International Student Program

International Student Program Vietnamese Culture-bound Values and Sensitivity Presenter: Dung Ngoc Tran November 2009

An Outline • Communication Style • System of Education • Adjustment Challenges • General Greetings

Sentimentalism vs. rationalism • Culturally unawareness, worldly insufficient • Topological patterns: circular locution, essay pattern (less > more important), impractical, lack of reality • Yes/no responses: nodding of head for both types of answers • Student service strategies for effective two-way communication Communication Style

Sentimentalism vs. Rationalism • Sentimentalism- Vietnamese people listen to the voice of the heart. I only support what I like.- A penny of love is worth a pound of laws. • Rationalism- Other peoples, especially Westerners, listen to the voice of the mind. I support what is right in common sense. - Rule of laws.

Culturally Unawareness and Worldly Insufficient • Culturally unawareness- Vietnamese youth are not aware of what is going on around the world. They have no ideas of idiomatic expressions. • Worldly insufficient- Vietnamese youth are worldly enough as to understand what people say to them. They are well informed politically and socially.

Topological patterns • Circular locution. Vietnamese youth in particular tend to beat around the bush. • Essay pattern (less > more important) • Impractical, lack of reality, using a lot of quotes, famous sayings and not focusing on the topic.

Yes/no questions • Replying to yes/no unclear. Tendency of nodding of the head for positive and negative statements. • It is resulted from the language and cultural practice: highly hierarchical as Dạ ‘a polite marker’ begins a statement : For instance: Mom to son: Do want some cake? - Son: Dạ, please give me some (with the shaking of the head) Or Mom to son: Do want some cake? - Son: Dạ, khôngmeaning ‘No’. I don’t want any. (without shaking of the head)

Student Services Strategies • Counseling • Administrative Procedures • Translation Service • Methods of Assessment

System of Education • Memorization • Yearly system vs. credit system • Unreliable independent education institutes, fake documents • Student services techniques to address lack of academic disclosure

Memorization • Memorization is the key learning style of all Vietnamese children. They are supposed to memorize all the given essays, readings and poems, especially patriotic ones that promote the heroic figures during the past war. • Students are not supposed to write creatively. Instead, they must show how well they memorize the given materials.

Yearly system vs. Credit system • Most public colleges and universities in Vietnam are implementing the yearly system, with which a student who fails one of the courses would have to repeat all other courses. • Credit system is still something new to them.

Unreliable independent educational institutes, fake documents • Private-owned schools are mushrooming in Vietnam. However, reliable educational institutes are not many. Certificates and degrees could be purchased, and they have prices. • Fake documents are easily obtained due to corruption

Assignments: class work, budgeting time for reading and writing • It is advisable to know that Vietnamese students study more than needed. It is because exams or tests in Vietnam are extremelydifficult to completely accomplish. • Vietnamese students do read, but what they read have nothing do with their class work. • Teachers here should encourage them to read books related to the subject matter.

Student Services Techniques to address lack of academic disclosure • Accredited educational institutes • Uses of academic terms • Names of a degree, of courses, and credits per course • Names of certificates, called “under-degree” certification • Original copies of all certificates or degrees (proof for authenticity – how the channel works at the present time)

Adjustment Challenges • Language barrier, sentence structure, essay writing • Writing styles: lack of practical, personal opinions, unaware of thinking maps, using old sayings or quotes, proverbs, maxims instead of personal experience of feeling • Assignments: class work + budgeting time for reading and writing • Student services support and programming recommendations to help students cope with adjustment challenges

Language Barrier, Sentence Structure, Essay Writing • Language barrier is the first obstacle for Vietnamese students. They speak Vietish taught by Singlish, Taiwanish, Tagalish, … teachers. • Vietnamese students are good at grammar, and they are able to write single sentences correctly. • Vietnamese students are not familiar with 5-paragraph essay writing.

Writing Style • As stated earlier, the most familiar writing style most Vietnamese students possess is impractical. They tend to fancify things, which are mostly unreal or imaginery. • Students are not used to expressing their own feeling, idea, or view about anything. They must need something to rely on. • If they can write, they will make a lot of transfer from Vietnamese way of writing into English.

Students Services Support and Programming recommendations to help students cope with adjustment challenges • Original copy of transcript • Original copy of certificate of degree • Hints on Culture Shock

Hints on Culture Shock Behavior • A Vietnamese student is usually good a listener but a poor speaker. • A Vietnamese student is usually timid and is not used to speaking to a crowd. • A Vietnamese student, usually silent, occasionally smiles or grins while listening. • A Vietnamese student prefers to talk to his/her teacher after class rather than during the class; he/she may know the answer but usually hesitates to speak up.

