General Notes about my English lessons and life in Viet Nam.
Author: Thay Paul's notes
London-born English teacher, now living and working in Sai Gon, Viet Nam.
I want to use this site to post lesson notes, extra work, helpful links as well as general notes about my time in SE Asia and Viet Nam. I also want to give real classroom experiences and how to deal with real classes of noisy, unmotivated and resistant students. Additionally, I'll be posting links to films, publishing plays and stories, and introducing friends who work in the arts.
I actually prepared this for my top students in a Young Learners’ Level 3 (ages from 9 – 11) class; university-level semiotics. While most of the class just do the assigned work – no more, no less – others make no effort at all and are unable or unwilling to answer a question to which I have just given the answer. Then we have the top cats … I’m lucky to have two exceptional students in my class as well as two others who, with some effort, could also reach those Olympian heights.
The following is a very simplified, breakdown of everyday signs, symbols and the modern use of the word ‘icon’ as related to technology. The original categorisation into ‘icon, index & symbol’ was devised by Charles Sanders Peirce, and more information can be found on this Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotic_theory_of_Charles_Sanders_Peirce#II._Icon,_index,_symbol
The following I have printed out as a three-page activity worksheet for my top cats (who generally finish bookwork before others have even started).
A sign uses pictures to give information or to tell people what they can or can not do:
What do these signs mean ? /// The first sign means no smoking.
The second sign means … /// The third sign means …
A symbol is a picture or things that represents a place, city or country.
The ao dai and non la are symbols that represent Viet Nam
What do these symbols represent ?
Icons are used on computers and smartphones. For example, this icon:
represents a dictionary. How about these ?
Draw two more icons from a computer or smartphone.
A new class (for me) which I hope to be substituting, not taking full-time (this is an afternoon class and I already work all morning with young learners, and THAT is enough in spades). I will need to assess the levels of ability and motivation, as well as spot the trouble-makers, the big mouths and those who are committed to disrupting the lesson (believe me, there’s always at least one).
Last week they learnt some past tense, mostly irregular verbs. As our text books are published by the USA office of Oxford University, they favour American spelling i.e. learned as opposed to the more commonly used learnt in British English (both are correct). Furthermore, the books are printed in China, making this a real global enterprise, so that will form part of our activities.
Warm Up: A kinetic run ‘n’ write exercise. I will say a simple sentence in the present tense; students have to write the past tense. Class can be split into two or three, depending on size, each with a different colour marker.
You act in a play / I ride an elephant / She win a competition / He read a big book / We learn English / … and what happened here :
Information gathering:
Last week, the students were introduced to the continents. Now I will develop that further by focusing on four different countries: Brazil, Canada, Egypt and South Korea. To give an example, I will use Vietnam:
Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam
95.54 million people live in Viet Nam. The population is 95.54 million.
The government of Viet Nam is in Ha Noi. The capital city is Ha Noi.
People speak Vietnamese. The language of Vietnam is Vietnamese.
Vietnam is very hot but also has a rainy season. The weather is very hot then very wet.
Ladies in Vietnam wear ao dai and non la. Ho Chi Minh is the most famous Vietnamese person.
Vietnam is famous for beautiful ladies in the traditional dress, the ao dai.
First, elicit comments about the four countries; where are they, in which continents ?
CanadaEgyptSouth Korea
The class will be split into four groups, each representing one country.
One member can draw the county’s flag, the others have to gather information. Around the room I will stick information sheets. One member has to run to the sheet, then tell his team the information. This practises reading, talking and writing skills and most importantly, allows the students to communicate with each other in English.
The drawing is also useful, as the students are still children, attending classes on weekend, so they need some diversion from book work.
As such, and as a way of introducing new vocabulary and expressions, I will show a children’s guide to London, my hometown and the UK’s capital city.
Duck Tours, London … a bus that turns into a boat – it’s brilliant.
