Read What You Already Know

One way to improve your English reading is to read something in English that you're already familiar with in Vietnamese. For example, a news item about the Red Shirts in Thailand is easier to understand if you've read the news about Red Shirts in Vietnamese first. It makes it much easier to guess unknown words and follow the train of thought.

Another thing you can do is read English versions of Vietnamese stories. You may know this one which is on the internet at a University of Pittsburgh website that has folktales from many different cultures.

One Cow More

A stupid man went to market and bought six cows. He rode one home and drove the others before him. On the way he counted them, but could see only five. Again and again he counted them. He was certain that he had lost one and was afraid he would be scolded by his wife.

She was waiting for him at the gate of their house. As soon as he saw her he said tearfully, "I've lost one of our cows. I don't know it could've happened. I was very careful."

"How many cows did you buy?" asked his wife.

"Six, but now I can see only five," answered the stupid man.

His wife looked at him and laughed, "You foolish man, there isn't one cow less, there's one more!"

For an English version of Cam and Tam, click here.