We enjoyed a pizza tonight with a friend from Ho Chi Minh City who grew up here in Hanoi. She is working with the World Bank, so is here for a week. We always enjoy visiting with this Christian business woman who came to faith while doing a graduate degree in the US.
We talked about many things including language. Her English is very fluent and she told us that she has studied some Chinese as well. We then briefly discussed the changes in foreign language emphasis in Vietnam over the years. She told us how her Vietnamese family reflects these changes over the past 60 years.
Her grandparents speak French, for until 1954 when the French finally left the north, it was the foreign language of choice. Her uncle, older brother of her father, studied Chinese for in the late 50's and into the 60's, China was an ally. Her father studied in Russia and so is fluent in Russian. The USSR was a great ally of Vietnam back in the 70's and into the 80's.
However our friend is only 30 years old. Like most of those under age 35, English was the foreign language she studied. In recent years English has become a compulsory subject at least in the big cities. Private English language schools advertise widely, providing night and weekend classes. Some companies pay teachers to hold weekly classes on the job site, so that their employees can interact with overseas clients. Vietnamese recognize that fluency in English increases the chance of promotion and might even lead to a job with a foreign company or NGO.
You will still find those who study Russian or French (in fact I met a woman from France today who teaches at the University near us. But the era of Russian or French has passed here in SE Asia. I suspect that the study of Chinese will grow stronger in the days ahead.
Meanwhile we meet once a week with our 60 year old language tutor - whose major language of study was - you guessed it - Russian!
We talked about many things including language. Her English is very fluent and she told us that she has studied some Chinese as well. We then briefly discussed the changes in foreign language emphasis in Vietnam over the years. She told us how her Vietnamese family reflects these changes over the past 60 years.
Her grandparents speak French, for until 1954 when the French finally left the north, it was the foreign language of choice. Her uncle, older brother of her father, studied Chinese for in the late 50's and into the 60's, China was an ally. Her father studied in Russia and so is fluent in Russian. The USSR was a great ally of Vietnam back in the 70's and into the 80's.
However our friend is only 30 years old. Like most of those under age 35, English was the foreign language she studied. In recent years English has become a compulsory subject at least in the big cities. Private English language schools advertise widely, providing night and weekend classes. Some companies pay teachers to hold weekly classes on the job site, so that their employees can interact with overseas clients. Vietnamese recognize that fluency in English increases the chance of promotion and might even lead to a job with a foreign company or NGO.
You will still find those who study Russian or French (in fact I met a woman from France today who teaches at the University near us. But the era of Russian or French has passed here in SE Asia. I suspect that the study of Chinese will grow stronger in the days ahead.
Meanwhile we meet once a week with our 60 year old language tutor - whose major language of study was - you guessed it - Russian!
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