I will play the video once, writing down new words. I will then make the students write them down and then, when I replay the video, they can shout out when they hear the new vocabulary spoken. These will include:
loads and loads / I reckon / really / very / amazing
And so .. to book work. The theme is ‘feelings’ and then using them in basic sentences.
With six flash cards, I will drill the pronunciation and meaning. One game is to pass the first card to a top student and let the student say the word out loud before passing on to the next student; when the third student has said the word, I pass the first student the second card and so on …
Additionally, there is (for Johnny Cash fans) ‘Walk the line’: I spread the six cards out on the floor, in a line. Two students, one at each end has to say the word then move on to the next. First to finish is the winner – or even have the whole class line up, in two teams, so everyone gets to join in.
Finally, once students are confident (one of the feelings) of meaning, we can have a game where I tell a student a feeling and said student must mime or act out for the class.
At this level, I’m hoping for good speaking abilities and students able to form basic sentences and read short passages.
As usual, I’ll be supplied with some additional worksheets about feelings for those who finish the workbook section quickly. These can easily be found online – the British Council have a great supply on their website: https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/worksheets
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
This is in the backpacker district of central Sai Gon, a new underground food court and mini ‘street-market’. The goods, and prices, are aimed strictly at tourists, while the food was typical food court fare. However, it looked quite nice, there was clearly a lot of thought and effort into the design.
The redeveloped site of Asiana Food Town and Shopping Centre.
Time to try the dimsum
The dimsum was OK … nothing special. Time for some typical Viet sweets:
A variety of Vietnamese sweets, beans and jelliesJelly and condensed mild (and an awful lot of ice).
In the interests of reportage, I should go back and try other dishes … MANY other dishes 🙂
Objectives: increase vocabulary and sentence building skills. Encourage more talking, especially between students, using target language.
Warm up: Just to get the student’s settled in (and to allow for students arriving up to an hour late) and to help them build longer sentences. Compare the following:
We have two public transport vehicles, two buses. The first is from Singapore, the second from Sai Gon.
EXAMPLE: The bus from Singapore is cleaner than the Sai Gon bus.
To extend this, using a relative clause:
The first bus, which is from Singapore, is cleaner than the second bus, which is from HCM City.
To further extend, using relative clauses and discourse markers:
The first bus is from Singapore, which is known for its cleanliness, and is the most attractive as well as looking the most modern of the two. Having said that, buses in HCM City, despite being somewhat dirty, are remarkably cheap, just 2 000 VND for students, 6 000 for adults.
Try making complex sentences from these pairs of images:
Winter in Scotland
December on the streets of Sai Gon
Playing chess
Harrods food hall
Street food, Sai Gon
Now compare these two songs: The former (first) is British from the 1980s. The band is The Specials, the song is called ‘Stereotypes’, the latter (last) is a modern pop song from Vietnam.
And that leads us into tonight’s theme: stereotypes. This means having an idea what people will be like because of where they are from, how they look, how they speak etc.
EXAMPLE: what do you think of this man:
What do you think of him – how he looks, how he’s dressed. What job do you think he does – does he even have a job ? Where does he live ? Is he, in fact, homeless and sleeps on the street ?
The answer …
He is music legend and Noble-prize winning writer and poet Bob Dylan
Discuss these stereotypes (noun) and stereotypical (adjective) images:
All Vietnamese men are lazy and constantly smoke
All Asian children are excellent at maths
All woman are obsessed (absolutely love) shoppingAll People from USA are obese (too fat) and talk too much and too loudlyAll English people drink tea … ALL the time
To what extent do you agree ?
I agree / I agree 100% / I agree to an extent / There may be some truth there /
I disagree / I totally disagree / That is very unfair / That is offensive /
That’s just a stereotype / I know for a fact that isn’t true !
Try to explain in full sentences giving reasons and using discourse markers.
