After 16 years of teaching Vietnamese at National Taiwan University, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong has helped make Vietnamese one of the most popular foreign languages among students enrolling there.
THE PROPAGATION OF THE VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE AND LOVE FOR THE HOMELAND
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong graduated from the History Department of Hanoi National University, studied Chinese language at Beijing Language and Culture University, before earning a master's degree in Southeast Asian studies from Chi Nan University (Taiwan). She was a researcher at the Institute of Chinese Studies of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) for nearly 10 years. In 2008, she transitioned to teaching Vietnamese language and culture at National Taiwan University (NTU).
On NTU's 1 million square meter main campus in Taipei, Ms. Lien Huong guided us on a tour of the Vietnamese language classes at this world- ranked university. Upon reaching the faculty lounge, Ms. Lien Huong began her story cheerfully: "Talking about teaching Vietnamese could take all day." Each of her stories seemed to be imbued with a love for the Vietnamese language, a passionate dedication to teaching, and a desire to spread love for her homeland, Vietnam, to the world.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong has participated in compiling and editing many Vietnamese language textbooks and books on Vietnamese culture.
The female lecturer shared: "If there is one more person who loves Vietnam, who has positive feelings towards Vietnam, that is a success for me. Therefore, my work in the university lecture halls here is not just about teaching the language, but much more than that. Teaching a foreign language is like giving learners a key so they can unlock the door to the culture, country, and people who speak that language."
Having started her job in February 2008, Ms. Lien Huong has now spent 16 years teaching Vietnamese at NTU, during which time she was awarded the Outstanding Teaching Achievement Award in her 15th year. This is especially remarkable for a Vietnamese language lecturer among thousands of lecturers at a university that includes Nobel Prize-winning professors.
" TEACHING VIETNAMESE IS... A MISSION"
At NTU, Vietnamese is an elective. Undergraduate and postgraduate students can choose to study it as a second language. In recent years, the majority of students have Vietnamese parents, but in the past, students chose Vietnamese for other reasons, such as wanting to have job opportunities in Vietnam, or to learn about Vietnamese culture , cuisine , and the Vietnamese community here. Not only at the undergraduate level, but since 2019, Vietnamese has become a compulsory language in elementary schools and is one of the elective foreign languages at the junior high school level in Taiwan.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong in a Vietnamese language class at NTU.
Looking back on her 16 years of teaching Vietnamese, the female lecturer said she has seen many changes in the number of foreign students choosing to study this language. Ms. Lien Huong recalled:
"Sixteen years ago, the entire university only had one Vietnamese language class with fewer than 10 students. Now, the number has gradually increased to hundreds of students each year, and Vietnamese has become one of the most popular languages here." Notably, students studying Vietnamese come not only from Taiwan but also from many other countries such as Germany, the United States, Japan, and South Korea… "Although it cannot yet be compared to some other major foreign languages, for a Southeast Asian language to have such a position in a world-ranked university is truly a source of great pride," the Vietnamese lecturer expressed.
Not only has the number of students increased, but the importance of the Vietnamese language course is also reflected in the changing target audience. While previously, students from Taiwan and other countries enrolled in the course in large numbers, in the last 5-7 years, an increasing number of Vietnamese expatriates (with Vietnamese parents) have expressed a desire to return to study Vietnamese. "After just 1-2 years of studying, many students can text and write letters to me in Vietnamese. There have been times when I was so moved that I almost cried hearing them use the phrase: 'I want to go back to Vietnam' instead of saying 'I want to go to Vietnam'. It's touching not only because they understand the difference in meaning between the two words 'go' and 'return' but also because of their feelings for their homeland," Ms. Lien Huong expressed emotionally.
With heartfelt dedication, the female lecturer added: "Beyond promoting the Vietnamese language, I hope that through this work, I can help the younger generations of Vietnamese expatriates (F2) understand their homeland, Vietnam, more deeply. They can learn to name, write reports, and introduce the homeland of their parents. These are small building blocks contributing to the construction of an invisible bridge connecting over 5 million Vietnamese expatriates around the world with their homeland. For these reasons, Vietnamese language lecturers here, including myself, don't see this as just a job, but as a mission."
Her childhood dream of becoming an architect didn't come true, but lecturer Nguyen Thi Lien Huong may not have known that she had inadvertently become an architect of language and culture.
Author of bestselling Vietnamese books.
Besides teaching, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong is also known as the author of many Vietnamese-language textbooks published in Taiwan and the United States. Sharing her thoughts on these two endeavors, Ms. Lien Huong observed: "While teaching Vietnamese only impacts a limited number of students, writing books allows for a much broader reach."
The author believes: "Language and culture are two intertwined categories. When you interact with another language, it means you are also interacting with the culture that uses that language. Therefore, in her books, she has incorporated many cultural elements. For example, introducing the cuisine of the three regions of Vietnam, the use of honorifics in family meals - the first connection in every Vietnamese family…".
Perhaps it was with that mindset that "Hello Vietnam" became the best-selling Vietnamese-language book in Taiwan and ranked second among newly published foreign language books when it was released in 2016. In 2021, she collaborated with Tuttle Publishing House to release the first Vietnamese Picture Dictionary in the United States. This was the next edition in her series of books on teaching and learning Vietnamese that she created while in Taiwan. Through this book, the author received many messages and affirmations from readers via letters.
To date, Ms. Lien Huong has participated in compiling and editing more than 16 Vietnamese language textbooks and books on Vietnamese culture. In addition to writing books, she is also a co-translator of many classic Vietnamese literary works (which have been adapted into comic books) into Chinese, such as: The Adventures of the Cricket, The Flag Embroidered with Six Golden Characters…
With her interdisciplinary experience and engaging voice, the female lecturer was also invited to host the Vietnamese-language news program for the Taiwan Immigration Agency (NIA) and Taiwan's PTS Television. Every Friday, viewers of this television channel know her in her role as a news editor.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-dua-tieng-viet-vao-top-cac-ngoai-ngu-duoc-chon-hoc-nhieu-nhat-185250103201113712.htm
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