Hoa was born near Hanoi where her parents made many sacrifices to provide a good education for Hoa and her four sisters. At the age of 13 Hoa entered a boarding school for gifted children in literature, which prepared her for the Secondary School for Gifted Pupils in Foreign Languages, Hanoi National University where she specialised in English language and literature. After graduating she attended Hanoi University and earned a BA in Linguistics (English Language and Literature) and also teaching certification. This was followed by a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics earned from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia.
When Hoa graduated from Hanoi University she worked as an interpreter and translator and as a tour guide. She began her teaching career began in 1996 at the United Nations International School in Hanoi, an IB World School, where she has taught Vietnamese Language and Literature to Middle and High School Students, and she continues there to this day. For seven years she has supervised SSST students in several countries. She is also an IB Workshop Subject Leader. An exemplary life-long learner in the true spirit of the IB Learner, Hoa has regularly pursued further education, and holds a Certificate in Advanced Japanese from the Vietnamese-Japanese Cultural Association in Hanoi, and a Certificate in Research Methods in Education from the University of Bath, UK. She has attended or led numerous IB Workshops on IB Authorisation Processes, and also Literature and she attended a Teaching for Understanding course at Harvard University Graduate School for Education.
Hoa has vast experience in supervising Extended Essays, for example The image of Vietnamese women through different stages of Vietnamese literature in written works by Nguyen Du, Ngo Tat To and Nguyen Minh Chau; The 1945 famine in works of Nam Cao; The Vietnamese New Year culture reflected in literature works of Nguyen Van Cu and Nguyen Duy; and The ending of literature works reflect the history through the work So Do of Vu Trong Phung. With nearly 20 years’ IB experience at UNIS Hanoi as a teacher of Vietnamese Language and Literature and as an IBMYP Personal Project Supervisor, an IBDP Extended Essay Supervisor, and Service Learning Coordinator, Hoa is a highly experienced IB teacher able to support ILLTC SSST Vietnamese students.
