A Vietnamese language class taught by Cấn Anh Claudine in France. VNA/VNS Photo

PARIS – As September arrives, an elderly Vietnamese couple in France once again busy themselves preparing for a special occasion: the opening day of Vietnamese language classes for students from all walks of life at the headquarters of the Vietnamese community in France.

The first day of Vietnamese language classes, following a long summer break, holds unique significance for Cấn Văn Kiệt and Cấn Anh Claudine. As the organisers and teachers of these classes, they actively welcome new students while helping returning ones review the vocabulary, stories, and Vietnamese songs they've learnt.

Students attending the classes taught by this couple range in age from five to 36 years old, comprising Vietnamese, French-Vietnamese, and even French individuals who are eager to immerse themselves in Vietnamese culture.

Despite being in their 80s, the couple remains strong and unwavering in their mission of nurturing the younger generation's connection to the Vietnamese language and their homeland for nearly 40 years. Their ambition is to ensure that future generations of overseas Vietnamese can speak Vietnamese fluently and maintain a strong link to their origins.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Trang, a parent whose children have attended Claudine's class for two years, explained her motivation, saying that her children have Vietnamese heritage in their blood, and she wants them to preserve a connection to their origins and homeland.

Natalie Magniez, a newcomer to the class, expressed her eagerness to learn the Vietnamese language to connect with Vietnamese culture and people. She has visited Việt Nam multiple times and now, with more free time, she has decided to learn the Vietnamese language.

Both parents and children have enrolled in these Vietnamese classes. Tôn Anh Chi and her two children have returned to classes after a long summer break. Chi has been learning the Vietnamese language for three years and now encourages her children to join her in learning.

Explaining about the opening of these classes, Claudine attributed her passion for teaching Vietnamese to her family's tradition, as well as her love and desire to pass on the Vietnamese language to the younger generations of Vietnamese living in France. Originally from Việt Nam, she moved to France with her family after the country's liberation and married Kiệt.

With the goal of using the Vietnamese language as a bridge between the Vietnamese community and their homeland, especially connecting the second and third generations with their origins, Kiệt organised Vietnamese language classes since the 1980s. Initially, these classes were held at the Maison du Vietnam, founded by the couple themselves, and later transferred to the headquarters of the Vietnamese community in France.

Kiệt said the classes included four levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced reading and writing, and Vietnamese literature. The curriculum was tailored to the students' needs and aimed to foster their love for Vietnamese culture and the Vietnamese language.

Classes were typically held on Tuesdays and Saturdays each week, with each session lasting more than an hour.

Claudine would teach students aged 5-14, while Kiệt would take on older students with higher proficiency levels. In addition to teaching the language, Claudine also imparted knowledge about Vietnamese culture, history, and traditions.

Over the past 40 years, these two teachers have educated approximately 700 students, some of whom have studied the Vietnamese language for up to 9-10 years.

Sharing their aspirations, Claudine said she hoped the third and fourth generations of overseas Vietnamese would always have Việt Nam in their hearts and love their homeland. Kiệt said he wished for the younger generations to uphold their cultural traditions, value family, and cherish their homeland.

"I have no other dream than to ensure that our children understand, love, and remain connected to our homeland, wherever they may be, and remember that they are a part of Việt Nam," he said.

Vietnamese language in Laos

For Vietnamese people living abroad, ensuring that the younger generations can proficiently use the Vietnamese language is always a top priority. This is no exception for around 100,000 Vietnamese living and working in Laos.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Huyền, the founder of the free Vietnamese language classes in Vientiane, Laos, teaches Vietnamese to children. VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

Born and raised in Laos, 11-year-old Mai Linh, despite being able to communicate relatively well in Vietnamese, cannot read or write in the language. When the free Vietnamese language classes resumed after being disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mai Linh attended three classes a week at Phật Tích Temple in the capital city of Vientiane.

Linh said she wanted to learn to read and write in Vietnamese to understand and connect with her homeland in Việt Nam.

Phan Ngọc Vân, also born and raised in Laos, said although she spoke Vietnamese quite well, she did not know how to read or write in the language. Therefore, she wanted to learn Vietnamese to gain a deeper understanding of Vietnamese culture.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Huyền, head of the Vietnamese Community in Vientiane and the founder of the Vietnamese language classes, said there were a considerable number of cases like Vân and Linh in Laos.

This motivated her to establish free Vietnamese language classes with the support of the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, Phật Tích Temple, and the Vietnamese Community in Vientiane. Her classes were held three times a week. Students received free learning materials, books, and notebooks when joining the classes.

Huyền said her classes wouldn't last long without the dedication and enthusiasm of Vietnamese teachers, who willingly invested their time and effort into teaching Vietnamese for free with a shared desire to contribute to the preservation and dissemination of the Vietnamese language.

Nguyễn Thị Hiền, a Vietnamese language lecturer at the Vietnamese Language Department of the National University of Laos, has lived in Laos for 20 years. Hiền was among the first to sign up as a volunteer teacher at Huyền’s classes.

Hiền said she considered preserving and spreading the Vietnamese language as her responsibility and duty. She was delighted to contribute to spreading the language to the local Laotian community.

Huyền said her Vietnamese classes also welcomed Laotian officials who wanted to learn Vietnamese for work. Working at the Economic Department of the Lao Ministry of National Defence, Nhoulakon Phengmalixai shared that he decided to join the class so that he could communicate better with his Vietnamese friends.

After nearly two months of learning, he said he could basically understand the Vietnamese language. In the future, he would continue to put effort into improving his Vietnamese language skills.

For Venerable Douangsamay Khamphoumi, Laos and Việt Nam are neighbouring countries with a special friendship, so knowing Vietnamese is necessary and important. This is the reason he joined the Vietnamese language class.

Venerable Douangsamay Khamphoumit learns the Vietnamese language at a class at Phật Tích Temple in Vientiane. VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

Sharing with a Vietnam News Agency reporter during her visit to Vietnamese language classes on her recent trip to Laos, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng mentioned that preserving the Vietnamese language played an extremely important role in the Vietnamese community abroad. Therefore, such classes needed to be expanded within the Vietnamese community in Laos and around the world.

Hằng said these Vietnamese language classes not only helped the Vietnamese community in Laos preserve and promote the Vietnamese language but also instilled a love for the Vietnamese language in foreigners. They helped them understand the richness and beauty of the Vietnamese language, thus contributing to the spread of the cultural values of the Vietnamese people and building a stable, united, and strong Vietnamese community abroad that was oriented towards their homeland and country. – VNS