You will work in pairs to communicate with a Vietnamese Partner in Vietnam throughout this project in order to gather information for a website of travel insights about a city in Vietnam. You and your pair partner will take turns to be the lead author of each part of your website, and the other person will revise and improve that part.

I. GETTING STARTED

Pre-Task 1: Form Pairs

• Form a pair with a classmate who chooses the same country of destination as you (Vietnam)
• Together, you will communicate with a Vietnamese Partner and build your website.
• You will take turns to be the lead author of half of the tasks and give feedback to your classmate for the other half of the tasks. Suggested arrangement:
  • Student A:
    • Lead author for Tasks 1, 3 [midterm evaluation]; Tasks 5, 7
    • Revise Tasks 2, 4 [midterm evaluation]; Tasks 6, 8
  • Student B:
    • Lead author for Tasks 2, 4 [midterm evaluation]; Tasks 6, 8
    • Revise Tasks 1, 3 [midterm evaluation]; Tasks 5, 7

Pre-Task 2: Vietnamese Partner Introduction

• Meet your Vietnamese Partner online in a voice chat
  • Introduce yourself in Vietnamese and ask your partner to introduce himself/ herself and his/her city.
  • Explain to your partner about your project
  • Describe what your partner will need to do for you: To provide local insights for your website (see Entry Event: Vietnam)
  • Arrange a future online meeting schedule throughout the project, with topics
• Describe your Vietnamese Partner to your class

[See the language resources for this task]

Pre-Task 3: Website Creation

• Set up a website
  • Choose Google Site, WordPress, Wix, or another web hosting service of your choice and set up a website for this project.
  • Share your website's URL with your teacher (make sure you enable access so your teacher can edit)
  • Do the same with your Vietnamese Partner.

II. BUILDING WEBSITE CONTENT

Task 1: Getting to Vietnam

• Create a page on your website entitled "Chuẩn bị đi du lịch Việt Nam"
• Ask your Vietnamese Partner what s/he thinks Americans should do to prepare for a long-term stay in Vietnam
• Ask a Vietnamese speaker who has traveled to Vietnam recently about their tips on getting to Vietnam
• Use ideas from Chapter 2 in the Chúng ta nói textbook and information you gathered from talking to these people, write your tips on travel preparations and getting to Vietnam. Consider these points:
  • what to do before arriving in Vietnam (paperwork, medical readiness, essential things to bring)
  • best time to travel and why
  • how to get to Vietnam (best route, best ticket, transit, choice of arrival places)
  • how to get from the airport to your Vietnamese Partner's neighborhood (transportation, directions)

Write about 300 words. Include a map of Vietnam on which your Partner's city is highlighted.

• Ask your Vietnamese partner to check your writing and revise it accordingly.

[See the language resources for this task]

Task 2: A City's Climate and Weather

• Create a page on your website entitled "Khí hậu và thời tiết ở ..." (fill in the name of your Vietnamese Partner's city)
• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to
  • describe the climate in his/her city
  • typical weather in each season
  • how to prepare for each season
  • which time of year is the best time to visit his/her city, weather-wise
• Tell your Vietnamese Partner about your city's climate and weather and the best time to visit
• Based on the information from your Vietnamese partner, write a description of your partner's city's climate and weather and give travel tips based on the climate and weather

Write about 300 words, include pictures and captions in Vietnamese (ask your Partner to give photos of his/her city in different weather conditions if possible)

• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to check your writing and revise it accordingly

[See the language resources for this task]

Task 3: Housing

• Create a page on your website entitled "Nhà cửa ở ..." (fill in the name of your Vietnamese Partner's city)
• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to
  • describe housing options in his/her city (what each option offers, their advantages, disadvantages, price range)
  • describe what to expect each housing option to come with (furnishings, appliances, amenities, services)
  • give tips on how to find the best housing option for a semester of study (where to look, what questions to ask when calling the landlord)
  • give advice on what to avoid when looking for a place to rent in his/her city
  • describe how to hire a maid, and what to expect a maid to do
• Tell your Vietnamese Partner about your city on the above topics
• Based on the information from your Vietnamese Partner, write tips on housing for a long-term stay in your Partner's city

Write about 300 words, include pictures and captions to illustrate (ask your Partner to take pictures of the types of houses in his/her city if possible)

• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to check your writing and revise it accordingly

[See the language resources for this task]

Task 4: Visiting a Family

• Create a page on your website entitled "Đến thăm một gia đình Việt Nam ở ..." (fill in the name of your Vietnamese Partner's city)
• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to
  • describe his/her extended family:
    • his/her relationship to the other family members
    • who these family members are (age, work, school, personality, etc.)
    • how often they get together and what they do
  • describe how you should greet each of the family members
  • give tips on questions you can ask to break the ice if you were to visit his/her family
  • give advice on what to avoid asking if you were to visit his/her family
  • describe what you should and should not do if you were to visit his/her family
• Tell your Vietnamese Partner about your extended family, using the above topics
• Based on the information from your Vietnamese Partner, write a description of family relationships in Vietnam, and tips on visiting a Vietnamese family in your Partner's city.

