Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The year 2024 marks a significant advancement in promoting the Vietnamese language in Malaysia, with the number of students enrolled in the Vietnamese Embassy’s related in-person and online classes increasing and the Vietnamese language course at the Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Languages and Linguistics (FLL) maintaining a steady enrollment of 100 to 140 students.
Now in its eighth year, the Vietnamese language programme at the embassy has become more organised, expanding to nine classes with over 40 students. This includes three in-person classes and six online ones, taught by two dedicated instructors.
In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency's resident reporter, Nguyen Thi Lien, one of the teachers and head of the Vietnamese Language Club in Malaysia, expressed her increasing motivation and pride as the Party and State place growing importance on preserving the mother tongue among expatriates. Lien was selected as one of the five ambassadors of the Vietnamese language abroad.
Regarding Nguyen Thuy Thien Huong, another teacher who was officially appointed as a Vietnamese language lecturer at the FLL, Professor Surinderpal Kaur, head of the faculty, commended her as an outstanding and experienced educator who has deepened Malaysians' appreciation for Vietnamese culture. The university is thrilled to have Vietnamese language classes resumed after struggling to find suitable teachers since 2017.
Nguyen Ba Tan, First Secretary in charge of community affairs at the embassy, affirmed that it remains dedicated to community support, particularly for the Vietnamese Language Club. The embassy annually sends expatriates passionate about the language back to Vietnam for training and teaching.
The Vietnamese community in Malaysia has over 30,000 people, with about 30% being Vietnamese brides. Teaching Vietnamese to future generations in Malaysia is a meticulous process due to the multilingual educational environment, which includes Bahasa, English, and Chinese./.