Quick fire: In groups, discuss; what do you think of when I say:
Made in China
Thailand
People in Hanoi
Apple iPhones
What do you think of this image ? Does it represent the real Vietnam, or is it just to attract tourists ?
Lesson focus: Reading; speed reading to extrapolate information in a limited time.
Theme: Culture shock, specifically life in Australia.
Objectives: Review new vocabulary and phrases and give a chance to practise using them. Continue work on Englishes – how written and standard English can seem to bear NO relation to spoken English.
Today’s reading is centred on life in Australia for non-native speakers so, to set the scene, a warm up song from the Australian band (and one-hit wonders) Men At Work and their chart-topping song, ‘Down Under’.
Language review: The first lesson generated many new words and expressions. The following adverbs should be a part of the students’ everyday vocabulary:
always / usually, normally, frequently / sometimes / hardly ever / never
definitely / probably / possibly / unlikely / definitely not
Vocabulary: precious / arrogant / mug (two senses) / lingua franca /
To ask politely: May I …. (May I ask your name ? May I open the window ?)
Discourse Markers: although / despite, despite that / however / on the other hand /additionally / furthermore
Collocations: To practice law or to practice medicine (a lawyer, or a medical professional)
Expressions: Fair exchange is no robbery / If I’m not mistaken
Idiom: To let off steam / time flies (when you’re having fun)
London slang: well knackered (‘well’ is used to mean very and ‘knackered’ can mean very tired, or broken. EXAMPLE – I’m well knackered = I’m extremely tired.
PRACTICE: Try to use as many of the above by commenting on these photos. This is not a writing test; I only want one or two sentences. I’m more concerned with lexical choice AND delivery – how you use stress, intonation and rhythm.
EXAMPLE:
These young Asian people are letting off steam by singing their hearts out in a Karaoke room, if I am not mistaken. Very probably there are professionals, maybe they practice medicine because they look very stylish and affluent.
Book work: today we will be developing speed-reading, that is, reading a large amount of text in a limited time, in order to find specific information. Students will have to scan over the text and home in on what they need to know.
As a break, here’s a little clip about Australian slang:
What is this news story about ? How much slang did you hear ?
Group work:
Prepare a guide to Sai Gon for tourists.
Allow students access to the class computer for Google images if required.
Students, in groups, can organise an itinerary for two of my friends who will be visiting Sai Gon soon. They want to see all the iconic sights and partake of typical Vietnamese activities. Having said that, their interests differ widely.
Simon loves culture, history and museums as well as being into sports and physical activities. Therefore he wants to see and try as much as possible. He has heard about snake wine and is very curious.
Jenny finds museums unbearably boring and dull. She is a shopaholic, can shop till she drops. Furthermore she can’t take the heat, and is also vegetarian.
Clearly, they will need to compromise … what do you suggest ? Be creative – think outside the box.
Include
What to see and do // where and what to eat // what to buy //
What they can do for entertainment
Travel tips
Safety and scams
Cultural differences – what should people do or NOT do in Vietnam ?
Use interesting adjectives to describe the city centre.
Groups can then present to the class, with all students taking turns speaking. I shall be listening for relevance, pronunciation and use of expressions and discourse markers. Furthermore, I may learn some interesting tips.
End activities:
Just a minute: To practice for the speaking tests, give the students a choice of subjects and let them speak for one minute without repeating themselves, deviating from the subject or hesitating.
Call my bluff: Class in two teams. One team reads a low-frequency word and the team give three possible definitions including examples of usage. The other team has to guess which one is the correct answer.
Wednesday 14th for Thursday 15th August 2019. AEF 10B pp. 98 – 99
Vocabulary: Crime and investigation
Grammar: Tag questions
Review: icons and symbols, relative clauses
Warm Up: Asian icons
Last week, the book focused on American icons, so let’s bring it closer to home. First activity, students in small groups have to suggest some Asian icons or iconic images. I want to know their ideas on actors, buildings, products or companies, cultural images or even street scenes.
