These language materials will help you prepare for a travel insight website. Please preview the website's content to plan ahead how you will be using these language forms.

The main textbook referred to here is "Chúng ta nói... Conversational Vietnamese" by Lê Phạm Thuý Kim and Nguyễn Kim Oanh and the accompanying Workbook Manual and listening materials.

0. Introduction

• Chapter 1 "Làm quen" in Chúng ta nói textbook

* * * Project task: Meet your Vietnamese Partner.

Click here for Vietnam-bound destination. Click here for US-bound destination.

1. Trip preparations and getting to Vietnam

• Chapter 2: "Du lịch Việt Nam" in Chúng ta nói textbook
• Chapter 2 in Workbook Manual
• Further practice:
  • What do Vietnamese consider to be important when preparing a trip to the US?
    • Reading 1 (VNexpress)
    • Reading 2 (EvaAir)
  • What do Americans consider to be important when preparing a trip to Vietnam?
    • Reading 3 (Wikihow) (in English)
  • What do Vietnamese consider to be important when traveling in Vietnam?
    • Reading 4

* * * Project task: Write tips about getting to Vietnam.

Click here for Vietnam-bound destination. Click here for US-bound destination.

2. Talking about the weather

• Chapter 3: "Khí hậu và thời tiết" in Chúng ta nói textbook
• Chapter 3 in Workbook Manual
• Further practice:
  • Select a region in Vietnam and listen to the current weather forecast on VTV to find out what the weather is like there today. If you were to travel there now, what would you bring?
  • Read about the climates in different cities on this website for tourists to Vietnam. Click on the links near the bottom to read more about a city of your choice. How is the climate there compered to your hometown's climate?
  • Go to the Weather Channel or a similar weather forecast service and look up the weather of your favorite city in the US. In pairs, describe the weather in Vietnamese
• Chapter 4: Review

* * * Project task: Describe a city's climate and weather. Give travel tips accordingly.

Click here for Vietnam-bound destination.

Click here for US-bound destination.

3. Housing

• Chapter 5: "Nhà cửa" in Chúng ta nói textbook
• Chapter 5 in Workbook Manual
• Further practice:
  • Visit Alô nhà đất website and select a city. Look up the house rentals for that city and select 3 that you would rent if you were going to live there. Compare your choices with a classmate. Which features do your selected houses have in common?
  • Together with a partner, draw your ideal shared house, and complete it with furniture and interior choices. Visit these websites (uma, nhaxinh) and click on different rooms to get ideas for what you would like to put in your house. Once you're completed your shared house, describe it to another pair. They will follow your description to recreate a drawing of your house. See how well they can reproduce your drawing.
  • Now that you've got a house to share, make a list of daily and weekly chores. Which ones would you do yourself and which ones would you hire a maid to do? Consider advice for hiring maids from this website.

* * * Project task: Write tips about renting a place to live.

Click here for Vietnam-bound destination.

Click here for US-bound destination.

4. Family Relationships

• Chapter 6: "Quan hệ gia đình" in Chúng ta nói textbook
• Chapter 6 in Workbook Manual
• Further practice:
  • Draw your extended family tree (include as many people as you can). In Vietnamese, tell a partner about how you're related to the people in your family tree. Then, tell your partner about each member of your extended family (what they do, how old they are, what you know about them).

* * * Project task: Write tips about visiting a local family.

Click here for Vietnam-bound destination.

Click here for US-bound destination.

5. Dining

• Chapter 7: "Ăn uống" in Chúng ta nói textbook
• Chapter 7 in Workbook Manual
• Further practice:
  • How many dishes can you name in these pictures? or this picture? Together with a partner, choose a meal picture and role-play a conversation between a host and a guest. Then, choose another picture and switch roles. Click for the Host's role and click for the Guest's role.
  • Based on the information from the book chapter, write a description (about 300 words) in Vietnamese of Vietnamese dining etiquette and what guests are expected to do when invited to a family meal in Vietnam.
  • Describe your family's breakfast, lunch, and dinner routines to a Vietnamese friend. Tell this friend about what you usually eat, what your family's table manners are, and what guests are expected to do at dinner with your family. Write about 300 words.
• Chapter 8: Review

* * * Project task: Write tips about dining, with a skit for illustration.

Click here for Vietnam-bound destination.

Click here for US-bound destination.

6. Shopping

• Chapter 9 "Mua sắm" in Chúng ta nói textbook
• Chapter 9 in Workbook Manual
• Further practice:
  • Go over the list of clothing items and accessories on p. 160 and identify where they can be purchased in your town in Vietnamese to a Vietnamese visitor.
  • Translate the directory of your local shopping center into Vietnamese for a visitor.
  • Use Google maps, choose a city in Vietnam. Zoom in to identify the businesses in the town center. What types of businesses seem to be most commonly listed?

* * * Project task: Write tips about shopping, with a skit for illustration.

Click here for Vietnam-bound destination.

Click here for US-bound destination.

7. Basic Business Transactions

• Chapter 10 "Chạy việc vặt" in Chúng ta nói textbook
• Chapter 10 in Workbook Manual
• Further practice:
  • In pairs, look at the photos in the hair salon reviews on this website or this website. Take turns to pick a photo and describe a person's hair in that photo; the other student guess which person is being described. Among the hair salons reviewed, which one would be your choice?
  • Visit these hair salon websites Dandy, Quang Trung and study the services and prices offered. What do they suggest about Vietnamese people's preferences for hairstyles?
  • Imagine that you are going to get your hair done at the salon you picked above. Role-play your interaction with the hair stylist. Student A: Customer, Student B: Hair stylist.
  • Visit the website of Hanoi Post Office. What services are offered? Which services are similar to those offered by US post offices, and which ones are different?
  • Check out the photos of the Saigon Post Office. What do they suggest about the cultural significance that post offices have in Vietnamese cities?
  • Imagine that you are at the post office in Hanoi or Saigon. Role-play an interaction with the post master there. Student A: Customer, Student B: Post master.
  • Visit the website of Vietcombank. What services are offered to individuals (cá nhân)? How are they similar to or different from those offered in the US? Why?
  • Imagine that you are at a branch office of Vietcombank. Role-play an interaction with the teller. Student A: Customer, Student B: Bank teller.

* * * Project task: Write tips about basic business transactions, with a skit for illustration.

Click here for Vietnam-bound destination.

Click here for US-bound destination.

8. Hobbies, Sports and Entertainment

• Chapter 11: Giải trí & Thể thao in Chúng ta nói textbook
• Chapter 11 in Workbook Manual
• Further practice:
  • Class survey: Survey your classmates about their hobbies, favorite movie genres, music types, and sports. Move around the class to talk to all of your classmates (in Vietnamese). Fill in a survey table like this one.
    • Who have the most similar interests to yours?
    • Use the survey results to create a tally for your class. Which hobby is the most popular in your class? Which movie genre is most liked by your class? Which music type is most favored by your class? And which sport is most popular among your class?
• Chapter 12: Review

* * * Project task: Write tips about how to find and enjoy leisure activities and entertainment

Click here for Vietnam-bound destination.

Click here for US-bound destination.

Go to the Explore page for Vietnam-bound destination or US-bound destination to see all the tasks to build your Travel Insights website.