German student writes 700-page thesis in Vietnamese and gets perfect score

Etienne Mahler (Vietnamese name is Minh)

Special student

Etienne Mahler (Vietnamese name is Minh) is a German student at the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

As a young man born and raised in Germany, however, after a trip to Vietnam as a student exchange student, Etienne Mahler developed a passion and love for the country and people of Vietnam. Immediately after that, Etienne Mahler decided to stay in Vietnam to study and has been there for more than 7 years now.

The special impression about this German student is his thesis which is more than 700 pages long and the arduous journey of writing his graduation thesis.

When he began his thesis, Etienne Mahler chose the topic "Difficulties of the Vietnamese Government in preventing the Covid-19 epidemic"But Vietnam's luck is that it has controlled the epidemic very well, with the joint efforts of the entire people and the entire government.

At that time, Etienne Mahler had completed half of his thesis. But Etienne Mahler understood that the nature of research is to find something new, not to research a problem that has already had results. Therefore, all of Etienne Mahler's previous research had to stop.

Thanks to his diligence and high logical thinking ability, Etienne Mahler made a bold decision to change the research topic of his thesis with the topic: "Engineering Education at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi (USSH-VNU): Current Status, Expectations and Development Orientation".

The main objective of the study is to analyze and evaluate the development and status of digital education in teaching and learning at USSH, especially during the complicated period of the Covid-19 pandemic when students have to study online a lot.
 

Etienne Mahler took a photo with Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Former Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU)

The special thing about this thesis is that it includes more than 125 pages of content and 600 pages of appendices in Vietnamese. This is one of the few graduation theses of foreign students with such serious and elaborate investment.

With his intelligence and philosophical background from Germany, along with his determination, Etienne Mahler did an excellent thesis that won over all four teachers in the thesis evaluation board with four perfect 10s.

Dr. Dang Hoai Giang, lecturer of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, said: "Etienne Mahler is a special student of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language with good Vietnamese proficiency, dynamism, and quick integration into the living and learning environment. Although he is a foreign student, Etienne Mahler is known by most students in the school. In addition, Etienne Mahler always actively participates in school and faculty activities. In particular, this student has rich scientific research qualities."

Dr. Le Thi Thanh Tam - who guided Etienne Mahler to complete his thesis excellently shared: "Etienne Mahler is an extremely intelligent person, has high logical thinking and is sensitive in scientific research. His critical thinking is quite good due to his solid foundation in Philosophy knowledge.
 

Etienne Mahler at the School's opening ceremony

During his graduation thesis, Etienne Mahler always stood out as a self-reliant student, thinking and developing problems on his own, solving problems in depth. Not only that, he was also a hard-working foreign student, willing to research and seek new knowledge.

When doing their graduation thesis, many foreign students want their instructors to correct them a lot, but Etienne Mahler doesn't want his instructor to correct him too much. He wants objectivity and the confidence to express what he has learned during his 7 years in Vietnam.

"For Vietnamese students, a graduation thesis of more than 100 pages is already a big problem, while Etienne Mahler's thesis has a content structure of more than 125 pages, but the special thing is that the appendix is ​​up to 600 pages long. This is the most special thesis for me. This is also Etienne Mahler's confidence, personality and high responsibility" - Dr. Le Thi Thanh Tam emphasized.

Continue studying for master's and doctorate degrees in Vietnam

Sharing with PV, Etienne Mahler said: "When I first started learning Vietnamese, the most difficult thing for me was how to pronounce the accents in Vietnamese. German has no accents and German grammar is quite flexible, while Vietnamese grammar is more complicated. Only then did I understand the "joke" of Vietnamese people: "Storms are not as bad as Vietnamese grammar".

Because I had studied Chinese before and was familiar with using accents, I was able to confidently communicate and use Vietnamese fluently. Not only that, I could also research topics in Vietnamese, which was something I had never thought of before."

Etienne Mahler - received the First Prize in Student Scientific Research for the 2017-2018 school year

During my time at school, I did scientific research "Comparing the independence of young generations in German and Vietnamese societies" by Etienne Mahler under the guidance of Dr. Dang Hoai Giang won the second prize in student scientific research at the Hanoi National University (2017-2018 school year), and won the first prize at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Faculty.

Etienne Mahler said that during his studies at the school, the teachers of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities also helped him a lot, such as Mr. Dang Hoang Giang who helped him understand the structure of language usage, correct spelling mistakes and many problems in life. Teachers in Vietnam are more enthusiastic and caring than in Germany. This makes him love the learning culture here. Teachers also always understand the difficulties and problems of foreign students so they can help as quickly as possible.

Etienne Mahler is considered by his friends to be a very friendly person. As a class monitor, Etienne Mahler is always responsible for foreign students. Etienne Mahler can fluently use foreign languages ​​such as English, Vietnamese or Chinese (communication). Therefore, Etienne Mahler has been able to bring people closer together.

Etienne Mahler and foreign students take a photo with Dr. Tran Bach Hieu during a class on Ho Chi Minh Thought.

In addition to his passion for learning about the Vietnamese language, Etienne Mahler also loves taking photos and exploring the spiritual and cultural tourist destinations of the S-shaped land. Etienne Mahler's desire is to discover all the wonderful things, new lands and customs of the Vietnamese people.

When asked about his plans after graduation, Etienne Mahler said: "I want to continue living and continue to be attached to and participate in the further development of culture, society and the Vietnamese people. However, due to the difficulties in legal procedures on paper, I will find every way to be able to stay in Vietnam for a long time. In the near future, I will prepare to study for a master's and doctorate in Vietnam to thoroughly understand the culture, language and people here."

Currently, in addition to studying, Etienne Mahler is also an editor and translator for several newspapers and scientific magazines (Social Sciences Journal and Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Journal) and does "freelance" work for teachers in need.

It can be seen that the people, culture and language of Vietnam have made a German young man passionate and unable to leave. Vietnamese education is still having a significant attraction for international students if the humane, liberal and innovative factors are always respected. Etienne Mahler's love for Vietnamese language and culture continues to help Vietnamese people believe more in their national values ​​and identity.