For example:
Next, relative clauses and sentence building. Here’s an example:
The Merlion, which is a symbol of Singapore, is a mythical creature that is half lion, half fish although no lions have ever lived in the city state.
The above sentence has three points of interest. Firstly, there is the relative clause used to add more information. Here the subject is the Merlion, a thing, so the relative pronoun is ‘which‘. Secondly, I use a discourse marker to connect ideas together in one sentence, namely ‘although‘, linking two opposites (a positive to a negative and vice versa). Lastly, I used the term ‘city state’ to prevent me from using the name ‘Singapore’ twice in the same sentence.
Try these … I’m looking for the correct relative pronoun and then the most detailed sentences or short passages.
Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Vietnamese Pho (noodle soup with beef or chicken)
Chinese philosopher Master Kong (Confucius in English) 551 BC – 479 BC
Finally – write a sentence about YOUR hometown. If it’s not Sai Gon, explain where it is, how to get there, what it’s famous for (or if it’s not particularly famous for anything). As a link to tonight’s theme, here’s an icon from MY hometown:
Sherlock Holmes, who was a fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, lived at 221B Baker Street which in is central London. Today it is a museum, admission £15 for adults, attracting tourists from all over the world.
Then it’s time to get to tonight’s topic – murder, unsolved crimes and mystery. The lesson focuses on the mysterious death of the actress Natalie Wood. To introduce her, I’ll show a short clip of her acting, then the actual news report on TV on her death:
Are you from Korea ? (a normal question, where we don’t know the answer)
You’re (you are) from Korea, aren’t you ? (using the tag ‘aren’t you’ to confirm what we think or know)
Take the pronoun (here it is ‘you’) and then the verb (‘are’). Reverse the verb, that is, make it negative then add the pronoun. Hence ‘are’ becomes ‘are not’ = aren’t.
Try these:
Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, ……….. ?
Natalie Wood was American, …………….. ?
We still don’t know who killed her, ………….. ? (here the verb is negative, so make it positive)
He’s a brilliant actor, ………….. ?
End activities: depending on time, students, in groups, can organise an itinerary for two of my friends who will be visiting Sai Gon soon. They want to see all the iconic sights and partake of typical Vietnamese activities. Having said that, their interests differ widely.
Simon loves culture, history and museums as well as being into sports and physical activities. Therefore he wants to see and try as much as possible. He has heard about snake wine and is very curious.
Jenny finds museums unbearably boring. She is a shopaholic, can shop till she drops. Furthermore she can’t take the heat and is also vegetarian.
Clearly, they will need to compromise … what do you suggest ? Be creative – think outside the box.
Songs are a great way to introduce new vocabulary and expressions, as well as how native speaking pronounce and link words together. Early in the song, we have words such as ‘precious‘ and expressions like ‘we have grown‘ and ‘time flies so quickly.’
Warm up: Mind map – Travel
I start by writing the word ‘travel’ on the board, and see how many avenues spread out from it. Start with the grammar; what type of word is it (noun) but it can be made into a verb (to travel, travelling) and the students should remember how to apply it to a person (traveller).
Then we have expressions such as ‘travel broadens the mind.’
We have this quote which introduces metaphor – the world as a book:
Then more pedestrian aspects of travel; how do we travel (transportation), preparation (booking tickets, hotels, visas etc), what do we bring with us (different clothes, sun cream, currency, sun glasses etc). How about culture shock ?
Next, what are the positive aspects of travelling (new cultures, fun, adventure, relaxation) and conversely, the negatives (delays, waiting in soulless airports, getting ripped off, tourist traps, bad hotels etc)
Pair work: students have to write a short passage using ‘although‘ and ‘despite‘ to encapsulate their travel experiences or wishes.
