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A gentle face, a radiant smile, caring gestures, and a professional work style are the familiar keywords that colleagues and patients at the Ear, Nose, and Throat Department of the National Children's Hospital often use to describe Thuy Linh.
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Every year, as summer arrives and the admissions season begins, parents and students alike face the dilemma of choosing a major that suits their abilities, strengths, family finances, and especially career opportunities after graduation. Hopefully, Thuy Linh's shared experiences below will help students better understand the Linguistics major at VNU-USSH and confidently choose the field they love.
Vu Thuy Linh is a former student of the K52CLC class, Faculty of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. She is currently a speech therapist working at the Pediatric Audiology and Speech Therapy Unit, Department of Otolaryngology – National Children's Hospital, and is also a co-founder of Happy Link Speech Therapy Center. Thuy Linh's main responsibilities include assessing and providing speech and language therapy for children with speech and language difficulties and disorders; and advising and training teachers and parents on treating speech and language disorders in children. |
What led you to choose Linguistics as your major?
Thuy Linh:Initially, when I entered university, my major was Tourism Studies. Upon entering, I learned about the High-Quality Programs (CLC), including the Language CLC. Because there was an opportunity to switch majors and take an entrance exam for the CLC, I chose the Language CLC. Honestly, at first I didn't have much understanding of this field of study or the future job opportunities. I chose this major partly out of curiosity, and partly because I thought studying languages might help me speak better in the future.
But the more I studied, learned, and experienced, the more I realized that this is a truly interesting field of study that helps me develop my abilities and strengths.
When I started studying Linguistics, all the language-related subjects were truly impressive. Because when people think of language, they imagine learning something everyone already knows and uses daily. So what exactly is language learning, and what's so new about it? But in reality, these are academic and difficult subjects. Language is a tool of thought and a means of communication. Linguistics is one of the most important subjects in the social sciences and humanities; it's a foundational subject that relates to and influences many other disciplines.
Thùy Linh (far right) and a friend pose for a photo with Professor Dinh Van Duc on the occasion of attending a scientific conference at the Faculty of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
The curriculum also includes many interesting, novel, and intriguing subjects such as phonetics, pragmatics, intercultural linguistics, semantics, sociolinguistics, and journalistic and media language. However, these subjects also present a significant challenge for students because they are fields of linguistic science, requiring them to research, explore, and understand a wide range of related knowledge such as medicine, history, geography, and society.
The dedicated guidance of my teachers, the sharing and love of my classmates and friends in the faculty have helped me to continuously grow and have wonderful experiences throughout my four years of university studies at Hanoi University of Humanities.
Many people believe that it's difficult to find a job after studying academic linguistics. What are your thoughts on this opinion?
Thuy Linh:I agree that Linguistics is an academic science (as I mentioned above). Regarding job opportunities, I think the opportunities for social science majors are comparable. Linguistics graduates have job opportunities in many fields and professions, such as research and teaching of language (from primary school to postgraduate level); editors and broadcasters in newspapers; content development and multimedia communication in media companies; and teaching Vietnamese to foreigners. And especially recently, there's the increasing demand for jobs in speech therapy – a field with high societal needs. Linguistics students can find employment in many large hospitals, clinics, psychological and educational institutes, intervention and therapy centers, etc. In short, job opportunities are quite diverse. The important thing is that students need to equip themselves not only with specialized knowledge but also with general knowledge, foreign language skills, and other soft skills.
Thuy Linh (standing furthest left) poses with her classmates from the K52 Linguistics class at the university graduation ceremony.
How relevant are the knowledge and skills learned in the Linguistics Department to your current job? And based on your own experience, what do you think students need to cultivate while still in university to have good job opportunities?
Thuy Linh:Fortunately, my current job is directly related to language, so the in-depth knowledge I gained while studying at the Department of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, has been very helpful and frequently applied in my work. This is especially true for typical subjects such as phonetics, vocabulary, grammar, semantics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics, which are included in the Linguistics program at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
This has given me certain unique successes in speech therapy compared to other therapists who graduated with degrees in psychology or sociology.
"Doctor Linh" is the affectionate and familiar way that young patients call Thuy Linh whenever they come for a check-up.
Linguistics is a social science, so it's both dry and difficult. Therefore, to excel in language studies, those who have chosen this field of study should "love" it, be diligent, and maintain a scientific mindset. Language subjects are closely interconnected, so from the outset, we need to grasp the core essence of language and the science of linguistics.
Furthermore, to have good job opportunities related to language studies, students need to define their career goals from the end of their first year. From the second year onwards, specialized courses will become more numerous and specific, covering a wider range of fields. Clearly defining career goals from the beginning will help students choose, prioritize, and focus on suitable courses, as well as provide them with a goal to thoroughly research their specialized subjects. For example, if you aspire to become a speech therapist, then as a student, you will certainly need to study and hone your skills in subjects such as phonetics, vocabulary, semantics, grammar, etc., because the knowledge you acquire will undoubtedly be practically useful for your future career.
In addition, a common and very important skill that learners need to cultivate is foreign language skills to help access the wealth of knowledge in linguistic science, especially in pathological linguistics, around the world, and to have the opportunity to interact with friends, teachers, and experts worldwide.
When asked about her future plans, Thuy Linh openly shared:In the future, I still aspire to further develop my studies and professional career. If given the opportunity, I hope to continue working with the Faculty of Linguistics at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, welcoming and supporting interns for internships and research. I will also strive to organize and participate in more community service activities, especially those aimed at children needing speech and language therapy."
Thank you, Linh, for sharing such valuable information about the training program and career opportunities in Linguistics – a field of study that many students and parents are currently interested in. We wish Thuy Linh even more success on her chosen path. The Hanoi University of Humanities always welcomes you and other alumni back as mentors, continuing to guide and inspire passion for the field in the next generation of students. We also look forward to collaborating with the University in many community service activities.
