Vietnamese language books

    Greetings everyone,
Apart from learning Vietnamese online, North vs Central vs South, does anyone have any good books or textbooks that helped them on their journey to fluency?

So far I've been reading Essential Vietnamese phrasebook and dictionary by Phan Văn Giường (Tuttle) and I like it so far.

I've also read good reviews for Việt Ngữ Đảm Thoại Conversational Vietnamese by Bac Hoai Tran.

Can anyone chime in if they've heard of the second book and possibly list any other books that have helped them?

Mahja
   
    -@Mahja

No one becomes fluent through books.

You need real conversational lessons with native Tiếng Việt speakers.

Gotcha. In addition to native speakers, are there any books that you would recommend Ocean?

    Greetings everyone,
Apart from learning Vietnamese online, North vs Central vs South, does anyone have any good books or textbooks that helped them on their journey to fluency?

So far I've been reading Essential Vietnamese phrasebook and dictionary by Phan Văn Giường (Tuttle) and I like it so far.

I've also read good reviews for Việt Ngữ Đảm Thoại Conversational Vietnamese by Bac Hoai Tran.

Can anyone chime in if they've heard of the second book and possibly list any other books that have helped them?

An advantage to living in Vietnam over living in other SEA countries is their ~17th c. adoption of (or, coercion to adopt?) the Latin alphabet (to a degree, that is) by French Jesuit missionaries of that time. This allows present-day westerners to more easily navigate their way through the affairs of daily life. Being able to read a shop's/restaurant's/business's sign is a huge advantage.

That said, and I commend you on your studies through reading, you will soon find that only through personal interaction with local people will you be able to be understood. I say this not only with regard to one's Vietnamese proficiency, but also with regard to what local people expect to hear coming out of a foreigner's face. Only last week my GF (Vietnamese) and I stopped in at a local coffee shop here on Phu Quoc Island. I ordered, in Vietnamese, "one ice coffee, one ice coffee with milk, and one cold water" (notice I didn't include "Please", as this is considered pompous when spoken, but is mandatory in written brochures, textbooks, instruction manuals etc.). The waitress stood there, staring at me with a glazed look. I then said, again in Vietnamese, "I'm sorry. I thought you understood Vietnamese". Well, that's when she was taken aback, and when my GF started to get impatient with her, repeating to her my initial order. My GF told me that I had spoken perfectly. I've witnessed this several times over the years. Once the local person knows you, they'll then bend an ear to listen and try to understand you. This has been my experience.

I've not read either of the books you mentioned. Sorry.

I can, however, recommend a textbook I used upon enrolment at VNU, Saigon, Faculty of Vietnamese Studies (see below). The textbook came with two instructional/study CDs. The textbook provides a wealth of information, in English, as to mouth/tongue/lip placement when speaking Vietnamese.

I'm far-and-away from being anywhere near fluency. In fact, much of my polite, socially acceptable Vietnamese comes from my editing/censoring/splicing-together my (increasingly vast) repertoire of vulgarities and curses. I guess it's a reflection of the company I keep. Yeah, I like slumming.

As far as which part of Vietnam I plan to visit, my intention is to most likely travel to Hanoi and the surrounding Northern parts. Why? High heat and humidity are killer to me. I'm hoping the North is as cold as they say

You might want to take a read through this thread, titled "The Real Differences Between Hanoi and HCMC". My observations on the differences in weather are in post #9 of that thread.

Here is the textbook I studied from. I'm not sure if it is available outside of the university, but you might want to reach out to them.

https://i.postimg.cc/MHzVy65b/VSL1.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/s2FBYfDQ/VSL2.jpg

(having trouble uploading images. Links should work)

Lastly, I understand that these are two really good places to learn Vietnamese.

Northern m.youtube.com/@Tiengvietoi
Southern svff.online

Thank you,
Mahja
        -@Mahja

Not familiar with those, but I'll give a listen a little later today.

Test uploading images :

...Lastly, I understand that these are two really good places to learn Vietnamese.
Northern m.youtube.com/@Tiengvietoi
Southern svff.online
Thank you,
Mahja
        -@Mahja

The hosts of Tieng Viet Oi sound fun! If your intent is to settle up north, their vids will be a great help.

No idea about the commercial, "southern accent", svff folks, though.

@Mahja Hi Mahja,

I recommend you the textbook series "Vietnamese with ease"

You can contact @iSpeak Vietlingo to order the textbooks

@Aidan in HCMC

Hi Aidan,

You totally went above and beyond answering my questions! I truly thank you. 

An advantage to living in Vietnam over living in other SEA countries is their adoption of the Latin alphabet... Being able to read a shop's/restaurant's/business's sign is a huge advantage.

That said, and I commend you on your studies through reading, you will soon find that only through personal interaction with local people will you be able to be understood. I say this not only with regard to one's Vietnamese proficiency, but also with regard to what local people expect to hear coming out of a foreigner's face.

This.

