Vietnamese

This Vietnamese language classes at NTU aim to introduce NTU students to the Vietnamese language and culture. The four basic language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing will be developed throughout the course. Your confidence in using Vietnamese regarding simple topics will gradually increase. This course will give you many advantages if you decide to travel or work in Vietnam

For more information, please contact the Vietnamese language coordinator at [email protected]​

1. Vietnamese is one of the most popular languages in the world
Vietnamese is the national language of Vietnam. It is the main communication method of a country with 95 million people. Moreover, there are 4 million Vietnamese who are currently living in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, making it one of the most popular languages in the world up to now. There are currently 12 000 Vietnamese living in Singapore.

2. Doing Business
Knowing and understanding Vietnamese culture is a big advantage in doing business in the country. Vietnam is one of the key investment destinations for Singaporean companies. In 2016, there were 1,786 investment projects with registered cumulative investments of US$37.9 billion. In 2016, Singapore was the third largest source of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Vietnam.
Over the years, the seven Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks has attracted over US$9 billion in investments, with 600 companies providing jobs for more than 170,000 workers, which highlights the success of the jointly developed industrial parks. Currently, Singaporean companies in the food manufacturing, chemicals, and precision engineering industries have a presence in these parks.
Vietnam’s strategic location, low-cost labour, burgeoning consumer class, and incentives to foreign investors have made the country an attractive destination for Singaporean FDIs.

3. Be a better traveller
In the year 2017, 12.9 million visitors arrived in Vietnam, an increase of 29.1% compared to the same period last year according to Viet Nam Tourism Board. Vietnam is becoming a hot destination with beautiful landscapes, delicious food, and friendly people. Unfortunately, in the big cities, people do not speak much English, so knowing some Vietnamese will definitely help to discover the country’s hidden charm.

4. The Vietnamese language is easy to learn
Alphabet: The Vietnamese alphabet uses roman letters. This writing system is very transparent. When you read a word, you will know how to spell it. If you know English, it does not take you much time to remember the letters in the alphabet.
Tense: Vietnamese does not use tenses all the time. There are only a few words that refer to the tenses, which can be memorised in 2 minutes. Tense can often be entirely left out in the concrete context.
Gender: In Vietnamese, items do not have a specific gender. You can just learn a word as it is, without any extra memorisation.
Vietnamese has no plurals and no confusing verb endings. In short the Vietnamese language is much simpler than you think.