1. Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

(Chọn phương án đúng để hoàn thành câu.)

1. _______ limited limited national funding, Việt Nam's education system has made significant improvements over the years.

a. Although

b. Despite

c. Whereas

d. Even though

2. _______ many Vietnamese students cannot access quality education, some have excelled in international academic competitions.

a. Even though

b. Despite

c. In spite of

d. However

3. _______ the class size in Việt Nam is large, many Vietnamese teachers have managed to teach effectively.

a. Even though

b. Despite

c. In spite of

d. Whereas

4. _______ poor resources, many schools have successfully produced high-achieving graduates.

a. Whereas

b. Although

c. In spite of

d. However

5. _______ many students do not study English at an early age, they can still speak the language well.

a. In spite of

b. Although

c. Despite

d. However

6. The quality of English education in urban areas has improved, _______ it is still a major issue in rural areas.

a. even though

b. in spite of

c. despite

d. whereas

2. Read the text and fill in each blank with ONE word.

(Đọc văn bản và điền vào mỗi chỗ trống bằng MỘT từ.)

Back in the 1990s, a popular way of learning in Vietnamese schools was rote learning. (1) _______ innovative methods employed by some of my teachers, there was not so much difference in the way knowledge was transferred to us. We were not encouraged to take an active part in the lessons because teachers talked nearly all the time. As far as I can remember, the curriculum primarily focused on academic subjects like mathematics and literature, (2) _______ soft skills and some subjects like PE or music received very limited attention. (3) _______ the teacher-centered instruction, lack of student engagement, and unequal attention to non-academic subjects, students worked very hard and still achieved great success. (4) _______ some students still do not engage in today's classrooms, I personally believe that Vietnamese education is changing. I have seen many teachers using interactive learning methods and what I'm impressed the most is that teachers pay more attention to developing the 21^st century skills, (5) _______ classrooms are still large in size and resources are somehow limited.

3. Each of the following sentences has one mistake. Find and correct them.

(Mỗi câu sau đây có một lỗi sai. Tìm và sửa lỗi sai.)

1. Although many students prefer audio-visual learning styles, but their teachers still depend too much on written texts.

2. In spite large classes in many urban areas, many teachers can manage their students quite well.

3. Despite of lock of preparation, many students achieved high scores in the standardized test.

4. Despite I favor individualistic learning approaches, I think that strong collaborative skills are necessary when working in group projects.

5. Although, Tú Anh's family has nothing to do with art, she still excelled in art and design subjects that emphasize creativity.

4. Finish the following sentences.

(Hoàn thành các câu sau.)

1. Although some teaching materials are outdated, ______________________________________.

2. In spite of the overcrowded classrooms, ____________________________________________.

3. Even though the teaching methods need improvement, ________________________________.

4. Despite the lack of resources in many rural areas in Việt Nam, __________________________.

5. Although many Vietnamese students are not good at English speaking skills, _______________.

6. Although there is a shortage of qualified teachers in some areas today, ____________________.