Overseas Vietnamese actively teach Vietnamese to preserve national culture

The Vietnamese community abroad is always aware that preserving the mother tongue is a vital task to preserve the roots of the national culture in a foreign land. “My mother tongue, my mother tongue, was born from the cradle/ In a flash, a thousand years, it became the voice of my heart…” In the heart of every child far from the Fatherland, preserving Vietnamese culture, maintaining and promoting the Vietnamese language is always considered an important task, carried out continuously from the family level to the association and community level. Although overseas Vietnamese are always conscious of preserving national identity, cultural integration and the needs of life in the host country still make the teaching and practicing of Vietnamese difficult.

Preserving the 'mother tongue'

For Ms. Van Huong Phenh Kham May, Principal of Nguyen Du Lao-Vietnamese Bilingual School, she feels the pride and great responsibility of those working ineducation in preserving the Vietnamese language for the young generation of Vietnamese people abroad. At Nguyen Du School, Vietnamese and Lao students not only learn Vietnamese, but also learn Vietnamese culture and history. Teachers always find every way, combining curriculum and reality, to make Vietnamese teaching most effective; how to make students love the subject and understand more about Vietnamese culture and people, thereby taking responsibility in preserving the good relationship between the two peoples of Vietnam and Laos. “In the coming time, the school will find every way to enable all teachers and staff to communicate and understand basic Vietnamese. Each teacher and student will be a cultural ambassador, carrying out the task of spreading the thousand-year-old culture of Vietnam not only in the land of a million elephants but also around the world,” Ms. Van Huong Phenh Kham May expressed.

Teachers learn about the book series "Hello Vietnamese" - an effective tool in teaching Vietnamese abroad. (Photo: Thanh Tung/VNA)

Sharing experiences in preserving the Vietnamese language at the 4th Conference of Overseas Vietnamese around the world on August 22, Ms. Pham Thanh Xuan, member of the Standing Committee of the Association of Vietnamese in the Russian Federation, said that the Association always sets the following goals: Raising awareness of the Vietnamese community in Russia about the Vietnamese language, honoring the beauty and value of the Vietnamese language in the community, maintaining the use of Vietnamese in Vietnamese families, and spreading the Vietnamese language to foreigners. To achieve these goals, the Association has taken specific measures such as: Creating a playground related to the Vietnamese language and Vietnamese culture for children of Vietnamese origin in the Russian Federation and Russian children; supporting universities with faculties and departments researching and teaching Vietnamese to develop; supporting the establishment of cultural centers and teaching Vietnamese in universities, research institutes, and high schools in Russia. Under the direction of the Vietnamese Embassy in the Russian Federation, the Association of Vietnamese People in the Russian Federation regularly organizes cultural and artistic activities, supports community initiatives to enhance cultural exchanges, and cultivate Vietnamese language in the community, especially the younger generation. Some effective programs include the "Community Singing Contest," Nguyen Tieu Poetry Night, Mid-Autumn Festival, etc., attracting great attention from Vietnamese youth and students in Russia and young Russians. To preserve the Vietnamese language and culture more effectively, Ms. Pham Thanh Xuan recommended that the State regularly organize direct and online training programs for Vietnamese language teachers abroad; send officials to the locality to organize Vietnamese language summer camps for children of Vietnamese people abroad; provide Vietnamese language teaching materials (possibly in electronic form) to serve the teaching and learning of Vietnamese language abroad.

Many initiatives to preserve Vietnamese language

Due to geographical, political and social characteristics, teaching Vietnamese in Laos and the Russian Federation has many advantages. However, in many countries, Vietnamese is being lost among young people, becoming a concern for the overseas Vietnamese community as their children are increasingly far from their roots. Ms. Nguyen Viet Ha, Executive Director of the Vietnam-Australia Cultural Exchange Organization (VACEO) shared her concerns that the young generation of Vietnamese in Australia is being influenced by Western culture, leading to a decline in awareness and interest in preserving and promoting national culture.

Ms. Nguyen Viet Ha, Executive Director of the Vietnam-Australia Cultural Exchange Organization (VACEO). (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Ms. Ha is concerned that this cultural integration may reduce the attachment to Vietnamese cultural values ​​and traditions. In this context, VACEO is facing many challenges in teaching language and preserving culture, such as lack of financial resources and specialized human resources, lack of facilities and support means, lack of effective communication and promotion means, and difficulties in mobilizing the participation of organizations and individuals. To continue to carry out its mission, Ms. Ha recommends that the Government provide financial support to organize cultural events, open Vietnamese language classes, and develop cultural products such as books and documentaries about Vietnamese culture. In addition, VACEO also needs legal and policy support to help VACEO easily carry out cultural preservation activities in Australia.

Mr. Tran Nhat Hoang, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, spoke at the conference. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Regarding this issue, Mr. Tran Nhat Hoang, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism affirmed: "Honoring, teaching and learning ethnic languages ​​contributes to building a stable, united, strong Vietnamese community abroad, actively contributing to the homeland and the country." In order to further promote the teaching and learning of Vietnamese in the overseas Vietnamese community, thereby supporting overseas Vietnamese in preserving and promoting the traditional cultural identity of the nation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism encourages the use of Vietnamese in Vietnamese families abroad in daily communication, creating motivation to improve the efficiency and quality of teaching and learning Vietnamese in the community; urging local authorities and educational institutions to include Vietnamese in teaching at educational institutions in areas with a large Vietnamese population. Mr. Tran Nhat Hoang proposed other solutions such as: Building libraries, introducing books, and promoting Vietnamese culture in other countries; Taking advantage of advances in information technology, building information channels connecting overseas Vietnamese with their homeland; providing online Vietnamese teaching and learning software; organizing programs, competitions to learn Vietnamese, and Vietnamese summer camps to arouse national spirit, improve the Vietnamese proficiency of overseas Vietnamese, thereby honoring the beauty and value of the Vietnamese language.

Vietnamplus.vn

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/kieu-bao-tich-cuc-truyen-day-tieng-viet-de-bao-ton-van-hoa-dan-toc-post971954.vnp