 (Photo: AP) |
In Melbourne there are 3 systems teaching Vietnamese: public schools, the Victorian School of Languages (VSL), and Vietnamese centers formed by associations and private organizations.
Private centers often teach Vietnamese until grade 10, while a few others provide Vietnamese classes until grade 12. Publicschools offer Vietnamese lessons up to grade 12. Beyond that, students can pursue Vietnamese language studies at institutes of higher learning such as Victoria University.
Most Vietnamese language teaching programs have two main parts. The first practices listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Part two focuses on different topics according to age and level of education. In Victoria, like other subjects, Vietnamese is designed and taught according to the state’s regulations: Victoria Essential Learning Standards, VELS.
To support learning Vietnamese for families, Charles Stuart University in Australia has released a book called “VietSpeech Multilingual Children”, which is a research project on the pronunciation and language abilities of Vietnamese children in Australia. Funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), the e-book is accessible at no cost on line.
The book covers topics such as the benefits of native language preservation and multilingualism, language development process, children’s pronunciation and communication skills, Vietnamese alphabets and tone marks.
Dr. Tran Hong Van, a co-author of the book, said it will provide parents with the tools to help their children learn the Vietnamese language and develop bilingual skills. Dr. Van is in charge of a program called Preserving Vietnamese on the Vietnamese channel of SBS Broadcasting.
Sharynne McLeod, another co-author, said there are over 300,000 Vietnamese people living in Australia, accounting for 1.26% of its population. It’s an important time for the Vietnamese community in Australia to maintain the mother tongue for younger generations. The authors hope that the book will be popularised not only in Australia, but also in other countries with large Vietnamese populations such as Canada and the US.
Australia is the 6th largest settlement for overseas Vietnamese. Besides attending organized Vietnamese language schools, Vietnamese young people also self-study Vietnamese at home.