Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lion]

I have an adult student of low-intermediate ability who regularly travels to Vietnam on business. He has trouble understanding English spoken with a Vietnamese accent. (I note that Vietnamese seem to drop a lot of consonants.)

This is a long shot, but does anyone know of any movies, acted in English and shot in Vietnam with real Vietnamese actors, that he might use for listening practice? Obviously M*A*S*H, Good Morning Vietnam, and anything with the words �Me Love You Long Time� (Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, etc.) aren�t going to cut it.

[moosehead]

when I was in Vietnam I was surprised how much better the Vietnamese's E was than K, considering the infrastructure status of the 2 countries and how K's is more advanced. I also thought the children's E showed a more advanced level as well. It was explained to me the Vietnamese alphabet had been romanized by the French decades ago and some people believe that makes the difference; that it's easier to learn E.

I don't know, but sounds to me like your student is just making excuses. listening to E spoken by a non-native speaker is only going to confuse them. a native speaker determines what's being spoken by assessing what they hear and what they think it should be. if one concentrates on mispronunciation, how are they going to learn what the correct pronunciation is in the first place; hence the problems with K students who only learn E from a K- speaking E teacher (with a thick accent and poor pronunciation).

encourage your student to listen to a variety of E accents, such as British, American, Australian, etc. as they become more attuned to how it's supposed to sound they will be able to determine the meaning quicker.

but they have to do the work, you know.

[lion]

Fair point, but I'm not too worried about him picking up a Vietnamese accent, so if anyone else has any movie suggestions, the original request for names of movies stands.

[sarbonn]

I'm pretty sure The Year of Living Dangerously was Vietnam (although can't be sure it wasn't Cambodia as it's been so long since I saw it). Not a bad movie either, although I was expecting a movie with more action because that's how the ads made it out to be, when it was actually a really powerful drama.

[wesharris]

Mash was based on the Korean War mate. Not Vietnamese.
Sorry.
YOU FAIL > > >
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Wes

[lion]

[lion]

[sarbonn]

You could also try 2002's The Quiet American, which is about Vietnam.

[PigeonFart]

You're right about them dropping consonnants.

I was a student in France and there was a Vietnamese guy in my class. His written french was excellent, but nobody could understand a thing he said...not even the french teacher.

Now that i mention it, i remember the French teacher complaining to a Korean girl about why she always had to whine like a child. It's only now that i realise Korean women are indeed whiney (not all of course, just a lot).

[moosehead]