It is quite unfamiliar to a Vietnamese student when addressing his/her teacher as a Jack or a Jill. It should be as “Teacher” or “Mr. Jack,” or “Miss Jill.” • There is always a title to accompany one’s given name when addressing anyone. For example: Brother Nam, Sister Mai, … • Most Vietnamese people prefer walking barefoot in their homes, leaving their shoes at the door. • Vietnamese are sentimentalists. They highly regard to their seniors. The VN language well denotes such hierarchical concept.

Kinesics • Cross fingers - a bad gesture to a Vietnamese. • Signaling someone to come to you with your forefinger waving inward your body is an impolite gesture to a Vietnamese. • Nodding one’s head does not always mean “yes.” It may mean negatively as well. • Except for those who have been long in the US, hugging is not a common practice to a Vietnamese. • A girl smiling to a stranger is considered “shameful.”

Some DO’s and DON’T’s during Tết Lunar New Year • Don’t speak foul language; • Don’t break anything; • Don’t talk about unpleasant things, or display grief (crying, sighing, ...) • Don’t refuse to eat anything when invited; • Don’t be the first visitor unless you are invited. Arrive in late afternoon or on the second day;

Grammar Transfer • English active > Vietnamese passive: E.: He died of a heart attach.V.: He was died because of the illness of heartache. E.: He cut his finger.V.: He was cut his finger. E.: He broke his legV.: He was broken his leg

Vietnamese active > English passive: V.: He examine Dr. Doe.E.: He was examined by Dr. … V.:He bear in Vietnam.E.: He was born in Vietnam. V.: This house make by wood.E.: This house is made of wood …

Unless emphasized, a Vietnamese sentence does not need an article: I need pen and paper.He is engineer.They buy house new. • Unless emphasized, a Vietnamese sentence does not need a possessive adjective:He drive car. I have hat.He always wear hat when go out.

Dangling modifying. Vietnamese allows a great number of cases of this type. Here are some examples: >Talking for 2 hrs my mouth dry up. > By burning the midnight oil, my English better than before. > Confused by the difficult problem, the head it get headache > Walking for a long while, my legs hurt.

Order of adverbs in a sentence. Adverb of time stands at the beginning of a sentence: Tonight we will have guests. • Questions for future time, adverb of time stands initially; past time finally: When you go visit Vietnam? (future)You go visit Vietnam when? (past) • Adverb of time is before adverb of place: The meeting will be at 3:00 pm tomorrow at International Student Center.

Double conjunctions: Vietnamese structure accepts two conjunctions – a subordinating and a coordinating – in one sentenceThough I tell you many times but you never listen to me. Because he no try study hard, so he fail in the Final exam.

Tenses in Vietnamese are marked by time phrases, not by the verbs Yesterday I go to restaurant with my friend.Tomorrow he begin go work. • In many cases, a Vietnamese sentence does not need a verb, especially one with an adjective. This flower beautiful.She sick all the time.We very happy.

Compartmentalization: Since a word can have many meanings, using a correct word for correct meaning is fairly difficult.Strong detergent eat skin.I pay for you the pen I borrow. • Dropping final sounds: Since Vietnamese is an implosive language. Most beginning and intermediate students tend to drop most of the finals when they speak and write English.

Topologic style: Vietnamese speakers tend to speak and write in circular locution: A: What are going to do tomorrow? B: Nothing. Why? A: I want to ask you for something? B: What is it? A: I’ll tell you what I need. … A: Hello. B: Hello. How are you? A: Not very happy. B: Why?

A: Because my son has been very sick. B: What does he have? A: I don’t know. He just doesn’t eat well. B: Huh? What’s wrong with him? Have you taken him to examine the doctor? A: No. I haven’t. B: Why? Take him to the hospital. A: I don’t have money. B: Do you want to borrow some? A: Yes, please. Thanks a lot. ….

The same situation, if between two English native speakers, the conversation might be like this: A: Hey, Judy, got some money I can borrow? B: What for and how much? A: My son is sick. I need a couple of hundred. B: Thanks a lot. • Basic English Structure may answer to many of the problems being presented.

Don’t wear or use things with white or black color or anything that suggests mournful manner; • Don’t sweep the floor in three days; • Don’t ask for money or the payment of debts

International Student Program