EXAMPLES: Although I absolutely love travelling, there are many drawbacks. Firstly, there is the cost; it can be incredibly expensive what with plane tickets and hotels not to mention having to eat out in restaurants. Despite these issues, travelling can be so relaxing or exciting, seeing new places and doing new things or simply as a break from our normal lives.
Vietnam has many beautiful towns and places of interest although I have only been to a few of them despite travel being relatively cheap in this country. We can fly everywhere within one or two hours, at very reasonable prices although some cheap airlines, such as Vietjet, are notorious for delays.
I have always wanted to visit Beijing in China which is not excessively far from Sai Gon. Despite that, I haven’t been because I am not sure about the visa and how expensive it would be to visit. Additionally, I hear some negative things such as terrible pollution and many tourist scams. Despite the drawbacks, I really want to see the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace and all the temples. Although Vietnam and China have a complicated relationship, most Vietnamese would agree that Chinese food is delicious.
These exercises help to increase vocabulary and confidence. Furthermore, the repetition helps to make the target language part of the students’ lexical resources.
As a break from the book work, I’ll show the class a vlog from YouTube, two tourists who come to Sai Gon and what they think of the city. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iw_K-1AmVk
How do the tourists feel about the city ? As residents, do they agree with the review ?
Students can discuss the video using the following language:
I agree totally // I agree to an extent // I disagree // I’m not entirely sure // No way ! They don’t know what they are talking about !
Group work: Prepare a guide to Sai Gon for tourists.
Allow students access to the class computer for Google images if required.
Include
What to see and do // where and what to eat // what to buy //
What they can do for entertainment
Travel tips
Safety and scams
Cultural differences – what should people do or NOT do in Vietnam ?
Use of interesting adjectives to describe the city centre.
Groups can then present to the class, with all students taking turns speaking. I shall be listening for relevance, pronunciation and use of expressions and discourse markers. Furthermore, I may learn some interesting tips.
Class into two teams, one has a red marker, the other a blue. One member from each team has to run to the board and write the name of a job, then the whole team has to say the complete sentence, e.g. Who fights fires ?
Students run to the board and write ‘fire fighter’, then their team has to say, “A fire fighter fights fires.”
Who … helps sick animals ? // makes food ? // sells things ? // flies planes ? // drives a bus ? //
Shop role play
To review recent vocabulary and to introduce some new words and expressions. Divide class into two, then sub-divide into three. Half of the class will be shoppers. They have to buy four items with a total cost of under $100. The other half will be
A Department store
A shop having a big sale
A street market
To illustrate the difference:
Harrods of London. One of the most famous department stores in the world.A Chinatown street market
The first students have to buy four items: a pair of shoes, a shirt, a dress and some sneakers or trainers. The prices in the three different outlets are:
Department store // On Sale // Street market
Shoes $75 // $25 // $15
Shirt $40 // $20 // $5
Dress $120 // $30 // $10
Sneakers $80 // $50 // $20
Some high-end items are:
The students take a board and go to the three outlets and ask the price of the items, “Excuse me, how much are the shoes, please ?” Upon being told they respond with, “Oh, no !”, “OK,” “Sorry, that’s too much,” or “Wow ! That’s a bargain.”
They return to the desks and report what they bought and where. Remember, they have to buy all four items and spend under $100.
Then the roles are reversed. The sellers become buyers, this time looking for:
How to be healthy – ask the students what people can do to stay healthy – such as eat healthy food, do exercise, not smoke, not eat junk food. Then show this famous clip. Ask what the man is doing and what will happen to him (start clip at 01.00 when he folds up the umbrella, and end around 01.46 on the Close-Up )
It is now rainy season in Vietnam, so if we did this we would catch a cold.
What would happen if we … ?
were bitten by a mosquito ?ate too much junk food ?listen to loud and terrible karaoke !
The four illnesses are: cold // fever // stomachache // headache //
Choose four students and give them a a flashcard. They quickly show their card to the class, then the class have to say which student has which illness.
