VietnamBy Mariya Levenets

• Location: Southeast Asia• Formal Name: Socialist

Republic of Vietnam• Capital: Hanoi• Population: 83.5 million

and grows by 1.04 percent.

Introduction

Culture• Worship of ancestors• Holidays

o There are eleven lunar holidays • Tet nguyen dan (Lunar New Year)• Tet thuong nguyen • Tet trung nguyen

• Attitudeso Respect teachers and parents.

• Dresso Special Occasion

• Women• Men

Customs• Formal Greeting: Shake hands• Other: Greet verbally and bow the head slightly.

As well, maintain about three feet of distance. • Men are considered as the authority.• Women are supposed to take care of the children

in the family.

Prejudices• Vietnamese were not allowed citizenship in

Cambodia and were removed from their place of residence.

• About 200,000 out of 450,000 Vietnamese were murdered.

• Many were forced to move to South Vietnam.• About 150,000 ethnic Vietnamese were forced to

migrate to Vietnam.

Injustices• During the Vietnam War many innocent children,

women, and children were killed. • Innocent children and women were killed during

the My Lai incident.• More than 500 women, children, and men were

killed. • Some of the United States soldiers raped women

and teenagers and then killed the victims.

Stereotypes and Negative Images

• Vietnamese are ‘gooks’.• Vietnamese are stereotyped as generalizing that

they are people living in a third world country in Asia.

Positive Images• Vietnamese are very respectful people.• The Vietnamese appreciate kindness and hard

work.

Taboos• Touching someone’s head• Waving index finger to get someone’s attention• Crossing index fingers• Using many hand gestures• Hands on hips or arms crossed on the chest

Tips for Teachers• Be on time• Direct contact is not suggested• Respect personal space• No touching during a conversation

• Provide notes to the student written in simple English.

• Avoid taboos to prevent miscommunication.• Address the topic of the Vietnam War carefully.• Useful phrases:

o Xin chao (Formal Greeting)o Co khoe khong? (How are you doing?)

Tips for Teachers

References• Brigham Young University & ProQuest Information and Learning Company.

(2007). Asia and Oceania. Provo, UT: ProQuest Information and Learning Co.

•  Cookman, Claude. (2007). An American atrocity: the my lai massacre

concretized in a victim’s face. Journal of American History, 94(1), 154-162.

Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/ogin.aspx?

direct=true&db=aph&AN=25498521 &site=ehost-live

• Enhrentraut, S. (2011). Perpetually temporary: citizenship and ethnic

Vietnamese in Cambodia. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(5), 779-798.

Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=sih&AN=59877112 &site=ehost-live

• Maguire, M., & Saris, Jamie. (2007). Enshrining Vietnamese-Irish lives. Anthropology Today,

23(2), 9-12. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost. com/login.aspx?direct

=true&db=sih&AN =24596298&site=ehost-live

• Juan, Karin Aguilar–San. (2009). Little saigon’s : staying Vietnamese in America. Retrieved

from http://site.ebrary.com/ lib/molloy/docDetail.action?docID=10353992

• Vietnam. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2012, from http://www.culturecross ing.net/

basics_business_ student _details.php?Id=7&CID=223

References