Learning New Vocabulary

This afternoon we had a great visit with friends in a village just north of Hanoi. On the way back into town, one of my friends asked me how I remember Vietnamese words that are new to me. That's a good question, since I hear so many new words and forget them so easily. Like the English idiom says, they "go in one ear and out the other."

But I have had some success. Usually it comes when I can use the word or phrase a lot for 2-3 days after I learn it. I try to do this when I learn a Vietnamese proverb. Repeating it often and asking if I used it correctly helps me understand and remember.

If you want to try this method, just think up ways to use your new English word whenever you can. For example, if the word is "compromise," make a sentence about two friends who had a small disagreement and had to compromise. If you read news about a policy dispute somewhere, you can say something as simple as, "They need to compromise." If your English-speaking friend wants to take the bus somewhere and you want to go by xe om, say, "Maybe we can compromise and take the bus there and xe om back." Even if there's no one around who can speak English, you can say it to yourself and it will help.

It's an added bonus if you have friends who are native speakers or experts because, after you use the word, you can ask, "Is that the right meaning?" They can help you fine-tune your understanding of the meaning and help you use the correct collocations.

Good luck! Remember, "có công mài sắt, có ngày nên kim." Did I use that correctly?

Writing Classes in Hanoi

How's your writing? Would you like to work on improving it? Beginning in mid-April I will be teaching two private writing classes. There will be a fee, but the class size will be limited to 5 students in each class so they can receive focused attention.

• First Steps in Academic Writing is a high-beginner level class which will focus on basics such as writing good sentences, paragraph structure, and different kinds of paragraphs. This two-hour class will meet twice a week for six weeks (Tuesday, 6:30 - 8:30 pm and Saturday, 9 - 11 am). Writing assignments will be given as homework. If you are interested, send me a message on Facebook, or text your email address to 01227350749 and I will send you the details.
• Improving Your Writing is for high-intermediate and advanced students. This two-hour class will meet once a week for six weeks (Saturday, 1 - 3 pm) and will focus mainly on academic writing tasks similar to some of the IELTS tasks. Writing assignments will be given as homework and students will spend a lot of time editing and correcting assignments in order to recognize and avoid mistakes. If you are interested, send me a message on Facebook, or text your email address to 01227350749 and I will send you the details.

 Classes will begin on 19 April and 23 April and run till 28 May.