Then we can review language from a previous level. I will tell a student to act an injury. One student will say, “What’s the matter with him or her ?” Class has to shout out the answer.
The injuries can include hurt leg, hurt arm hurt foot or hurt hand.
Then book work, work books and work sheets. Then I check my street-market ‘Rolex’ watch, and the lesson should be over.
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
This can be used to give some energy to the class (it starts at 7.40 am) as well as demonstrating how simple sentences are linked together. Students can practice:
“who doyou see ?” as opposed to the general robotic, mono-toned, “Who do you see ?”
Five jobs were mentioned – which ones ? (students will be in small groups and given a writing board and marker). Then they will have to write where those people work – on the board I will write ‘airport’, ‘ship’, ‘school’, ‘fire station’ & ‘hospital’. Two people will run to the board and write where a pilot, a doctor etc works.
SHOP WORK – role play
In this activity, half the students are shoppers, the other are shop-keepers.
The shoppers will need to buy some three items: They can go to as many of the ‘sellers’ as they wish and ask for the food (this will be food from Unit 1, as well as stables such as rice, bread, cheese, eggs and milk.) If the seller doesn’t have the item they ask for, they have to move on to another ‘store’. The winner is the first team to complete their list. No doubt, the students will want to change roles.
In terms of language being produced, the students have to ask, “Do you have some or any …?” or “I would like (two) eggs, please.”
The sellers must answer, “Yes, we do, how much or many would you like ?” or “Sorry, we have sold out.”
REVIEW
How do I make soup ? First, I go to the shops and buy ingredients, next go home and clean them, then cook them and finally eat !
I want to study Vietnamese; what should I do ? First …
The man selling eggs is a little big. He needs to loose weight. What should he do ?
EXTRA VOCABULARY
Before the bookwork, pre-teach some adjectives that one would associate with various professions, such as:
busy
patient
intelligent
strong
hard-working
Five adjectives should be enough, and then repeated all lesson and over the coming lessons in order to help the students develop more colourful and interesting language (as opposed to an IELTS speaking test I recently monitored, where the only adjectives were ‘big’ and ‘nice’ despite the question asking the students to describe … but that is for another blog !)
And then we let the assigned book work take over, work book correction and handouts for fast finishers.
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
Tonight is a special speaking lesson, a preparation for the real test which this class will take at the beginning of September. Incidentally, last night I adjudicated a speaking test and was somewhat distressed by the lack of:
adjectives (even when the task was to describe something)
adverbs
low-frequency vocabulary
complex sentences
stress and intonation
WARM UP
So, to warm up, I will put the class into small groups and give them various words on strips of paper, words we have covered in the classes: adjectives, adverbs, discourse markers, compound nouns.
a major challenge / ubiquitous / punctual / binge shopping / significantly /bizarre /
remarkably / one the other hand / consequently / therefore / in my opinion /all’s well that ends well.
how do I say that in English ? / sky-high / traditional / developing /
The students have a set time to speak on a basic subject (shopping, music, internet etc) employing as many words as possible.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
who For people: This is the man who sold me the fake Rolex !
which For things: We tried fish and chips which is delicious.
where For places: Let’s go to the shop where we saw the great bargains.
Whose Possessive: That’s the singer whose record we heard last night.
The car, whose driver was young, won the race.
Exercises
We arrived at a nice beach ______ we could swim and lie in the sun.
A man ______ mobile phone was ringing did not know what to do.
The patient, ______ had a serious disease, was taken to hospital immediately.
Smithsfield is a small village ______ people live a quiet life.
A boy ____ sister is in my class, was in the bank at that time.
I know a person ____ can speak seven languages.
We visited the church _____ is in the middle of the square.
It is a protected area of land _____ you can see a lot of interesting wildlife.
This dress is made of silk _____ is a very expensive and delicate material.
A police officer, _____ car was parked at the next corner, stopped and arrested them.
