Preserving Vietnamese identity is the foundation for students to confidently integrate internationally.

Enhancing students’ global competence is the responsibility of schools and teachers, while preserving and conserving Vietnamese identity is the story of families. When these two factors go together, students will have a solid cultural foundation and confidence to integrate internationally.

These are the shares of Dr. Nguyen Chi Hieu - Academic Director of Olympia shared in the Workshop "Creating bilingual education - Vietnamese identity, global capacity", on November 15.

After nearly 17 years of construction and development, Olympia High School maintains its orientation of developing a bilingual training model, not shifting completely to a traditional or international model. Dr. Nguyen Chi Hieu believes that this approach helps create a comprehensive learning environment, where students are nurtured with a foundation of Vietnamese culture while improving their ability to integrate internationally.

Speakers at the workshop in the discussion section (Photo: Organizing Committee)

In addition, the school also develops a model that integrates the Oxford program with the national program, focusing on the Wellbeing education program - mental health and school life, to help students develop comprehensively and in balance from knowledge to emotional management.

According to Ms. Pham Thu Ngoc, a member of the OIS Board of Directors, schools are considered as miniature societies, which need to build a cohesive community and a classroom culture that respects differences. Educational activities need to aim at supporting students to address mental health issues through experiential learning and sharing, such as writing emotional diaries or group discussions.

Only when students understand themselves, will they be able to recognize and connect with the outside world , while maintaining their personal identity when entering an international environment. Especially in an educational environment, no individual should feel lonely or isolated from the group, but each student must be understood and listened to.

Multi-purpose support model aims to help students manage emotions (Photo: Giang Pham)

If foreign languages open the door for students to connect and integrate with the world, Vietnamese helps students understand themselves, perceive culture and preserve identity.

Dr. Nguyen Chi Tien emphasized that preserving Vietnamese identity begins with daily conversations between parents and children about the stories of previous generations, family history or memorable milestones of parents and children. Through these conversations, children gradually understand the origin, roots and cultural values of the family.

However, during the child's development, especially puberty, many parents are under pressure because their child has many changes in psychology and behavior, becoming a disobedient child and more difficult to control than before. Faced with this situation, many parents try to understand their child by strictly controlling, setting many rules and monitoring each behavior, but these efforts unintentionally create distance, making the child feel constrained and more distant from the family.

In fact, many students become hesitant to express their feelings and share their thoughts when their interests and personalities are not recognized and supported by their parents, but instead are judged and evaluated. The lack of a safe space to express themselves causes children to gradually withdraw and interact less with their parents. In the long run, this reduces their confidence and ability to integrate into the community.

Sharing at the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thanh, co-founder of Elite PR School and cultural communication expert, admitted that as a parent, he had difficulty understanding his child.

He believes that the key to overcoming this conflict is listening, combined with patience and not imposing one’s own thoughts or prejudices on the child. At the same time, it is necessary to synchronize the “communication dictionary” between parents and children to improve the relationship.

Parents' listening and understanding become an important foundation, helping children always find a safe place to rely on, thereby confidently understanding and exploring themselves, while developing the ability to perceive and connect with the outside world while still maintaining their own cultural identity.

In addition, teachers also play an important role in accompanying students on their journey of self-understanding. Sometimes, students are reluctant to share their thoughts with their parents, but can express them to their teachers, thereby receiving timely guidance and support.

At the same time, teachers also act as a bridge between parents and students, helping parents understand their children better and creating conditions for children to feel safe and listened to.

The support of family and school, along with an attitude of listening and understanding, is the foundation for students to both maintain their Vietnamese identity and develop global competencies. When children are given a safe space to express and explore themselves, they will be more confident in learning, communicating and integrating with the world.

Giang Pham

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/giu-ban-sac-viet-la-nen-tang-de-hoc-sinh-tu-tin-hoi-nhap-quoc-te-ar987414.html