Hello everyone, my name is Kaz from Channel Kaz.
I have a Youtube channel where I provide information on learning Vietnamese and various other topics in Vietnam, mainly in Hanoi, in a vlog format.
Why study Vietnamese?
When we tell people that they can learn Vietnamese on their own, the answer is almost always, "Impossible.
When I first came to Vietnam, I was able to speak simple everyday English. I started coming to Vietnam because of my work. I asked a Vietnamese company to do some work for me (so-called "offshore"), and I started traveling to Vietnam to manage the progress of the work. During the work, Vietnamese staff who can speak Japanese translate for me, so I don't have any problems, but after work, on weekends, and during my private time, when there is no interpreter available, I have no idea who I am talking to. However, after work, on weekends, and during private time when there is no interpreter available, I am unable to talk to anyone. Even if you can communicate in English at hotels and airports, you will hardly be able to communicate in English when you go out on the street.
So I thought, "If I'm going to be in Vietnam a lot, I might as well learn Vietnamese! I thought to myself, "If so many Vietnamese are coming to Vietnam, I might as well try to learn Vietnamese! In Japan, the number of Vietnamese trainees has been increasing recently, and there are many people who would like to speak the language of the other country because they have gone to the trouble of learning it. According to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of Vietnamese trainees was about 100,000 as of June 2009, surpassing China for first place.
Totally unintelligible Vietnamese and frustration
First of all, greetings are the most common in Vietnam: "Hello", "Thank you", "Sin Chao", "Cam Ng". However, this does not mean that they are really understood. You will understand this when you try to speak longer sentences.
Take a cab and say, "Please go to Kho Xai." "Lam Ung Dieu Den Kho Xai." The answer that comes back from a native Vietnamese speaker is, "Huh? In Vietnamese, this is a light retort, "What? In Vietnamese, this is a light retort, but to a Japanese person, it sounds like "huh? It sounds like "What is he talking about? The burning desire to learn Vietnamese was extinguished, and the Japanese people were left thinking, "I can't speak Vietnamese.
In the beginning, most of the Japanese I met in Vietnam also said in unison, "I can't speak Vietnamese, so I gave up. I think many of you have had similar experiences.
The trick is not to give up and to understand
I threw it away once in frustration, but one day while eating at a Japanese restaurant in Hanoi, I saw a very old man conversing with the waiter in Vietnamese. I thought he was a native Vietnamese, but when I looked at him, I saw that he was Japanese. I later asked the waiter about it, and he told me that he is a Japanese who has been in Vietnam for a long time and speaks Vietnamese fluently.
Something cool! Even Japanese can do it! So I tried Vietnamese again, but I couldn't get through to them. But as I kept trying and trying, I kept thinking, "What if I do it this way? I can understand if I do it this way! or "If I think this way, Vietnamese letters may not be so difficult to read. I started this channel because I wanted to help increase the number of Japanese who can speak Vietnamese by sharing how I overcame obstacles and questions I encountered when learning Vietnamese from a Japanese point of view.
It's been three years now. When I look back at the videos from the beginning, my Vietnamese is faltering and there are many mistakes. However, as I have been improving on the tips and vocabulary/phrases I have introduced in the videos, I am gradually becoming able to hold a conversation with a native speaker. So, I hope Channel Kaz will not be a place where "Kaz teaches Vietnamese" but a place where "amateurs can learn to speak Vietnamese with you" and share the process with you.
Being able to speak Vietnamese.
Speaking English is not uncommon, but speaking Vietnamese makes you special. If you are in a Japanese workplace, you will be a great relief to Vietnamese people working in distant Japan, and if you are in Vietnam, they will treat you with a sense of familiarity as a foreigner who understands Vietnam, not just a passing foreign tourist. For Japanese people, anyway, Vietnamese is difficult to pronounce and difficult to understand, but you will surely learn to speak it if you don't give up even if you are self-taught. The channel does not focus on strict grammar or difficult long sentences, but rather on expressions used in daily conversation, and introduces "tips on how to get through anyway".
Exciting Life in Vietnam
Japan is a developed country, convenient, clean, safe and quiet. I feel this strongly every time I return to Japan. You can drink water straight from the tap, and food and drinks do not upset your stomach.
In Vietnam, on the other hand, the waves of motorcycles filling the road and the constant honking of horns make crossing the road a challenge at first. I am an old man, but the experience of crossing the street with a young Vietnamese man pulling me by the hand was truly astonishing and humiliating. During my stay in Vietnam, I usually get sick to my stomach at least once, and I have to buy drinking water every time. Garbage is thrown away on the streets here and there. There are many inconveniences compared to life in Japan, but at the same time, I feel the vitality and overwhelming energy of the people that I no longer feel in Japan, and I remember a feeling similar to the Showa-era Japan when I was a child. There are many things that are commonplace in Vietnam but shocking to Japanese people, and there is never a dull moment.
I will also introduce in the form of a vlog the happenings I encountered during my stay in Vietnam and my interactions with the local people through the Vietnamese language, which is still a little rusty. It will be a great pleasure and encouragement for me if you can watch it while being surprised and laughing with me. Please visit our channel and watch the story of a self-taught businessman's stay in Vietnam.
author (usu. of a particular book, etc.)
Kaz
Profile
Born in 1970
IT Advisor for locally hired Japanese Vietnamese IT company
Born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
Self-taught in Vietnamese for 3.5 years
Channel Motto
Fun! Easy to understand!
YouTube]https://www.youtube.com/c/ChannelKaz
