Mr. Nguyen The Duong (far left) and the "Ambassadors of the Vietnamese Language" honored at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Vietnamese Language Appreciation Day (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Driven by a passion for researching the Vietnamese language.
Nguyen The Duong is a student of the 44th cohort of the Faculty of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. After graduation, he worked at the Institute of Linguistics – Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and taught Linguistics at the Academy of Social Sciences. In 2011, he received a scholarship to pursue a PhD at the University of Queensland (Australia).
He shared: "My knowledge, love, and passion for researching and understanding languages in general, and Vietnamese in particular, have been nurtured since my time studying at the Faculty of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities. During my studies, research, work, and life in Australia, I clearly saw the importance of preserving the Vietnamese language for children abroad. Vietnamese is not only a link connecting these children to their homeland and family, but also an essential asset for their future lives in a multicultural society. Preserving the Vietnamese language means preserving one's own identity. However, it is regrettable that the erosion of the mother tongue among children is still occurring, including in the case of my own son. Even in many families, if parents and grandparents cannot speak English, they cannot communicate with their children and grandchildren." Since then, I've always been troubled by the thought: if these children can learn various foreign languages, why can't they become fluent in Vietnamese, their mother tongue? I clearly saw that Vietnamese children lacked a complete, up-to-date, and methodically sound curriculum for learning Vietnamese abroad. This motivated me to quickly begin compiling a curriculum to provide them with learning materials.
"At the end of 2016, I collaborated with two colleagues from the Institute of Linguistics, Ms. Tran Huong Thuc and Dr. Pham Thi Huong Quynh, to compile the book series "My Vietnamese Language." Ms. Tran Huong Thuc is also a former student of the K44 Linguistics class. After two years, the book series was published by the National University Publishing House."
In 2021, our book series won second prize (the highest award) in the "Compilation of textbooks and teaching materials for Vietnamese language instruction for Vietnamese people abroad" competition organized by the Ministry of Education and Training. Currently, "My Vietnamese" is being taught in the "Vietnamese Language" program on VTC10 channel of the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and VTC Digital Television.
The book series "My Vietnamese Language" is co-edited by Dr. Nguyen The Duong and his colleagues.
Alongside compiling the textbook "My Vietnamese Language," I also continued to focus on researching and publishing numerous works on mother tongues and language education in the context of different countries.
...to open a school to teach Vietnamese to children and overseas Vietnamese.
Immediately after the "My Vietnamese" book series was released, I took it to Australia.
"With the desire to preserve our mother tongue and spread love for the Vietnamese language and culture to a large number of overseas Vietnamese, I, together with Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Thuy, a former student of the 44th cohort of Linguistics at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, opened the 'Love Vietnamese' school, which specializes in teaching Vietnamese to Vietnamese children abroad."
I am currently the CEO of the school. Currently, Yêu Tiếng Việt has thousands of students enrolled from over 30 countries and territories, ranging from the USA, Australia, the UK, France, Germany, and Japan to countries with relatively small Vietnamese populations such as Guyane, Cameroon, and Saudi Arabia.
Besides his passion for teaching Vietnamese, Mr. Nguyen The Duong actively organizes and participates in many activities to further spread the love of the Vietnamese language to Vietnamese communities around the world, such as: the "Vietnamese Language Festival" in 2019 in Brisbane, the "Love Tet" cultural program organized annually by the Love Vietnamese School at the beginning of the year since 2021, the "A Tour of Hanoi" tour and the fundraising and exchange program to donate scholarships and books to Na Phon Primary and Secondary School (Mai Chau - Hoa Binh) in 2022, the Kamishibai reading art introduction program (in collaboration with Kim Dong Publishing House) in 2024, etc., and participated as a judge in the "I'm Super Vietnamese" competition organized by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Sydney. He also actively participates in advocating for the establishment of a Vietnamese Language Appreciation Day in the Vietnamese community abroad. He believes: “Having a day to honor the Vietnamese language is essential. This will be an opportunity to remind everyone with Vietnamese blood, whether in Vietnam or abroad, about preserving and promoting the value of the Vietnamese language in the era of globalization. Vietnamese Language Day will help bring Vietnamese people closer together, strengthen the solidarity of Vietnamese communities around the world, and also help enhance the status of the Vietnamese language in various countries.”
My greatest passion in the journey of preserving and spreading the beauty of the Vietnamese language around the world is...
Recalling the early days, the journey of preserving the Vietnamese language with the School for the Love of Vietnamese Language over the years has been filled with countless emotions and not a few difficulties. In our first Vietnamese language classes, some children already knew a little, but most could only speak a single sentence. Gradually, they uttered their first words in Vietnamese, much to the joy of their grandparents and parents. Many children were learning Vietnamese when their siblings joined in, and they loved it so much they joined too. Even more special were the non-Vietnamese parents who, seeing their children learning, also joined in. These are the values of spreading the Vietnamese language within the community that deeply move and inspire me.
This letter to her mother was written in Vietnamese by a young child after attending a Vietnamese language class at Dr. Nguyen The Duong's "Love Vietnamese" school.
My philosophy is: “Keep going, keep exploring, keep creating, gradually experience, and you will see how interesting, unique, and lovely this journey is.” Many teachers and families around the world are striving every day to keep the Vietnamese language flowing in foreign lands. Our School for Loving Vietnamese is very happy and proud to contribute a small part to that journey – the journey of preserving and conserving the Vietnamese language for generations of Vietnamese children abroad. We will strive even harder to bring the love of the Vietnamese language everywhere so that generations of Vietnamese children born and raised abroad will better understand and be proud to be Vietnamese, and feel more connected to their families and Vietnamese roots, while simultaneously enhancing the status of the Vietnamese language, the Vietnamese people, and Vietnam in countries around the world.
News reports:- Dan Tri Newspaper:
Five overseas Vietnamese honored as Ambassadors of the Vietnamese Language in 2024.- Labor Newspaper:
Revealing the 5 Vietnamese Ambassadors Abroad in 2024- Tuoi Tre Newspaper:
For the first time, honoring Vietnamese Ambassadors abroad.
