M.A. Bui Thi Phuong Chi
I was originally a teacher in the Department of Russian Literature. Due to changes in the world's political situation, we teachers in the Russian Department each had to find our own path. Some moved to other companies, while others went to teach English at other universities. And so, fate brought me to teaching Vietnamese as a foreign language in 1993.
After accumulating some experience and completing a course on Methodology for Teaching Vietnamese to Foreigners organized by the Institute of Social Sciences, and learning many valuable experiences from famous teachers in the fields of teaching Vietnamese to foreigners and linguistics such as Nguyen Tai Can, Nguyen Anh Que, Hoang Trong Phien, Phan Van Giuong, Cao Xuan Hao, Vo Xuan Trang, etc., in 1995 I began applying to the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies and have been teaching there ever since.
In those days, classrooms were in dilapidated, sweltering rows of houses. When the two ends of the hallways on the 2nd and 3rd floors of Building A were partitioned off, we had a few more rooms that looked slightly more decent. Sometimes, when classrooms were scarce, the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies had to rent or temporarily borrow the office of the Russian Department or the Center for Southeast Asian Studies to teach. The classrooms were partitioned by thin walls, so the teacher on one side could hear the teacher on the other clearly. Teaching materials were very limited. There were many types of textbooks at that time. During the period of the Center, we used Vietnamese textbooks written by overseas Vietnamese professors, where compound words were connected by hyphens; Vietnamese Language Textbook (Bilingual) by Prof. Phan Van Giuong published in Australia; Vietnamese Language Textbook by Assoc. Prof. Bui Phung from Hanoi; and Vietnamese Language Textbooks written by the teachers in the Faculty. In those days, audio-visual materials were really hard to find. We had to use small cassette players to record news broadcasts from the radio or record the teachers' voices. In the early years, students were mostly employees of large companies with decent English skills and clear goals, and the classes were not crowded, usually about 4-7 people. Although conditions were very difficult, the bond between teachers and students was quite close. The Faculty of Vietnamese Studies developed rapidly, and the number of students studying according to their own needs increased sharply. Many schools opened Vietnamese Studies majors, and many centers for teaching Vietnamese to foreigners were born, competing with us, competing right at the school gate like the Saigon Vietnamese Language School. Our Faculty of Vietnamese Studies still stood firm and developed.
The reason why the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies developed more than other Faculties and Centers for teaching Vietnamese in the city is that from those difficult days, the leaders of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies - Faculty of Vietnamese Studies always prioritized the interests of the students, caring for and paying attention to each student. At that time, the concept of caring for students like "customers" was perhaps quite strange, but at the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies, students were cared for and were given the opportunity to participate in bonding activities such as New Year's parties, and later, the Vietnamese Studies Festival days and Orientations. We teachers also tried our best to not only be teachers of knowledge but also bridges connecting cultures around the world with Vietnamese culture. We helped students overcome culture shock, work pressures, and the loneliness of living in a strange country. Many students persevered in studying with us for 5-10 years just because they came to us to relieve stress, to talk, and to be sympathized with and shared.
To this day, the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies has developed very strongly, the number of students is increasing continuously, and joint programs with universities and organizations around the world are increasing every year. The Faculty of Vietnamese Studies has become the Faculty with the highest number of foreign students in the country. That is the result of many years of effort by the whole collective, from the correct direction of the Faculty Board, to the enthusiasm, positivity, and responsibility of each teacher in the Faculty as well as the visiting lecturers for the Faculty. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Faculty's founding, I would like to send my thanks to the teachers and leaders of the Faculty from those difficult days: Bui Khanh The, Dinh Le Thu, Nguyen Van Lich, Nguyen Van Hue, and Tran Thi Minh Gioi.
