VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese children living abroad should be encouraged to learn their mother tongue, participants at a workshop held this week in Ha Noi heard.

Studying Vietnamese overseas: A teacher instructs her students at the Hung Vuong Vietnamese Language School in Greenwich, London. Established in 1991, this is the first Vietnamese school for Vietnamese children here. Each year, it enrolls around 100 children, who each have one lesson a week. (Photo: VNS)

To encourage Vietnamese living abroad to learn their native language, it was suggested that language books specifically designed for those studying overseas be developed. In addition, there should be more cultural exchanges between young people living overseas and those in Viet Nam, the workshop heard.

Participants also said Vietnamese cultural centres in Laos and France should be expanded.

However, attendees pointed out that language was just part of a nation's culture. They said rather than just encourage the Vietnamese language to be spoken Viet Nam Culture Houses should be established overseas.

Prof Dang Van Bai, a participant at the workshop, said that it was vital to make the Vietnamese language and culture relevant to those living abroad.

A number of editors of Vietnamese language newspapers and representatives from Vietnamese peoples associations in countries such as the US, Germany, Laos and the Czech Republic agreed, saying more reference material describing the Vietnamese language and culture was needed.

Tran Ba Viet Dung, head of the Ministry of Education and Training's International Co-operation Department, said the teaching of Vietnamese to children living abroad was dogged with obstacles, such as a shortage of facilities, teaching aids, language books and teachers.

The State has implemented a number of measures to promote Vietnamese culture abroad over the last few years. However, third – and fourth-generation Vietnamese living abroad are speaking their mother tongue less, the workshop heard.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News