Vietnamese is more than just a language used for communication. For Vietnamese families living abroad, it is also the voice of grandparents, family stories, lullabies, traditional food, customs, and memories of home. Helping children maintain their Vietnamese is therefore also a way of giving them a lasting connection to their roots.
Why Is It Important to Preserve Vietnamese for Vietnamese Children Living Abroad?
Children growing up abroad often use the local language for most of their daily activities: at school, when playing, communicating with friends, and in many everyday situations. Meanwhile, Vietnamese is primarily used at home or within the Vietnamese community.
This often leaves parents wondering: How can their children continue to speak, understand, and love Vietnamese when the language they hear and use around them is different?
Preserving Vietnamese for children living abroad does not necessarily have to begin with formal or academic lessons. More importantly, children need opportunities to use Vietnamese regularly in natural, enjoyable, and meaningful situations.
According to UNESCO, a mother tongue is not only a tool for communication but is also closely connected to identity, learning, confidence, and a sense of belonging. Multilingual education that values the language children use at home can support learning and encourage greater participation. Learn more about the role of multilingual education on UNESCO.
Vietnamese as a Bridge Between Children and Their Families
For a child growing up far from Vietnam, Vietnamese can be the language that allows them to talk with their grandparents, listen to their parents’ childhood stories, understand family traditions, or simply say a special greeting in Vietnamese on meaningful occasions.
As children grow older, maintaining their Vietnamese becomes more sustainable when it feels like a familiar and enjoyable experience rather than simply “another subject they have to study.”
It can be as simple as reading stories with their parents, watching an age-appropriate Vietnamese program, talking about their day, learning the names of Vietnamese dishes, or taking part in creative activities where they can listen, speak, and interact in Vietnamese.
This is also in line with Vietnam’s efforts to promote Vietnamese among Vietnamese communities abroad through the project “Vietnamese Language Honor Day in Vietnamese Communities Abroad for 2023–2030,” which designates September 8 each year as Vietnamese Language Honor Day. The initiative aims to promote the beauty and value of the Vietnamese language among Vietnamese communities around the world.
Preserving Vietnamese: Don’t Turn Learning into Pressure
One of the most important things when teaching Vietnamese to children living abroad is to create an environment where they want to use the language.
Instead of simply memorizing vocabulary, children can learn new words through games. Rather than practicing rigid sentence patterns, they can use Vietnamese to introduce a character they have created themselves. Instead of doing endless exercises, they can work with friends to crack a “secret code” or complete a challenge.
When Vietnamese becomes a tool for playing, exploring, creating, and connecting, children have more reasons to use the language naturally.
Halloween Can Also Become a “Doorway” to Vietnamese
Halloween is often associated with costumes, pumpkins, candy, and fun games. So why not turn that excitement into an opportunity for children to learn and use Vietnamese?
That is the idea behind KNOCK ON HALLOWEEN’S DOOR: UNLOCK VIETNAMESE, a program by OneSpace for children aged 5 and above who are living and studying abroad.
Across three online workshops, children will embark on a journey featuring three exciting missions:
🎃 The Mysterious Halloween Door: Decode Vietnamese keywords related to characters, objects, colors, activities, and emotions.
🎃 Little Heroes’ Costume Workshop: Design their own Halloween character and use Vietnamese to talk about the character’s name, colors, features, and emotions.
🎃 The Pumpkin Party: Take on language games, send Halloween greetings, and confidently introduce their own creations in Vietnamese.
The special thing is that Vietnamese is not treated as a standalone lesson. Instead, it becomes the “key” that helps children complete missions, communicate with friends, and create something of their own.
The program is suitable for children who have never learned Vietnamese, know only a little Vietnamese, or already have a good command of the language. Activities are designed flexibly through visuals, games, movement, crafts, and simple communication.
👉 Discover the Halloween Fun Vietnamese – OneSpace program and register your child to join here!
