Teaching Cham language to preserve culture. Lesson 2

“Culture lights the way for the nation” (a saying of President Ho Chi Minh) was mentioned again at the National Cultural Conference at the end of 2021. After mentioning this immortal saying, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong shared: “I remember that a predecessor once said that culture is the identity of a nation. If culture exists, the nation exists. If culture is lost, the nation is lost.”

Reviving Cham script

Teacher Thong Minh Khoi continues to "pass on the fire" of teaching Cham to students.

Culture plays an important role in the spiritual life of each nation. The Cham community is the same, Cham culture is almost special in the culture of 54 ethnic groups spread across the length of the country. That community, that ethnic group has its own unique characteristics, which cannot be mixed. Therefore, cultural identity is the soul, the beauty of each ethnic group. In May 2021, the Standing Committee of Binh Thuan Provincial Party Committee issued Plan No. 28 - KH / TW on the implementation of Conclusion No. 76 - KL / TW of the Politburo (12th tenure) on continuing to implement Resolution No. 33-NQ / TW of the Central Executive Committee of the Party (11th tenure) " On building and developing Vietnamese culture and people to meet the requirements of sustainable national development". This is a dedicated resolution on the work of preserving and promoting the value of tangible and intangible cultural heritages , paying attention to the unique cultural values of ethnic minority areas associated with socio-economic development, especially local tourism development .

Over the past 25 years, since introducing the Cham language program into primary schools, Ham Thuan Bac district has demonstrated the spirit of respecting cultural identity and traditional beauty to help children love their roots more, preserving those seemingly small things through writing.

Mr. Le Trung Chinh - Deputy Head of Ham Thuan Bac Education Department, in charge of primary education , shared: “Teaching Cham language to primary school students in the district has started since 1998. This is not a simple task, but all teachers have the same wish, which is to preserve and promote the language and writing of ethnic minorities, one of the major policies of the Party and the State. Promoting equality among ethnic groups, helping ethnic groups have conditions to develop in all aspects. Cham language has existed for a long time, the Cham people have passed it down and passed it on, but it has not been widely disseminated. Fortunately, since its implementation, nearly 25 years ago, teaching Cham language to Cham children in primary schools has been continuously developed and increasingly attracted students to be interested in learning Cham language.

In Ham Thuan Bac district, there are currently 3 schools teaching Cham language, namely Ham Phu 1 Primary School, Lam Giang Primary School and Lam Hung Primary School (combined from Tam Hung Primary School and Lam Thien school). Although the children only have 4 lessons per week, interspersed with the normal curriculum, witnessing the children enthusiastically learning about their own ethnic writing makes viewers appreciate it. “Although the children can talk every day, when they go to school, they have to practice pronouncing correctly and writing. Cham writing is inherently difficult to remember and write. There are also children who are Cham but at home use Kinh language completely, so it will be difficult to start.” – Teacher Thong Minh Khoi (Lam Hung Primary School) said.

Over the past 25 years, teachers have also faced difficulties from the beginning. However, many teachers, because of their love for their students and the culture of the Cham community, have overcome certain difficulties to pursue this journey, such as Mr. Nguyen Van Dai (Ham Phu 1 High School), Ms. Thong Thi Thanh Giang, Mr. Thong Minh Khoi...

Dream of keeping the language of origin

“Here, there are some children whose fathers are Kinh and whose mothers are Cham. At home, they sometimes speak Kinh and sometimes Cham. When they come to class, their pronunciation is not correct, so they have difficulty remembering how to write. Students who are pure Cham will have an advantage. For example, in the class I am teaching, there are students from the K'ho ethnic group and three former Kinh students. I was originally a student at this school. I really like learning Cham, so when I return, I want to teach them again. This is also my way of contributing to preserving the language of my people,” said teacher Thong Minh Khoi (Lam Hung Primary School, Ma Lam town).

Born and raised in this place, he was taught Cham by his teachers since he was young, and when he grew up, he studied and returned to work as a Youth Union member at school. In addition, when he saw the teachers who taught him Cham growing older, Mr. Khoi decided to follow the path of guiding young children to learn Cham. For many years, Mr. Khoi has been diligently working in class with his students. “Teaching Cham is not simply helping children learn to read and write, but learning it will inspire them to love their own language and be proud of it. Once they love it, they will be the ones who know how to preserve their own culture.”

Currently, each week at schools there will be about 4 Cham language lessons for all grades from 1 to 5. Each lesson includes 4 skills: Listening, speaking, reading and writing. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Van - Vice Principal of Lam Giang Primary School (Ham Tri Commune) said: "Regarding Cham language, the school teaches with very good results. At the end of the year, all students studying Cham language achieved completion or higher results. The school also participated in many activities organized by Bac Binh district during the Kate Festival. In which, both teachers and students participated, teachers participated in Cham language knowledge and Cham writing, and students participated in Cham writing and achieved high results. "Teaching and learning Cham language in schools has received a very high consensus from village dignitaries as well as parents. In addition to the meaning of preserving the Cham language and writing, teaching Cham language is a great supplement to teaching Vietnamese, now students in grades 4-5 can write a short paragraph in Cham. This achievement is also the desire of teachers in contributing to preserving traditional values of origin" - Ms. Thu Van shared more.

Mr. Le Trung Chinh said: The biggest difficulty in teaching Cham language today is that most of the equipment and teaching aids in schools are made by teachers themselves, and reference materials are scarce. Many teachers of ethnic languages who meet the standards or are specialized in this subject have not been trained, and there are difficulties in facilities: Lack of equipment, pictures for teaching, exercise books, and writing books.

Compared to previous years, the implementation of teaching Cham language is now more favorable. In addition to the fact that most schools ensure that students have enough textbooks and exercise books, all schools have dedicated and experienced Cham teachers. The whole province currently has nearly 50 trained Cham language teachers. Cham language teachers organize monthly professional activities to propose innovative methods for teaching Cham language, apply the new Vietnamese school model (VNEN) in organizing classes, and increase the application of information technology in preparing and teaching Cham language, making lessons lively and effective. Cham language teachers continue to be trained in refresher and advanced courses to be able to gradually teach Cham language effectively, contributing to the cause of education and preserving traditional culture, because "If culture remains, the nation remains".

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