Efforts to preserve and develop Vietnamese language in the Vietnamese community abroad

Vietnamese is not only a means of communication but also the cultural soul, connecting the Vietnamese community across five continents. Deeply aware of this value, the Vietnam Education Publishing House (VNEP) has persistently brought the Vietnamese language to overseas Vietnamese for many years. These efforts affirm the role of VNEP as a trusted companion of the Vietnamese community abroad.

Báo Công an Nhân dân•25/09/2025

More than 3 years ago, the Government issued Decision No. 930/QD-TTg dated August 3, 2022, making September 8 every year the day to honor the Vietnamese language in the overseas Vietnamese community. The Government's special attention to the Vietnamese language has affirmed the invaluable value of the mother tongue - the language that has shaped the identity, culture and spirit of national solidarity throughout thousands of years of history.

Efforts to preserve and develop the Vietnamese language in the Vietnamese community abroad -0 — NXBGDVN launched a Vietnamese bookshelf to serve the community in Udon Thani province (Thailand) in May 2025.

As a major publishing unit in the field of education , over the years, NXBGDVN has continuously contributed to spreading Vietnamese to Vietnamese people abroad through many sets of books teaching Vietnamese to Vietnamese people abroad such as: Que Viet , Tieng Viet vui ... Especially the book set Chao Tieng Viet authored by Dr. Nguyen Thuy Anh. The book set supports the teaching and learning of Vietnamese for Vietnamese children abroad from 6 to 15 years old based on the criteria of each level of competence specified in the Vietnamese Language Program for Vietnamese people abroad issued by the Ministry of Education & Training in 2018. The book set has been welcomed in many places around the world and was honored to receive the A prize of the 6th National Book Award in 2023.

In addition, the Education Publishing House has also coordinated with the Foreign Television Department (VTV4) - Vietnam Television to produce a TV program teaching Vietnamese to Vietnamese children abroad. The program has been broadcast regularly on VTV4 channel, on digital platforms and introduced to Vietnamese communities around the world since April 2023.

Not stopping there, starting from April 2025, NXBGDVN continues to coordinate with the Foreign Television Department - Vietnam Television (VTV4) to launch a new television program called " Wonderful Vietnamese ". The program is designed based on a combination of folk storytelling and vivid cartoon characters with the aim of supporting the teaching and learning of Vietnamese for Vietnamese children abroad through a treasure trove of folk literature. Thereby contributing to nurturing love for the homeland and national traditions.

It is a fact that Vietnamese people living abroad always have the need to learn Vietnamese, but due to geographical or physical barriers, access to Vietnamese teaching materials is still limited. In order to overcome this difficulty, the Vietnam Education Publishing House has coordinated with the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (UBNN NVNONN) to have the initiative to build a "Vietnamese Bookshelf" in places where Vietnamese communities live. The bookshelf is usually located in Vietnamese representative agencies, Friendship Cultural Centers, Vietnamese language classes or community activities of Vietnamese people living abroad for easy access.

Since its inception, the bookshelf has received many positive responses and has been well received by overseas Vietnamese. To date, the "Vietnamese Bookshelf" has been expanded to 10 countries and territories with 12 bookshelfs. Specifically in Fukuoka (Japan), Budapest (Hungary), Taiwan (China), Paris, New Caledonia (France), Prague and Brno (Czech Republic), Melbourne (Australia), Thailand, Laos, Belarus, Sweden, with many valuable books. The "Vietnamese Bookshelf" was honored to win the Second Prize of the 10th National Award for Foreign Information in 2024, jointly organized by the Central Propaganda Department, the Steering Committee for Foreign Information Work, Vietnam Television and relevant agencies.

In addition, in parallel with the traditional book publishing, NXBGDVN is actively promoting the digitalization of its products. Currently, on the website https://taphuan.nxbgd.vn/ , NXBGDVN has provided free electronic versions of all textbooks from grades 1 to 12 in the series Connecting knowledge with life and Creative horizons o. The two sets of books are compiled according to the 2018 general education program - including Vietnamese textbooks and teacher guides. This helps people living far from the Fatherland to easily access and have more materials to teach their children.

To effectively teach Vietnamese to children abroad, the teaching staff plays an important role. Being aware of this, the Vietnam Education Publishing House always actively coordinates with the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese in activities to support the teaching staff of Vietnamese in countries and territories.

During the training session at the end of 2024, the Vietnam Education Publishing House coordinated with the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese to organize a seminar, inviting lecturers to share about methods of teaching Vietnamese to Vietnamese children abroad; methods of guiding students to create folklore images and theory - practice of games in education.

In June 2025, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese and the Consulate General of Vietnam in Khon Ken (Thailand) coordinated with the Vietnam Education Publishing House to successfully organize a training course to improve the Vietnamese language teaching capacity for nearly 80 overseas Vietnamese teachers in Northeastern Thailand. The course was highly appreciated for its expertise and practicality. These activities not only contribute to improving the pedagogical capacity and inspiring the Vietnamese language teaching staff abroad, but also create a solid foundation for the long-term and effective maintenance of Vietnamese language teaching and learning in the overseas Vietnamese community.

In addition, the Vietnam Education Publishing House also actively participated in activities responding to the Vietnamese Language Honor Day 2025 organized by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, typically: Accompanying the Homeland Spring program, the Launching Ceremony of Vietnamese Language Honor Day and the Contest to Find Vietnamese Language Ambassadors Abroad 2025 ; coordinating the launch of the book Uncle Ho is Ho Chi Minh and Uncle Ho in Thailand for the Vietnamese community in Thailand; at the same time supporting and supplying books to serve the teaching and learning of Vietnamese during the working trips of Party and State leaders and ministries, departments and branches.

Looking back over the past time, it can be affirmed that the coordination activities between the NXBGDVN and the UBNN on NVNONN have become increasingly practical and met the increasing demand for learning Vietnamese of the Vietnamese community abroad, from donating publications to training teachers, organizing the compilation of documents suitable for each region, multilingual communication, and especially connecting the community through online and live events.

The results achieved demonstrate the tireless efforts of the Vietnam Education Publishing House and the National Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, and the spirit of aspiration to preserve the national cultural identity of which the Vietnamese language is the soul. The Vietnamese language can only truly spread when it is both respected as a heritage and a communication tool in the daily lives of overseas Vietnamese.

Preserving and promoting the Vietnamese language in the overseas Vietnamese community is to preserve the national soul, nurture the love for the homeland and the Vietnamese cultural identity. NXBGDVN always wishes to contribute a part of its efforts in preserving and developing the Vietnamese language, so that this sacred language always exists in the heart of every Vietnamese child, no matter where in the world.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/van-hoa/no-luc-gin-giu-va-phat-trien-tieng-viet-trong-cong-dong-nguoi-viet-o-nuoc-ngoai-i782491/