Thai guy teaches Vietnamese in the land of golden pagodas

tiếng Việt - Ảnh 1. — Mr. Narin Vongdao (front row, third from left) is currently a Vietnamese language teacher in Thailand - Photo: NVCC

From a chance encounter to the challenge of learning regional accents, Narin's journey of making friends with Vietnamese has inspired many Thai students to explore Vietnamese language and culture.

Quite challenging with regional Vietnamese accents

Narin boasts that he learned Vietnamese by accident. He chose Chinese as a major in university entrance exams but failed to get in while his score was high enough to pass the Vietnamese major, so he decided to study it and never thought that his love for the language would start from there.

The biggest challenge for him was learning Vietnamese with different regional accents. Initially, he learned the Northern accent, so when he moved to the South, he had to work even harder to listen and understand. But with patient practice and real-life exposure, he gradually got used to it and became more confident. "The first time I moved to the South, I almost didn't understand a single sentence, so I had to practice listening a lot to get used to it and be able to speak," Narin said.

Narin boasts that he has applied a practical method by forcing himself into an environment where he is required to use Vietnamese. On his first trip to Vietnam, he did not go on a tour or stay in a hotel, but stayed at a boarding house of a Vietnamese friend he met through social media. Narin said this experience was "completely immersed in Vietnamese and exposed to what he had learned".

The biggest advantage is that the distance between Vietnam and Thailand is quite close, which helps him use Vietnamese more often. As for learning vocabulary and pronunciation, Narin revealed the secret: "Learned vocabulary must be applied immediately to remember it for a long time, then practicing listening and speaking continuously will maintain the ability to use Vietnamese naturally."

Teaching Vietnamese in Thailand

After many years of living and studying in Vietnam, Narin Vongdao returned to Thailand with his love for Vietnamese growing in his heart. Returning home at the right time when the school was recruiting Vietnamese teachers, he decided to try his hand at teaching Vietnamese to high school students at the Practical High School, Srinakharinwirot University (Prasarnmit campus, Bangkok).

Since 2024, as a homeroom teacher for a specialized language class and a Vietnamese language lecturer, he has directly guided students in learning Vietnamese. He shared: "The job has helped me maintain my Vietnamese skills because if I return to Thailand, I rarely get to speak Vietnamese. Having to speak and teach every day is a great way to keep my Vietnamese vocabulary."

The memory that he will always remember is that many times when students met him outside the classroom, they greeted him with the Vietnamese phrase "Hello teacher", which made him feel close and extremely happy. To help Thai students learn Vietnamese effectively, especially the difficult parts of grammar and pronunciation, Narin created many pronunciation exercises, creating opportunities for frequent communication.

He boasted that he had created a TikTok channel telling the story of Thai students learning Vietnamese. This channel helps students have motivation to study, and also curiosity to see who will be on TikTok this week. Punnarat Pongkhun (grade 10 English - Vietnamese major at Satit Prasarnmit School) said that Mr. Narin teaches very easily, the lessons are not stressful or pressured.

"Feel free to ask if you don't understand anything. The many activities the teacher organizes make the class fun, interesting, and make you want to learn more," Punnarat Pongkhun said.

I hope that Vietnamese will become more and more popular in Thailand, and that there will be more student exchange programs between the two countries so that students can not only learn the language but also experience the culture, build friendship, and thereby open up many opportunities for exchange between the two countries.

Mr. NARIN VONGDAO

A different experience

While living and traveling in Vietnam, Narin said that participating in traffic here is quite different from Thailand. He said that car horns are constantly honked in Vietnam as part of traffic signals.

Meanwhile, in Thailand, drivers almost never use their horns except in emergencies or to warn others when driving unsafely. "I was quite surprised by this difference and gradually learned to adapt," Narin laughed.

LE HUY

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chang-trai-thai-day-tieng-viet-o-xu-chua-vang-20251121094016711.htm