In recent years, Vietnamese language contests in Japan, such as speech competitions, photo contests, and proficiency exams, have been flourishing. These activities not only help improve language skills but also contribute to preserving and promoting the mother tongue within the community of around 600,000 Vietnamese people living, studying, and working in Japan. They also serve as a platform for international students studying Vietnamese to practice and demonstrate their understanding of the Vietnamese language and culture.

In the ancient city of Chartres, just over an hour’s drive from Paris, Hoang Thi Nhi, a woman from Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, faithfully teaches her two children to speak Vietnamese, read Vietnamese books, and sing Vietnamese children’s songs. Nhi shared that preserving the Vietnamese language for her children is not a “task,” but a small daily joy. “As long as Vietnamese is spoken in our home, I feel that my homeland is still very close.”

From the online classes of the Yeu Tieng Viet (Love Vietnamese) School in Australia, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a “companion” that helps hundreds of overseas Vietnamese students explore the beauty of their mother tongue in a more lively and creative way. Thanks to AI, every lesson, every story, and every picture has become a journey that connects the children more closely with their homeland.

These are the insights shared by Prof. Dr. Nguyen Minh Thuyet, Chief Editor of the 2018 General Education Curriculum, aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of teaching Vietnamese to children of overseas Vietnamese communities.