This is one of the reasons why I wanted to learn Vietnamese. Essentially, I'd like to study a language that would initally appear familiar to me (Latin script) yet provide a culture rich in history that I know hardly anything about. To be able to converse with locals and everyone else in the same language, is my end goal.

Only last week my GF (Vietnamese) and I stopped in at a local coffee shop here on Phu Quoc Island. I ordered, in Vietnamese, "one ice coffee, one ice coffee with milk, and one cold water" (notice I didn't include "Please", as this is considered pompous when spoken, but is mandatory in written brochures, textbooks, instruction manuals etc.). The waitress stood there, staring at me with a glazed look. I then said, again in Vietnamese, "I'm sorry. I thought you understood Vietnamese". Well, that's when she was taken aback, and when my GF started to get impatient with her, repeating to her my initial order. My GF told me that I had spoken perfectly. I've witnessed this several times over the years. Once the local person knows you, they'll then bend an ear to listen and try to understand you. This has been my experience.

So was the waitress annoyed with your pronunciation or just surprised that you could speak properly? There was a funny YouTube clip about that. "Western Guy: speaking clear Japanese to waitress. Waitress: sorry I don't speak English"

I can, however, recommend a textbook I used upon enrolment at VNU, Saigon, Faculty of Vietnamese Studies (see below). The textbook came with two instructional/study CDs. The textbook provides a wealth of information, in English, as to mouth/tongue/lip placement when speaking Vietnamese.

I tried looking that textbook up but I can't find much online from my end. I did find this book when looking for yours "Tiếng Việt Cơ Sở Dành Cho Người Nước Ngoài Quyển 1". I don't know if it will suffice. As you said, I could always call the University.

You might want to take a read through this thread, titled "The Real Differences Between Hanoi and HCMC". My observations on the differences in weather are in post #9 of that thread.

Oh boy... enough said.

The hottest weather I've experienced was between Las Vegas, Nevada tied with Bakersfield, California (daytime) and The most humid weather I've experienced was eastern Iowa. I guess I'm a wimp, eh? I did go to Tijuana, Mexico 30 years ago. It was pretty hot there.

@Quynhchu

@Mahja Hi Mahja,

I recommend you the textbook series "Vietnamese with ease"

You can contact @iSpeak Vietlingo to order the textbooks

Hi Quynhchu,

Thank you for the book recommendation! I have just previewed Vietnamese with Ease. I will contact you shortly about possibly ordering that book through your website.

...So was the waitress annoyed with your pronunciation or just surprised that you could speak properly? There was a funny YouTube clip about that. "Western Guy: speaking clear Japanese to waitress. Waitress: sorry I don't speak English" -@Mahja

She was neither LOL!

Because of my "look", it didn't even register with her that I was speaking to her in Vietnamese.

Now, I have to confess my guilt for doing the same thing once up in Thai Nguyen.

At a bar up there, I met an int'l student from Ghana. He had, of course, a Ghanaian accent, and after asking his name three(!) times, I gave up and asked him to spell it for me.

"D-A-R-R-E-L-L", he replied. I was so embarrassed, and apologized profusely explaining that I was expecting an 'African' name. He laughed, and told me it happens to him regularly. (sigh)

BTW in Thai Nguyen, believe it or not, there are 14 universities, at least one of which offers courses in VN as a second language.

So was the waitress annoyed with your pronunciation or just surprised that you could speak properly? There was a funny YouTube clip about that. "Western Guy: speaking clear Japanese to waitress. Waitress: sorry I don't speak English" -@Mahja

It just dawned on me that you may have been referring to my comment, '"I'm sorry. I thought you understood Vietnamese". Well, that's when she (the waitress) was taken aback'.

I think that may have been the point at which the waitress realized that I had been speaking VN, hence her being surprised. I say surprised, but the look on her face may have been one of shock. Unfortunately, my GF snapping (a little) at her cut short any hope of my engaging her in any further conversation.

Lol, no worries 😉

I’ve tried book learning Vietnamese without much success. I recommend children’s books if anything? Fahasa has excellent selection.

My First 100 Words in Vietnamese is another one with flash cards. sorry cant remember author.

The biggest problem trying to learn any language from a book, is lack of feedback for pronunciation.

You need a Native Speaker for this, and frequently.

No point in saying a word or phrase over and over to yourself and finding out your pronunciation is wrong, which is essential in Vietnamese.

Most English speakers can understand the most appalling English pronunciations. Not Vietnamese. The slightest mis-tone and they simply don’t have a clue. They don’t consider context as we do in English to guess the correct word.

With regard to a previous comment about the waitress not understanding his perfect Vietnamese accent, - it’s extremely common.

I suspect he was right, given that he doesn’t look Vietnamese! Most Vietnamese do not expect to hear Vietnamese being spoken by a foreigner no matter how perfect.

After 10 years here, my common

expressions for ordering and asking basic questions are very clear, but are often taken with a ’no understand’ shrug. As a frequent customer of some shops, the servers know Im going to order in Vietnamese and it works.

I’d recommend trying Duolingo App rather than books.