MANUFACTURING AND ECONOMICS
Tonight’s discussion focuses on manufacturing, so first I have to pre-teach some new vocabulary, as well as encouraging the students to think in long, complex sentences employing relative pronouns and discourse markers where appropriate.
The United Kingdom had a great empire in the nineteenth century undoubtably due to the fact that the UK was the first industrial nation.
Factory workers in the UK during the industrial heyday
This had a profound, significant effect on the country as its economy turned from agricultural to industry. The UK could import raw materials from its overseas colonies and, by the use of new machinery, produce consumer goodsincomparably quicker and cheaper than by old traditional methods.
However, despite the wealth generated by this revolution, it caused many social evils:
Industrial pollution, which is still a global problem today, especially in developing countries, was prevalent and ubiquitous. The poet William Blake referred to the “dark satanic mills,” which blighted the lush English countryside. Social reformers and political philosophers commented on the disparity between the wealthy factory owners and the appalling working conditions of the operators, which often included young children, as well as a dreadful number of accidents and deaths due to the lack of safety laws. Furthermore, some people say that commercialism is a bad thing, such as seeing things simply in terms of making money, for example, selling toys based on ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Avengers’ films, or turning areas of natural beauty into golf courses, hotels and resorts, not to mention replacing old family shops by the massive super and mega-marts run by giant corporations.
Gradually, workers conditions improved in developing countries, but at a cost. Rising labour (labor in US English) prices made the giant multi-national companies look abroad for cheaper workers, overheads and tax fees. Today, many companies have factories in south east Asia and China.
These have been criticised as being sweatshops, where workers are forced to do 12-hour shifts, often without adequate breaks, in addition to being paid a pittance in comparison to western workers. Many consumer goods are manufactured in south east Asia, including some high-end items such as designer clothing, furthermore, it is estimated that half the world’s iPhones are made in China.
As an outsider, but with an interest in the culture and history of Vietnam, I am aware of the sensitivity regarding Viet-Sino (Chinese) relations. In terms of size and population, China dwarfs Vietnam, yet despite the massive workforce in the larger country, some developed countries are investing heavily in Vietnam. Here’s a good news link from a USA business news station (with English subtitles).
This should be adequate to give the students a grasp of the vocabulary and some collocations needed to speak confidently about basic manufacturing although we have yet to delve deeper into Vietnam’s own economy and manufacturing traditions. The following is from WIKIPEDIA:
Although the industrial sector contributed 40.1% of GDP in 2004, it employed only 12.9% of the workforce. In 2000, 22.4% of industrial production was attributable to non-state activities. From 1994 to 2004, the industrial sector grew at an average annual rate of 10.3%. Manufacturing contributed 20.3% of GDP in 2004, while employing 10.2% of the workforce. From 1994 to 2004, manufacturing GDP grew at an average annual rate of 11.2%. The top manufacturing sectors — electronics, food processing, cigarettes and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, and footwear goods — experienced rapid growth. Benefits from its proximity to China with lower labor cost, Vietnam is becoming a new manufacturing hub in Asia, especially for Korean and Japanese firms. For instance, Samsung produces about 40% of its phones in Vietnam.
And now the students can take over. What can they tell me about traditional manufacturing ? How do they contribute to the local and national economy ? For example, on holiday in Phan Thiet (a seaside town a few hours train ride from Sai Gon), the only Vietnamese I saw were in the service industry (hotel staff, cleaners, restaurant workers, shop staff, tour operators etc). How do Vietnamese feel about this ? The cost of a hotel room may be more than they earn in a week or even a month. On the other hand, the tourism creates jobs and enable locals to make a living.
Obviously, this is an English class, though we have touched on economics, social philosophy, international relations and even poetry. The objective is to prepare the students for a future test where they may well have to speak about their country’s economy. I hope this will provide them with a basic grounding in vocabulary and some critical thinking, and mostly, being able to express their ideas.
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
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Thay Paul's Notes 