“When coming to Viet Nam, I was surprised by the culture here and I didn’t have an apparent understanding of Vietnamese culture. But when attending this class, I am joyful because many people are being good at Vietnamese, and this is such a useful experience that helps me to improve my Vietnamese speaking. On top of that, Ms An is passionate about teaching Vietnamese so all lessons are really intriguing”, shared Mr Dmitrii Kitaev.

Kevin (from Canada) practices Vietnamese pronunciation with Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai An (left) Photo: D.H.L

Dmitrii Kitaev coming from Russia has  so far lived in Da Nang for 4 years. When coming to Nguyen Thi Hoai An's Vietnamese club in Lien Chieu District, his Vietnamese communication skills and understanding of Vietnamese culture have markedly improved, and, currently, Dmitrii Kitaev speaks Vietnamese fluently like a Vietnamese person. 

Passion for teaching Vietnamese

Ms Nguyen Thi Hoai An originally studied economics, but that she saw that many foreigners have a demand for learning the Vietnamese language and culture has prompted her to open a Vietnamese club for foreigners in 2019, helping them learn Vietnamese to soon integrate into life when coming here.

To have this club model, Ms Hoai An attended a training course on teaching Vietnamese and reading books and research related to the Vietnamese language. Since then, she has found a teaching method so students can easily absorb and feel happy when learning. At first, after posting on the Learn Vietnamese With An Nam fanpage, foreigners came to study with her in a coffee shop. In addition to Ms Hoai An, several friends who are Vietnamese students participate in teaching support.

Foreigners joining the club can interact with locals about Vietnamese culture and communication skills. Among them, there are also people who self-study Vietnamese at home, so when they come here, they have a good environment to practice and improve their communication skills.

“I feel really overjoyed that there are numerous foreigners loving Vietnamese and love my country. Foreigners when learning Vietnamese face difficulties in pronunciation and daily communication as they do not understand the culture, way of thinking and life concept of Vietnamese. In particular, foreigners attach great importance to politeness, so they want to learn the culture to behave properly. Besides, they also shared the obstacles and troubles encountered when doing administrative procedures in business immigration, ” Ms Hoai An explained.

Have a Vietnamese soul to be good at Vietnamese

Mr Jonathan Poltak Samosir, an Australian, has lived in Viet Nam for 7 years and now worked for a German company. Previously, Jonathan used to live in Da Nang and then moved to Hoi An so he studied Vietnamese online with Ms An. Although he has a Vietnamese wife, he still travels from Hoi An to Da Nang to join the club.

“In Hoi An, there are also many Vietnamese but they speak with local accents so it is difficult to hear. This class helps me improve my Vietnamese communication skills, and expand my relationship with many new friends. Ms An is also very enthusiastic to help us understand more unknown words and local culture. Besides, it is difficult when speak the right tone and intonation for foreigners when learning Vietnamese," said Jonathan.

Currently, Jonathan Poltak Samosir can communicate fluently in Vietnamese and Vietnamese has helped him to love Vietnamese culture and people more than ever.

In the same vein, Mr Kevin, a Canadian originally from Shanghai, China, was very surprised with everything around in the new days of coming to Da Nang. Therefore, he came to the class by himself with the desire to discover the local culture through the Vietnamese language.

“I came to this class to look for some friends who can help me integrate into the local culture. An's club helps me learn how to communicate with local people as well as learn about cuisine. I hope I can communicate with locals more in Vietnamese soon," said Kevin.

Actually, Kevin's wishes are also An's purpose when opening this club to help foreigners soon integrate into Vietnamese culture. For Ms An, "the more foreigners who know Vietnamese, the more precious it is".

According to Mr Saadi Salama, the Palestinian Ambassador in Viet Nam at the 2nd International Scientific Conference "Research and Teaching Vietnamese and studies in universities" organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities- the University of Hanoi held on November 3, 2018, to become a good Vietnamese speaker, every foreigner being interested in learning Vietnamese must become a foreigner with a Vietnamese soul to break all difficulties and deadlocks in learning Vietnamese.

Reporting by DOAN HAO LUONG- Translating by T.VY