From Elementary to Pre-intermediate level, our lessons are built up on LSV's published book called "Useful Vietnamese for Expats" by Phung Thi My Hanh
"This book is geared towards foreigners living and working in Vietnam who have a desire to communicate with Vietnamese people. It begins with 'Vietnamese to get by' and later delves into lessons in Vietnamese language concurrent with a focus on culture. My students have an enduring desire for true immersion and cultural sensitivity. This book is my step-by-step guide to achieving that. I am a firm believer in incorporating humour and compelling subject matter so that the learning process feels relaxed, enjoyable and stress-free. The goal is to 'trick' my students into learning without the strained feeling of burdensome, lecture-like study. Learning is never a chore to someone who is having fun while doing it.
The coursework begins with the language to get by. I have found that many textbooks equip the learners with everything they need to answer, but neglect to prepare them for what to listen out for in order to recognise the questions being asked. Hence, it’s difficult for the learner to make conversation. My introductory chapters are written with this in mind. I have ordered the coursebook in a way that first gives the students what they require most urgently in their day-to-day lives upon arriving in Vietnam, for example: food and ordering at restaurants, illness and pain, etc. Nobody's going to be discussing the economy or politics on an empty stomach. In the conversational part (part three), the topics focus on a range of subjects that one would encounter often in real life, such as daily activities, weather, traveling, illness and pain, entertainment, etc. There is certainly a cultural element to this part, requiring some sensitivity. Many of my friends and students have found the commonly asked questions by Vietnamese people to be quite culturally jarring. How old are you? Are you married? Do you have children? None of this sits comfortably in the realm of Western small talk and students need to be prepared to not be taken aback by it if they are to survive!
Each topic comprises the following parts: grammar, vocabulary and practice; primarily focusing on conversational Vietnamese; feeling your way around the alphabet and tones and basic grammar that will be used throughout the book. As the book continues, the topics in each part become more specialised and the language, in keeping, is more advanced.
This book uses the Hanoi dialect, which is considered the standard one and is used in education as well as national media. I really hope you will enjoy the book as well as learning the language."
For advanced levels, we use "Tieng Viet nang cao" by Nguyen Viet Huong
However, we make a few changes to make the materials suit our students’ need whether it is formal for working purposes or casual for daily talk, we try our best to make the language natural-sounding and easy to pick up for students.