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How long have you been teaching Vietnamese?

Dear Jakejas, I have been teaching Vietnamese for 2 years. How long have you been studying Vietnamese?

I have been married for over a year, so about two years, but my study has not been very consistent. I have picked up a little bit from my wife and my in-laws, but I do not speak that well yet. Next year we will be moving to Saigon, and I will start studying it harder.

I am happy to know that you could have picked up a little from your wife and your in-laws. I think your Vietnamese is quite good now. In my opinion, you should improve your Vietnamese at Hanoi now. If your Vietnamese is better, it will be easier for you at Saigon. The life is faster in Saigon  than in Hanoi. If you have free time at the weekend, We can meet and I can tell you some good ways to speak Vietnamese.
Regards,
Hoang

jakejas wrote:

I have been married for over a year, so about two years, but my study has not been very consistent. I have picked up a little bit from my wife and my in-laws, but I do not speak that well yet. Next year we will be moving to Saigon, and I will start studying it harder.

The secret is immersion.  Your crutch is the English language.  Babies learn a new language because they don't know anything prior and they're immersed in their parent's language. 

If you want to start studying hard, make a pact with your wife to only speak Vietnamese, no matter how tough the communication gets, at home during Vietnamese Hour.  You put on your Vietnamese hat and are not allowed one word of English.  This LAW goes for husband and wife.  If either of you break this LAW, then the Vietnamese Hour clock resets to zero and you have to begin conversing with each other for another hour.

You'll start by pointing to things....here's my easy rule of thumb when teaching practical English to Vietnamese...you can use it in reverse for learning practical Vietnamese.

Your right hand has 5 fingers and a wrist.

The thumb = Who
Index Finger = What
Middle Finger = When
Ring Finger = Where
Pinkie = Why
Wrist = How

The 5 W's are the basis of all basic conversations since they're questions that cover everything you need to survive.

In Vietnamese then:

The thumb = ai
Index Finger = cái gì   
Middle Finger = khi nào
Ring Finger = ở đâu
Pinkie = tại sao
Wrist = làm sao

Here = đây

So like a baby who doesn't know anything....you cannot think of the object by it's English name.  So like a baby you ask your mother (wife) while pointing:

What's this?


cái gì đây?


To which your wife will say:  Bàn

I don't need to translate what Bàn means to you in English because you already saw the picture.  So in your head, it is NOT a [English word deleted] but a Bàn. 

Your brain will start associating the object as you see it with the name that it's called in Vietnamese and will retrieve that data when it knows that it's in a Vietnamese environment. 

This tip works well in Vietnam when you're at the market or on the street needing to ask a simple question.  Your brain is amazing and will pick up things very fast when it's in survival mode.

Thirsty and about to die?  It's amazing how your brain will quickly learn how to ask for water in the local language.

Tran, that is probably one of the best pieces of advice I have received. I was going to wait until we moved to VN to start studying harder because I thought that it would take too much time while I am still in school, but I like your idea. I will try it with my wife and hope that it doesn't turn into an hour of silence.