It’s no secret that Vietnamese students struggle with English. Like many other Asian countries, Vietnamese people begin their English education very early at school, yet they find themselves helpless when it comes to speaking English. Words do not come out. Many Vietnamese students do have the words, they either heard them or read them but they can’t say them. The problem is that those poor Vietnamese students are often taught English by Vietnamese teachers. Vietnamese teachers teach Vietnamese English. Vietnamese English is wrong English because it’s English spoken with Vietnamese sounds produced by a Vietnamese mouth. Here’s another problem. Once a person speaks a language in a wrong way over a long period of time, he or she will always speak it wrong, it becomes a habit, a nasty habit, like smoking or drinking.
Vietnam is not the only Asian country with this problem, Japan, Korea and China all have the same problem. Unfortunately, a group of hard-headed, stubborn and ignorant old farts running the show. They do not know the meaning of change. They do not have logic or common sense. They are not willing to challenge themselves or their students out of their comfort zone. Here’s why.
Most people seem to believe that speaking the language WITHOUT an accent may imply a change of someone’s identity. In other words, if you speak good English, like really good English, you’re not Vietnamese enough! If you speak English without a Japanese accent, you are no longer Japanese, or you’re not Japanese enough. You are in danger of being “de-Japanized”! Whoa! The “de-Japanizing” process has begun!
The funny thing is the young generation is changing anyway regardless of language. I have met hundreds of Chinese students in Australia and I guarantee you, they are very different from their parents or grandparents. They speak “horrible” English and guess what! They are not “Chinese” enough! I certainly hope they are not. I’m sure older Chinese did not skip classes to play video games! That’s not Chinese is it?
Back to Vietnam and Vietnamese, the students have potential and I’m sure they can be great speakers of English but they need physical training just because of the vast differences between the two languages Teachers MUST TRAIN their students, NOT teach. Teach less, train more. Train their mouths and ears. Train them in the sound system of the language. Unless you do that, those poor guys do not stand a chance. They will never be able to speak the language well. What a waste!
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