You will work in groups of 3 and use Vietnamese to create a website with help information for an American student starting a new life in Vietnam.

Remember that the American student may speak some Vietnamese but not very well.

Use Google Sites or similar web-hosting tools to build the website collaboratively among group members.

You will present your website to the class in groups and share it publicly online.

1. PROCEDURE

2. HELP INFORMATION CONTENT

3. PRESENTATION GUIDELINES

4. PROJECT EVALUATION

1. PROCEDURE

Step 1: Forming Group

Form groups of 3. Your group will need to have a Vietnamese-speaking partner who is familiar with living in Vietnam.

You can use online chat (Skype, Viber, etc.) to connect with a Vietnamese partner in Vietnam. Your teacher may help you find a partner if needed.

Step 2: Preparation for Interview

Before you interview your Vietnamese-speaking partner, brainstorm what an American student studying abroad for a semester in Vietnam will need in order to start a new life in your partner's city in Vietnam (assume that they have brought very little possessions to Vietnam). Consider:

1. what they need to buy for daily use and to wear (make a list)
2. where to get the above items (list the possible places)
3. how they can find a place to live (list some types of housing)
4. how they will get around in town (list means of transportation)
5. dos and don'ts while living in Vietnam (make a list)
6. how to carry out conversations to buy things for daily use, rent a place, and ask for directions (practice in role-plays)

Take a look at the Interview content in Step 3 below and prepare your questions in Vietnamese ahead of the time and ask the teacher to give your group feedback on the questions.

Step 3: Interview

Interview a Vietnamese living in Vietnam about what they think an international student from the US may need. You may carry out several interviews to cover the content and tasks the below.

Record the interview for later study.

In your interview, carry out these tasks:

1. Ask about what the American student may need: "Nếu có một người Mỹ mới sang Việt Nam sinh sống thì họ sẽ cần những thông tin gì để bắt đầu cuộc sống mới?" Ask follow-up questions to get detailed information.
2. Ask where the best places (cheapest, most convenient, best quality, etc.) are in their city to buy the objects you brainstormed in Step 2, and
   • get the stores' names, addresses, and directions to get there.
   • list the objects that can be bought at each place.
   • ask your Vietnamese partner for photos of the inside of the stores, if possible.
3. Ask about the types of housing available for rent to foreigners in town
   • describe what each type has to offer
   • its price range
   • their recommendations of suitable neighborhoods
4. Ask about good means of transportation
   • public and private means of transportation
   • how to use them
   • their advantages and disadvantages
   • their cost
5. Have the interviewee role-play in Vietnamese with each of you the following 3 scenarios:

a. At the shop: you're trying to buy something for daily use, a clothing item, or a piece of furniture, and the Vietnamese interviewee will be the shop owner.

You can introduce the role-play like this: "Bây giờ mình đang ở cửa hàng tạp hoá ở Việt Nam. Bác/ anh/ chị... giả làm người bán hàng. Tôi/ em/ con sẽ giả làm người mua hàng." In your role as the customer, try to buy at least 3 things.

b. Renting a place: you are trying to rent a place to live and the Vietnamese interviewee will be the landlord.

Before the interview, you need to find some pictures of places to rent so the interviewee can choose one to talk about. You can introduce the role-play like this: "Bây giờ bác/ anh/ chị... giả làm chủ nhà. ôi/ em/ con sẽ giả làm người đi thuê nhà." In your role as a potential renter, try to ask about

• what the place has (rooms, furniture,
• how far the place is from an important place to you (school, market, town center, etc.)
• the rent amount

c. Asking and giving directions: Set up a scenario in which an American student in Vietnam may be likely to need to ask for directions from a stranger in the street (e.g., going to a store, a bank, a school, a bus stop). You will act as that American student and ask for directions. The Vietnamese interviewee will be a local person.

Use as many language forms you have learned as possible in the role-plays.

After the role-play, ask the interviewee to give suggestions to help you speak Vietnamese more naturally.

6. Ask for advice about appropriateness in social interaction in Vietnamese society:

"Trong cách giao tiếp ứng xử ở Việt Nam, người Mỹ mới sang Việt Nam sinh sống nên tránh những điều gì và nên làm những điều gì?" Ask follow-up questions to get detailed information.

Step 4: Creating the Help Information Website

Based on the recorded interview in Step 3, write the content of the help information website.

Each group member should be in charge of drafting some sections of the website and give feedback on each other's sections. Here is a suggested plan based on the tasks in the interview in Step 3:

Student A: 2, 5a

Student B: 3, 5b

Student C: 4, 5c

Everyone: 1, 6

Once the group's draft is complete, submit it to your teacher for feedback.

Step 5: Presentation

• Present your website orally in class. See guidelines below.
• Submit the website to your teacher for evaluation and feedback.

Step 6: Thanking

Write a thank-you note to the interviewee in Vietnamese. Your teacher can help with the language if necessary.

2. HELP INFORMATION CONTENT

Trang Mạng Hướng Dẫn Cho Người Nước Ngoài Mới Đến Sống Ở Việt Nam

Instructions for content:

1. Tựa đề: A title
2. Mở đầu: Introduction (one sentence about the purpose of the brochure or website and its target audience)
3. Các thứ cần thiết: Basic necessities to buy for daily use (give brief information as specified on the template)
4. Thuê nhà: Renting a place to live (give brief information as specified on the template)
5. Phương tiện đi lại: Recommended means of transportation (give brief information as specified on the template)
6. Mẫu hội thoại: One example dialog in English and one example dialog in Vietnamese for each of the 3 situations (shopping, renting a place, and asking for directions). These examples should highlight the pragmatic norms in Vietnamese and American cultures in business transaction (e.g., bargaining, ways to request for goods, types of housing). The pairs of dialogs should be as natural as possible and should not be direct translations of each other.
7. Nên và không nên: Make a list of 3 dos and 3 don'ts in communication when shopping, renting a place, and asking for directions in the US/ Vietnam. These dos and don'ts may be illustrated in the examples in 6.
8. Tác giả: List your group members' names at the bottom of the first page.

Enable comments on your website so your classmates can give your group comments.

[link back to the language Resources that can help you with these items]

3. PRESENTATION GUIDELINES

• Your group will present your Help Information in front of the class. Show your website. One student in your group will be the narrator, and the other two students will role-play the sample dialogs in Vietnamese.
• When another group is presenting, you will listen and give them feedback by commenting on their website (comments should have been enabled). Try to write at least 3 comments and ask at least 1 oral question during the presentation. You can:
  • correct language errors
  • raise questions about the content or language use
  • give specific compliments on what they did well

4. PROJECT EVALUATION

• Your teacher will evaluate your written Help Information using this rubric.
• Your teacher will evaluate your oral presentation using this rubric.
• Your teacher will evaluate your feedback for your peer by collecting the brochures you commented on and using this rubric.

Next, go to the Reflection page to wrap up this project.