Also, Hanoi gets very hot. I’d look at Da Lat if you can’t take the heat, or somewhere surrounded by rivers and trees -  google  Vinhomes Grandpark for a somewhat cooler atmosphere…

Good luck

I’d recommend trying Duolingo App rather than books.
Also, Hanoi gets very hot. I’d look at Da Lat if you can’t take the heat...    -@taurealist

Two excellent recommendations 👍

@taurealist

The biggest problem trying to learn any language from a book, is lack of feedback for pronunciation.

You need a Native Speaker for this, and frequently.

No point in saying a word or phrase over and over to yourself and finding out your pronunciation is wrong, which is essential in Vietnamese.

I'd recommend trying Duolingo App rather than books.

Ahh yes, in addition to my books (and Duolingo), I was going to try and use a tutoring app, like italki.

I am also going to try and download a messaging app too, I think it is called Zalo (?)

Also, Hanoi gets very hot. I'd look at Da Lat if you can't take the heat, or somewhere surrounded by rivers and trees -  google  Vinhomes Grandpark for a somewhat cooler atmosphere…

Good luck

+Da Lat. I am also interested in Sa Pa, Cao Bằng and Lạng Sơn.

Thank you for your advice and recommendations, taurealist.

Matt

@Aidan in HCMC

I was leaving the Pullman in Da Nang for a short ride to my apartment. "Anthuong Ba," my perfectly pronounced street name, seemed to confuse him. He thought I was speaking English. I love Vietnam.

No one becomes fluent through books. You need real conversational lessons with native Tiếng Việt speakers.     -@OceanBeach92107

Read the red - It's essential

There is a load of old rubbish talked about learning a new language, and most of it results in buying useless books.

The one and only way is buy the textbook native speaking babies use.

Yes, you're right - They don't use one.

Learn vocabulary in sets - 'Thank you' first, followed by numbers and 'how much?'

Move on to new sets of vocabulary, then very basic sentences

Table

This is a table

That is a table

This is a brown table

This is a big brown table

Knife, fork, spoon, and so on.

There is an excellent set of English text books from Singapore called, 'my pals'

If someone modified those into Vietnamese, I'd recommend them in a flash.

Simple, easy to swallow, structured vocabulay sets with very basic sentence structure is the key to learning any language.

Always start with the spoken word, and to Hades with grammar at first.

You can't go to a shop and ask for bananas in a grammatically correct sentence if you don't know the local word for bananas. If you know the word, you can just say that without the sentence. Then you need to know 'how much? and the numbers they answer with.

Remember - 'Thank you' is alway the first thing to learn in any language.

@Fred

So which books do you recommend Fred?

Jk

Read the red - It's essential

I think I got it now... Cảm ơn

There is an excellent set of English text books from Singapore called, 'my pals'

If someone modified those into Vietnamese, I'd recommend them in a flash.

Simple, easy to swallow, structured vocabulay sets with very basic sentence structure is the key to learning any language.

My Pals are Here! English (Singapore) Series (I'm looking at them now) and yes, too bad they're not in Vietnamese.

You can't go to a shop and ask for bananas in a grammatically correct sentence if you don't know the local word for bananas. If you know the word, you can just say that without the sentence. Then you need to know 'how much? and the numbers they answer with.

I totally understand what everyone's saying. I feel like some of you think that my post was meaning that books were the ONLY way to fluency, which is not what I wrote. However, I understand now that learning Vietnamese is a lot different from learning English.

And I DO appreciate your help, Fred! So, cảm ơn!

Something that hasn't been mentioned in this thread is the ability to engage the services of a Vietnamese teacher here in Vietnam over the internet.

You just need to make sure you are learning from someone trustworthy who speaks proper Hanoi Tiếng Việt AND can be easily understood by you when they speak English.

@Mahja hello expats.  I will say my opinion:  I found learning japanese or korean just from movies with western subtitles  easier to me than Vietnamese

It's extremely difficult to learn how to count numbers in  Vietnamese  just from a book. Similar to Chinese or Thai languages: Vietnamese is a tonal language, that means that a single word has different meaning depending on its accent/pronunciation. For example "ma" could mean ghost, mother, but, horse, tomb, or rice (ma má mà mã mả mạ) 

Spanish has 2 tones, Chinese has 4 tones, Thai has 5, but Vietnamese: 6

Another fact is that Vietnamese words are all monosyllables.  In any other language if you make a mistake when pronouncing some few words in your sentence, it won't be so difficult to get what your are trying to say. But in Vietnamese, your mistake will destroy your communication at all.

If you want to be an autodidact of Vietnamese language, you will better need a friendly tutor, or the Mondly App or also there is a very good channel in Youtube: "slowvietnamese" with hundred of casual videos subtitled in Vietnamese and English.

@OceanBeach92107

I think I'm going to start with these guys.

***

I've heard pretty good reviews and I think their pricing is reasonable. Plus, they have teachers in Da Nang so if I were to change my mind and head that way, I'm set!