Job Discussion Forums

[jennjenn]

I'm Vietnamese, but born and raised in the US, with a perfect American accent, and I consider English my first language...blah blah blah. I looked at all 8 pages of this forum and found some threads about people in my boat...but the threads were a couple years old. Any current news? What would be my chances?

FYI, I'm still in college and intend to finish that first. But I would dearly love to go back to my "roots" for a few years, meet the family that I've never known, and experience the places where my parents grew up. I just don't think that a little vacation just wouldn't be enough for me.

I'd appreciate any thoughts.

[miketeflsgn]

Hi jennjenn (chao em)...do you consider yourself Vietnamese or full American? There's no right or wrong answers to this question because I am almost like you...raised in state but not born in the state. You can either get stuck in between or remained one-sided. I am stuck in between. Being Vietnamese in Vietnam...and I am only assuming, that you think of yourself as American (don't bite my head off if I get it wrong ). In Vietnam you'll be looked at as American or a foreigner. If you don't speak the language...some will really look down on you but wants your money. If you do converse in their language some will welcome you but still you are a foreigner and can't get cheated, disappointing to them because no easy access to jennjenn's money. When in Vietnam keep a very low, low, low (almost to the ground) profile. Don't stand out. In a week, I'll be in Saigon (returning for the 6th time) but this time it's business...to get certified in TEFL and continue on to teach.

Be a bridge...but not too long of a bridge.

[pfroehlich]

Can't tell you anything about your particular place in society here as a VQ but as far as teaching goes, all the VQ teachers I know get paid the same as other foreigners and seem to be treated largely the same by their employers.

[jennjenn]

mike...I guess I consider myself American, but I don't deny the Vietnamese side of myself either. And I can speak the language, but it's painfully and embarassingly bad. I can understand people when they talk to me but when I respond, I might as well be...not Vietnamese at all.

Thanks for the info you guys. I feel hopeful!

[Gluestick]

Sup Jen. I'm almost like you as well. Born and raised in the States with Vietnamese heritage. I visited Vietnam a couple of months back and I was treated differently. When we speak, they know we weren't born in Vietnam due to our American accents. It felt as if they didn't quite know what to make of me. I never felt as if I were an outsider. My cousins actually thought it was funny how I talked. We were all able to communicate though. Overall, I think it will be a good experience since you have family there as well. It was great seeing family members that I had known through pictures. Seeing them for only a couple of days really made me want to go back to get to know them better.

I just graduated from college and got my CELTA. I've started teaching in Thailand since I have family here as well. I'd actually like to go to Vietnam and teach there after Thailand.

I see you're in SD. Do you go to UCSD cuz my little brother goes there. He's actually taking Vietnamese classes becuase he wants to do a study abroad program in Vietnam. Perhaps you might be interested in taking some Vietnamese classes as well so you can brush up on your speaking skills.

Anyways, if you get to Vietnam before me, tell me how it goes.

[jennjenn]

I am going to SDSU next year. I didn't know they offer Vietnamese at UCSD, I'm assuming he's taking it at Mesa.

Anyway it's nice to know that I would be able to make the same amount of money but it's bad knowing that I'd be looked down upon. Like a traitor, maybe? I dunno. I could speak enough to save my life...barely.

[miketeflsgn]

Hi jenjen, they'll not going to look down on you as a traitor...they'll look down on you because you barely speak the language. They'll see you're not from there, native born (but been away for too long, that's me) or non-native born (the foreigner, that applies to me also but especially applying to you), it doesn't matter. They'll see the physical you as Vietnamese and anticipating that you can converse in Vietnamese. If you can't...a simple "oh, this girl is not from here and she can barely communicates"; cheeks will turn because there's no commonality (i.e. language). I do recommend communicating, interacting and not shying away because it shows an attempt to "bridge" AND they'll know that. Well, at least, it works for me and if I don't know how to say it I'll describe it by body language and humor is the next best way to get it across.

[Snaff]

[Gluestick]

Well, you got 4 or 5 years to brush up on your Vietnamese. I developed mine mostly by just talking to relatives. Having some that moved to the States from Vietnam didn't hurt either since I was basically forced to use Vietnamese otherwise I wouldn't have been able to communicate with them. Oya, another thing about Vietnam is that the pho just doesn't taste as good as in the States. For some reason they just can't beat the stuff my mom makes or the stuff you can get in Westminster.

[jennjenn]

Really. That's too bad about the pho. Well, I used to consider it a healthy-type food but then I found out that they add a bunch of sugar and junk to the broth in order to make it more appealing to us Americans. But my aunt went to VN a few months ago after being away for 20 years, and she said the food there now is soooo greasy and unhealthy. Is that true?

To get back on topic, it's tough for me to speak Vietnamese to my relatives because they laugh at me and tell me I sound like a white girl. That's not very encouraging. Then I thought I could take Vietnamese classes at my community college, but everybody in those classes are already fluent and looking for an easy A. So I'd be the only VN person that can't speak it, and all the Vietnamese people there would laugh at me too. I'm not the kind to care so much about peoples' opinions, but you can't deny it would be hard to learn in that kind of environment.

Okay, now I'm whining. I'm sorry. This may sound silly, but I wasn't planning on brushing up on my Vietnamese. I was going to jump in and just count on total immersion and my basic knowledge of the language to guide me. Isn't that how anybody truly learns any language?

[Gluestick]

Well the pho does have MSG and whatnot but it's not too bad if you eat it now and then. The pho you get at home should be better since they probably wouldn't use MSG so much. What I was talking about is the meat in the pho as well. Meat in the States just tastes better. I ate pho at a place that Bill Clinton actually ate at when he was in Vietnam. I wasn't impressed. I'm sure Clinton was happy with it since he probably didn't know any better. The food isn't too greasy and unhealthy. You just need to know what to order.

Don't let your relatives get you down. Nobody is born with the ability to speak any language well. It's all about practice. Sure you'll make mistakes and sound funny but who doesn't when they are speaking an unfamiliar language? By our age, it's going to be very hard to speak any language without some form of foreign accent. Just accept it and make the best of it. As for the classes, go for it. It's a perfect place to practice if everyone there can speak fluent Vietnamese. You are there to improve your Vietnamese, not earn an A. If you can do both, all the better. Don't quit before you've even tried. Look at those classes as an early opportunity for your total immersion. Better to stumble while learning in the class than constantly stumble in Vietnam. Any way you look at it, your Vietnamese will improve.

[mlomker]

I've noticed the same problem. I have friends that are Vietnamese and some that are Chinese (speaking Hakka or Mandarin), but trying to get them to help me with my speaking skills borders on pointless.

FACT: Few people have the patience or ability to teach a language.

This is something that I keep in the front of my mind as I consider whether or not to pursue TESL. It's also why I'm looking to move to China for a couple years (and Vietnam afterward) to studying Mandarin in a university setting.