Write about 300 words.

• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to check your writing and revise it accordingly

[See the language resources for this task]

Project midterm evaluation. Click to see Rubric.

Task 5: Food and Dining

• Create a page on your website entitled "Ăn uống ở ..." (fill in the name of your Vietnamese Partner's city)
• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to tell you about
  • famous dishes in his/her region
  • popular dishes among young people in her city
  • the best restaurants in his/her city (where they are, what they offer, why they are special)
  • what your Partner usually eats for each meal of the day:
    • names of the dishes
    • their tastes
    • how they are cooked
  • on what occasions s/he goes out to eat and what s/he usually orders
    • names of the dishes
    • their tastes
    • how they are prepared
• Tell your Vietnamese Partner about yourself on the above topics
• Role-play with your Vietnamese Partner a dining situation (you're the customer or visitor to his/her house). Record this role-play for your skit later.
• Based on the information from your Vietnamese Partner, write about food and dining in your Partner's city

Write about 200 words, and embed a recorded skit between you and your classmate (in your pair) to illustrate a dining situation (your choice). The skit can be in audio or video format.

• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to check your writing and revise it accordingly

[See the language resources for this task]

Task 6: Shopping

• Create a page on your website entitled "Đi mua sắm ở ..." (fill in the name of your Vietnamese Partner's city)
• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to:
  • tell you about the best places to buy clothes and accessories in his/her city and the price range of these items
  • tell you whether s/he usually buys ready made clothes or having it tailored and why, how much it usually costs to have a shirt, dress, pair of pants, or suit made
  • give advice on how to bargain in the market
• Tell your Vietnamese Partner about the above topics in your city's context
• Role-play with your Vietnamese Partner some shopping situations (you're the customer):
  • buying some accessories in the market
  • buying some clothes at a store
  • having something tailored at a shop

Record these role-plays and listen to them again for your skit later.

• Based on the information from your Vietnamese Partner, write tips on shopping in your Partner's city

Write about 150 words, and embed 3 recorded skits between you and your classmate (in your pair) to illustrate the shopping situations. The skit can be in audio or video format.

• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to check your writing and revise it accordingly

[See the language resources for this task]

Task 7: Basic Business Transactions

• Create a page on your website entitled "Giao dịch cơ bản ở ..." (fill in the name of your Vietnamese Partner's city)
• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to:
  • tell you about where s/he usually goes to get his/her hair done, and what services they offer
  • tell you about the services provided by the post office in their city
  • tell you about the services that the banks in his city offers
• Tell your Vietnamese Partner about the above topics in your city's context
• Role-play with your Vietnamese Partner
  • an interaction at the hair salon (you are the customer and your Vietnamese Partner is the hair stylist)
  • a transaction at the post office (you are the customer, your Vietnamese Partner is the postmaster).
  • a bank transaction (you are the customer, your Vietnamese Partner is the bank teller).

Record these role-plays and listen to them again for your skit later.

• Based on the information from and role-plays with your Vietnamese Partner, write tips on carrying out basic business transactions in your Partner's city

Write about 150 words, and embed 3 recorded skits by you and your classmate (in your pair) to illustrate the business transactions. The skit can be in audio or video format.

• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to check your writing and revise it accordingly

[See the language resources for this task]

Task 8: Hobbies, Sports, and Entertainment

• Create a page on your website entitled "Giải trí ở ..." (fill in the name of your Vietnamese Partner's city)
• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to:
  • tell you about his/her hobbies and the popular leisure activities for people in his/her city
  • tell you about the popular sports in his/her city and how s/he participates in those sports (watching or playing?)
• Tell your Vietnamese Partner (in Vietnamese) about:
  • your hobbies and interests
  • the popular sports in your city and how you participate in it
• Based on the information from your Vietnamese Partner, write tips on leisure activities and sports in your Partner's city

Write about 300 words, include pictures with captions (ask for photos from your Partner if possible)

• Ask your Vietnamese Partner to check your writing and revise it accordingly

[See the language resources for this task]

III. PRESENTATION AND PUBLICATION

• In pairs, orally present your complete and revised website in class.
  • Give the class an overview of your website
  • Highlight its strengths
  • Describe areas of improvement
  • Discuss what you learned in creating this website
• Publish your website by making it available publicly on the web. Invite your Vietnamese Partner and their friends, your friends and family to view it and give you comments.

IV. PROJECT EVALUATION

• Your website will be evaluated at two times: around mid-term and in the final week. Your teacher will use this rubric for the mid-term evaluation and this rubric for the final evaluation.
• Your oral presentation will be evaluated using this rubric.
• Your teacher will also invite your Vietnamese Partner to comment on your performance using this Vietnamese-English rubric.

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