The number of foreigners living in Vietnam and the demand for qualified schools and teachers of the Vietnamese language has grown dramatically due to increasing economic integration and cultural exchanges between Vietnam the rest of the world.
Language classes are attracting increasing numbers of foreigners in Vietnam who need to communicate with locals at work or just want to understand the culture.
At Dom café in Hanoi on Dao Tan Street, where many expatriates come every day for Vietnamese lessons.
Daniel Nyilas, has been learning Vietnamese from a private tutor for a year and was seeking to improve his language skills further with the group.
“I just have a need to understand locals more instead of talking like a monkey with my hands,” the Hungarian, 31, told the reporter.
Nyilas is among an increasing number of foreigners striving to learn Vietnamese for their work or just daily conversation in a country that is steadily opening up its economy to the world.
Vietnam attracts billions of dollars in foreign direct investment every year, and with it come foreign managers who need to learn Vietnamese to communicate with their local employees. Samsung, one of the largest foreign companies in Vietnam, requires its South Korean managers and specialists to learn Vietnamese for a year. They are frequently tested for their communication skills.
For this reason, Vietnamese language centers are attracting an increasing number of students. A general manager of 123Vietnamese, said new students sign up every week but there are times during the year when the center, despite having almost 80 part-time and full-time teachers, has to turn some of them away.
Her center, which has 600 students in six cities and provinces, regularly receives requests to organize classes near industrial areas where Japanese and Koreans work.
“The demand is huge and there are areas that we haven’t covered. We want to expand.” She said.
The director of HCMC-based Vietnamese Language Studies, said the number of foreigners coming to her center has been increasing year after year and reached 670 last year. Besides those who come to learn Vietnamese for work, there are also research students who need to understand Vietnamese for their projects.
Language barrier
But learning Vietnamese is not easy. Beginners, even intermediate students, have a hard time with the pronunciation and tones, Nguyen Thanh Lan of language class Tieng Viet Oi said.
“Foreign students at any level struggle because Vietnamese often speak fast. Because of the tones, many students cannot recognize even words they know.”
Nyilas knows these challenges. Having been in Vietnam for over two years, he has been studying “on and off” for about a year because of the difficulties. “It wasn’t rewarding at first. Even if I know what I wanted to say, people wouldn’t understand me because of my pronunciation. At the beginning I had no success.”
Even foreigners with close relationships with locals have a hard time learning the language.
Briton Greg Ashby, 37, is married to a Vietnamese and lives in Da Nang, but since his wife’s English is very good they don’t speak Vietnamese often. “Listening is a challenge. When I talk to my wife’s family they always speak so fast, I can only get a word here and there.”
Other students have trouble finding time for the courses. Marshall Presnick, 49, took the first Vietnamese course nine months after coming to Hanoi from the U.S., but his busy English teaching schedule prevented him from being a diligent student.
He said: “I lived in Spain for three years and I can say anything I want in Spanish. But that’s not the case with Vietnamese though I’ve been here for seven years.”
However, he, like many others, has persevered. He is taking regular classes to improve his Vietnamese to show he cares about his fiancée and her culture.
He plans to try out his new vocabulary when he meets his future parents-in-law next weekend.
“I think those who live more than a year in Vietnam should learn Vietnamese. Life is just easier when you do.
How to find the right language center for learning Vietnamese
Even for foreigners living in Vietnam, it can be a challenge to find an appropriate language center. Only a few universities offer Vietnamese language courses and then only at the elementary level and at very restricted times. University regulations may limit classes only to registered university students, thereby excluding full-time company employees and other interested adult students.
According to several foreigners’ experience, here are some capable Vietnamese teaching centers that deserve serious consideration:
123Vietnamese Center
This center is a favorite of foreign students. The teachers are skilled, experienced and enthusiastic. Another strength of the center is that it offers flexible class times and its teachers can visit company worksites to conduct classes.
Saigon Language School
This may be a suitable choice for foreigners who can meet the university’s admission standards and who have the time and flexibility to follow a fixed class schedule. In addition to the Vietnamese language, the Hanoi National University of Education also offers students classes in Vietnamese culture and history.
Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Language at Hanoi National University of Education
This may be a suitable choice for foreigners who can meet the university’s admission standards and who have the time and flexibility to follow a fixed class schedule. In addition to the Vietnamese language, the Hanoi National University of Education also offers students classes in Vietnamese culture and history.
Learning Vietnamese online
More students are choosing to learn the Vietnamese language online as technology becomes more popular and accessible. One obvious advantage is that students can study anywhere, anytime. Furthermore the tuition fee for online courses is much cheaper than regular classes.
Earlier, the challenges of finding a good language center and qualified teacher were discussed. Even students who overcome these obstacles may not be able to book adequate times with their teachers because of scheduling conflicts. In cases like these, online courses might be a good solution for them. Here again the student must be careful since the quality of online courses varies widely with some sites offering only minimal teaching and others very comprehensive. Here are some suggested websites:
This is a carefully designed and useful website. Via lessons, topics, films and songs, this website helps students learn Vietnamese easily, achieving the best results in the least time.
www.learnvietnamesewithannie.com
Annie produces lessons in the southern dialect. Her videos cover topics at the elementary level and students will find useful information on pronunciation, grammar and sentence patterns.
In conclusion, foreigners face many challenges when learning Vietnamese. Nevertheless, there is strong interest to study Vietnamese and many foreign students enjoy learning not only the language but also the history, culture and traditions of Vietnamese people. The good news is that foreigners can achieve success with this difficult but fascinating and beautiful language if they find an appropriate language center, study with qualified teachers, and utilize suitable online resources.
Source: VNExpress/ Tuoitre/ Editing by VNI