Vietnamese Language and Culture

A non-credit course sponsored by the Vietnamese Students Association

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Fall 2005 Syllabus

Contact: Hiep Do (Email dthiep@o2.pl)

Place: 186 Lincoln Hall

Class time: Wednesday 7-9pm

Website: http://www.ifp.uiuc.edu/~hanguyen/vietclass.htm

About the course:

To be successful in life, we need to acquire a broad perspective and a strong identity.

This course is designed for people who want to learn about the basics of the Vietnamese language and/or culture. The course contains a series of lessons for the students to learn basic and practical conversational Vietnamese language.

To make the class interesting, every week we will dedicate one hour for discussion of special topics. We try to cover various aspects of the Vietnamese culture, from history to future of Vietnam , from beautiful places in the country to its authentic gastronomy, from extract of best Vietnamese-related movies to traditional and modern music. A panel discussion about young people will provide you with real experience. Finally, one week is purposely left open to cover any topic interested by the majority of students in class.

The goal of this course is to arm you with knowledge to be able to discuss with any typical Vietnamese.

Although the course is non-credit, there will be regular quizzes to help you learn more effective. At the end of the course, prizes will be given to the top 3 students. Good luck.

Tentative Schedule:

Week 1 – October 12

- Vietnamese Alphabet, Vowels, Consonants,

- Basic Greetings,

- Introduction.

Special topic: highlights of Vietnamese – tourism, facts and general characteristics.

Week 2 – October 19

- Tone system, tone markers,

- Vietnamese Traditional Family.

- How to ask questions, and answer to show the respect.

Special topic: Vietnamese geography, history, and their cultural impacts.

Week 3 – October 26