For a long time, Hoang Van Tham, a 4th-year student of the Russian National Friendship University, regularly opens his computer four times a week to teach Vietnamese to Russians. Tham has 2 students, one is a friend with a Vietnamese father, and the other is about to come to Vietnam to live and work.

Russian students are discussing with the lecturer about the Vietnamese language. Photo: Nhandan

Tham said that more and more people in Russia are now wishing to learn Vietnamese. People whose parents are Vietnamese want to return to their homeland to be able to communicate with their grandparents and relatives, as well as learn about their roots. As for the Russians, they learn Vietnamese because they want to find a new promised land, in the context of volatile world politics.

Tham has been teaching Vietnamese for more than two years now, he has always kept in mind that teaching Vietnamese to Russians is not really a profession. This job helps Tham increase his communication skills and pedagogical skills. But more importantly, Tham wants to promote the language, culture, customs, and habits of the Vietnamese people to international friends. Along with Tham, many Vietnamese students are still actively acting as a bridge to bring Vietnamese culture to a large number of Russians.

Tham teaches Vietnamese online to his Russian friends. Photo: NVCC

Vietnamese is not a new subject in Russia. But every time we talk to Russian teachers who teach Vietnamese in educational institutions in Russia, we have a lot to talk about.

In the process of preparing for the new school year, Ms. Svetlana Glazunova, whose Vietnamese name is Hang, is busy with learning materials and programs. But when she received an interview request about teaching Vietnamese in Russia, she immediately agreed. This woman, who has been with the Moscow Institute of International Relations (Russia) since the 90s of the last century, has some good news today.

Looking up at the picture of the One Pillar Pagoda, given to her by her students, in the faculty office, Ms. Hang's eyes had a hint of sadness: "Over the years, in general, not many Russian students have studied Vietnamese, that's my pain. But this year the school decided to open two more Vietnamese classes. One at the Faculty of International Relations and the other at the Faculty of International Economic Relations.”

That's the good news she wants to share. So with two newly opened classes, the Moscow Institute of International Relations will have a total of 3 Vietnamese classes: 2 first-year classes and 1 fourth-year class. She hopes that the final year students who will graduate next year will continue to the Master's program.

When Ms. Hang spread her hands to count, she could name nearly a dozen famous Vietnamese language training institutions in Russia. But unfortunately, universities that teach traditional Vietnamese are having difficulty recruiting students. However, with recent positive signs, including the opening of more classes by the Moscow Institute of International Relations, Ms. Hang said, the number of Russians wishing to learn Vietnamese is increasing.

In the past, many Russians still only knew that Vietnam was a country that went through many wars. When students entered their school, they did not choose to learn Vietnamese by themselves. They didn't like it at first, but most teachers explained to their students that Vietnam is a great country and that learning Vietnamese may bring along many job opportunities because the number of experts in Vietnam is limited. Moreover, according to Ms. Hang, most Russians who come to Vietnam are very interested. Just like that, gradually, students love Vietnamese more and more.

Hang is getting ready for a class. Photo: Nhandan .

However, in order to attract a large number of Russians to learn Vietnamese, this lecturer from the Moscow Institute of International Relations said that more efforts are still needed to promote it. Educational institutions need to orient students to take on jobs while they are still in school. Vietnam and Russia need to cooperate to develop projects to train experts, as well as two-way internship programs, and then propose related jobs. "It is the responsibility of both countries," emphasized Ms. Hang.

When the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia organized the Vietnamese Language Festival in May 2022, many good books were introduced. On that occasion, Ms. Hang and many other teachers quickly asked for textbooks to serve their teaching work.

The lack of textbooks is one of the current difficulties faced by many Vietnamese language training institutions in Russia. Many places still have to use old textbooks. Ms. Hang also complained about the lack of translated books for economics or some other fields. Many Russian teachers want new textbooks, but don't have enough time to get them.

“We would love to cooperate with Vietnam to develop textbooks or other teaching materials. We also expect to continue to have events revolving around Vietnamese culture in Russia, activities that are not only for people who already know Vietnamese, but must find ways to attract people who don't know much about Vietnam yet. I also look forward to more cooperation between schools in the exchange of teachers and students, thereby continuing to create a strong motivation for the Vietnamese language learning movement in Russia," said Ms. Hang.

According to Hang and her colleagues, Russia is strengthening cooperation with eastern countries. If we want to develop relations with a certain country, it is very important to have many experts who understand the language and culture of that country. They really want students to understand that too so that they don't hesitate to choose a new language.

As for Hang herself, this year will be busier and more difficult. But working hard with new students brings her much happiness.

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