this?’ I will counter with, ‘Have you thought about what the solution could be?’ I wait for him to ponder and explore, and then I will guide him to option 1 or option 2, but I won’t give him the answer right away,” Mr. Nam said.
Additionally, Mr. Nam has researched specific teaching methods tailored for his son. Since Long was about 2-3 years old, the age when language development begins, he has offered various learning strategies, such as counting forwards and backwards. He also divided the approach into two thinking directions: logical thinking and linguistic thinking:
“For logical thinking, I often use illustrative drawings like tree diagrams and flowcharts so he can visualize things, remember better, and absorb information more easily.”
“For linguistic thinking, I frequently converse and interact with him. In the evenings, when we reunite after school and work, we talk for about 3-4 hours. Besides that, I teach him many new words, idiomatic expressions, and we play word connection games in English. With such approaches, Long understands logical aspects and develops linguistic thinking, which helps build a solid foundation and hone necessary skills for his overall development.”
Mr. Nam revealed that Long is an intelligent boy who often poses questions across a variety of fields.
Regarding language development for children, Mr. Nam emphasizes the importance of reflexes and the surrounding environment, which includes teachers and peers.
“Learning English must align with human reflexes, which consist of the four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. I see that most parents nowadays tend to focus more on teaching grammar and reading, neglecting listening and speaking. For me, that is a mistake to avoid, as children need to listen a lot first to train their thinking skills in each sentence. Gradually, once they are accustomed, they will be able to speak and write on their own,” Mr. Nam shared.
The environmental factor is also particularly important; according to Mr. Nam, if parents do not share the same language source, do not watch the same types of programs or study materials with their children, they cannot be in sync and communicate effectively. Despite his busy schedule, Mr. Nam always strives to create a learning environment for his child at home. His office is decorated with English animal posters to facilitate his son’s learning and to instill a habit of speaking English whenever he enters the room.
Thanks to the combination of learning English and improving programming skills, Nam Long was able to write a half-page game user guide entirely in English when he was just in first grade. He also amazed Mr. Nam by completing a game project in just two days.
“That day, I just opened a Scratch programming website; after teaching for about 10 minutes, he started exploring and tinkering on YouTube. Just about two days later, Long had his first game ready for me to see,” Mr. Nam proudly recalled.
The 10-year-old boy has received 6 internship offers from the top programming companies in Vietnam
Besides improving programming languages, Mr. Nam also facilitates Long’s teaching programming to 3 friends in Australia, France, and Canada. As a result, not only does he get to interact with friends from all over the world, but this experience also helps Long learn many new languages from his peers.
“The friends in France speak better French than English, so I also encourage him to learn more languages from them. Most of the time during the lessons, they freely engage with each other, which makes my wife and I very happy. Watching our son grow and develop every day feels truly magical.”
In addition to his studies, Nam Long also teaches programming to 3 friends in Australia, France, and Canada.
Recently, Mr. Nam’s family couldn’t hide their pride when they announced that Nam Long had received approximately 6 internship offers from various companies, and the family has chosen a blockchain game programming company that ranks in the top 3 in Vietnam. Sharing this joy, Mr. Nam stated:
“Long has been assigned to a project that is in the brainstorming stage and will begin programming next week. He is placed in a team of 8 people, which is quite structured and professional; here he will assist with game design and programming. I have not yet accurately assessed his capabilities, so I have informed the CEO and the project managers to give Long some simple tasks to start. If he succeeds, then I will assign him more complex programming tasks.”
Mr. Nam feels immense pride as his son is accepted for internships at 6 of the largest programming companies in Vietnam.
When asked about the pressures his son might face as he grows up, Mr. Nam mentioned that he and his wife always keep a close eye on him to minimize the impact of public opinion.
“I once told him that ‘achieving success before the age of 30 can come with many risks and uncertainties. At your age, given what you can do, your parents will provide the best options for you.’ I also shared with him some cases of early success that led to quick failure, so the advice here is to avoid complacency and continue striving. Moreover, our family instills the habit of not overestimating oneself and belittling others in him.”
“Long’s dream is to work in management, so I prioritize allowing him to freely express what he likes to develop at his own pace.”
Alongside studying and working, Mr. Nam frequently encourages his son to learn additional soft skills and engage in physical activities like badminton, table tennis, and swimming. He also allocates time wisely to ensure Long gets adequate rest.
Mr. Nam’s family often takes trips across Vietnam together to enhance their experiences.
Mr. Nam hopes that parents can choose suitable teaching methods to create a comprehensive development environment for their children from an early age.
Photo: NVCC