An energetic teacher who always supports the younger generation.

Starting his career as a translator for a two-year university program in Russian (1958-1960), Associate Professor Nguyen Xuan Hoa found his calling in teaching. After two years working at the Tay Hieu farm (Nghe An province), he transferred to the education sector, working at the Thanh Xuan Foreign Language School in Hanoi (now Hanoi University), where he lectured in Russian from 1962 to 1978. Despite his busy schedule, he attended advanced training courses to earn his four-year university degree in Russian (1977). In 1978, the Ministry of Education transferred him to Hanoi University, where he was assigned to head the Russian Language and Literature Department at the Faculty of Foreign Languages. From 1995, he became a lecturer at the Faculty of International Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. It was from this point that his research and teaching career began to flourish.

Associate Professor, Doctor, Distinguished Teacher Nguyen Xuan Hoa

It's no exaggeration to say that he was one of the people who contributed to the spread of Russian culture in Vietnam. This wasn't purely because he was a native Russian speaker, but because of his soul and his love for his fellow countrymen on the other side of the globe. To put it poetically, his soul was imbued with Russian culture from time immemorial. This led him not only to passionately participate in numerous research projects related to understanding and studying Russian culture, but also to actively contribute as a co-author to the Vietnamese-Russian textbook dictionary (over 1,400 pages), which received the Silver Award for "Excellent Book" from the Vietnam Publishers Association in 2008, and to translate several valuable Russian literary works. Readers will find it hard to forget Nguyen Xuan Hoa's unique translation style through his works.Tarat Septrenko(Translated story), Rainbow Publishing House, Moscow, 1988;Lyric poetry by A. Blok(Selected translations), Hanoi National University Publishing House, 2007… Nguyen Xuan Hoa's unique characteristic in translation is that, whether translating poetry or prose, he closely adheres to the style of the original author, not transforming the original's way of speaking or expression into his own. This is not easy for many translators. We know that many translators, though highly proficient in foreign languages, have distorted the original style of poetry when translating literary works. For example, reading their translations, we might find that Lermontov's style resembles Pushkin's, or Blok's style resembles Esenin's… Nguyen Xuan Hoa is different. He adheres closely to the meaning of the text, but instead of translating word for word, he pays attention to the cultural context to convey the important imagery that the artist wants to transmit. Therefore, his translations of poetry are often accurate yet imaginative, free-flowing yet not straying far from the original. Generally speaking, when translating, he never transformed other people's poems into his own. He likely achieved this by accumulating a wealth of linguistic knowledge through both teaching and research. This is also why he later successfully completed his doctoral dissertation in linguistics and gradually transitioned into a true linguist.

Professors of Linguistics: Top row: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Dat, Prof. Dr. Tran Tri Doi, Prof. Dr. Le Quang Thiem, Prof. Dr. Dinh Van Duc, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoa, the late Prof. Dr. Nguyen Cao Dam, the late Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tai Can

A highlight of Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoa's scientific career is his constant self-improvement in all circumstances. Therefore, although he studied foreign languages ​​domestically, he possesses a highly fluent command of Russian thanks to his extensive vocabulary, grammar, and keen ear for phonetics. For many years, he was trusted to serve as an examiner assessing the Russian language proficiency of numerous professor and associate professor candidates for the Literature chuyên ngành (specialized) council, and was also invited by the State to translate many important documents: From December 1981 to May 1982, he was assigned by the Central Committee's Foreign Affairs Department to translate documents for the 5th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Hanoi; subsequently, from March 1982 to May 1982, he was again invited to translate documents for the 3rd Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party in Vientiane. Following this translation assignment, he attended an advanced Russian language course at the AS Pushkin Institute of Russian Language in Moscow for one year (1982-1983) and continuously worked as a scientific collaborator at the Faculty of Philology, Lomonosov Moscow State University for three months each year in 1984, 1986, and 1988. Due to his passion for linguistic research, from 1998, after retirement, he continued to work as an adjunct and visiting lecturer for the Faculty of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (1998-2003).

In science, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoa is serious, meticulous, and sometimes quiet, but in life he is energetic, enthusiastic, and even very lively. This explains why he is always present at scientific research conferences and thesis defense ceremonies for master's and doctoral students, and even at undergraduate graduation thesis defenses as a supervisor, reviewer, or committee member, despite having retired in 1998. In postgraduate training at the Department of Linguistics and the Academy of Social Sciences, he has successfully supervised 5 master's theses in linguistics, 2 doctoral dissertations in Russian philology, and 1 doctoral dissertation in linguistics. Currently, he is supervising 2 doctoral candidates in linguistics. Furthermore, he was an active participant in the activities of the Hanoi Linguistics Association, serving as its President for six years from 2008 to 2014. During this time, he demonstrated his strong organizational and diplomatic skills. Thanks to his personal prestige and the direction of the Hanoi Linguistics Association's activities, he received support from many businesses and established an operating fund for the Association amounting to tens of millions of dong. Although the amount is not large, for a professional association, it is a rare achievement. I recall that recently, at the 4th Congress of the Hanoi Linguistics Association, term 2015-2019, held in January 2015 at the Institute of Linguistics, Professor Tran Ngoc Them, who came from Ho Chi Minh City to attend the Congress, was deeply moved when he said: “Indeed, I am very surprised because normally, when attending a professional association like this, we have to pay a donation. Here, not only do we not have to contribute, but we also receive additional support. This shows that the Hanoi Linguistics Association is truly a very strong association…”

Currently, due to exceeding the age limit, he no longer holds the position of Chairman of the Association, but he is still trusted and elected as Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Association. Despite his busy professional and association work, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoa still dedicates a part of his life to literature, participating in the Hanoi Writers Association. Occasionally, we still encounter his critical writings or translations published in books and newspapers, written in a fresh and vibrant style. Reading these writings, we see no trace of aging in his pen, only a soul brimming with vitality, enthusiasm, and dedication. It seems that fate has bestowed a special favor upon him, so that even at nearly 80 years old, he remains as quick-witted and brilliant as someone in their middle age. Both in his professional activities and in his life, he always integrates himself with younger generations, maintaining close relationships with them. Perhaps this is the reason why he seems to remain eternally young. Even now, he remains an energetic teacher, always accompanying young people. Due to his many contributions to his professional and social activities, he has received many prestigious awards: the Third Class Resistance Medal against the American War (1985), the title of Excellent Teacher (2008), and a Certificate of Merit from the Chairman of the People's Committee of Hanoi City for his achievements in commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi (2011).