Unit 6: Vietnam: Then and now

Communication

1. Read the posts on Viet Travel Forum (VTF) from people who visited Viet Nam a long time ago.

Đọc những bài viết trên Viet Travel Forum của những người đã từng thăm Việt Nam. 

The first time I was in Ho Chi Minh City was in 1983. Most people rode bicycles then and there were very few motorbikes on the road. Ten years later, when I came back, the city had dramatically changed, with 800,000 motorbikes and two million bicycles on the roads.

Kate from Russia

In 1995, I went back to Viet Nam after 30 years and to my surprise, the population was three times higher but the country no longer suffered illiteracy. It had also become one of the world’s largest exporters of rice, which was another surprise for me.

Charles from France

I went to Ha Noi in August 1997, two years after Viet Nam joined ASEAN. The road system in Ha Noi was very simple then. It has dramatically changed over the last 18 years. Flyovers and high-rise buildings are mushrooming!

Dịch:

Lần đầu tiên tôi đến Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh là vào năm 1983. Hầu hết mọi người đi xe đạp và có rất ít xe máy trên đường. 10 năm sau, khi tôi trở lại thành phố đã thay đổi rõ rệt với 800.000 xe máy và 2 triệu xe đạp trên đường.

Kate đến từ Nga

Vào năm 1995, tôi trở về Việt Nam sau 30 năm và tôi đã rất ngạc nhiên, dân số cao hơn 3 lần nhưng đất nước đã không còn chịu đựng cảnh mù chữ. Nó đã trở thành một trong những nước xuất khẩu gạo lớn nhất thế giới một sự ngạc nhiên khác đối với tôi.

Charles đến từ Pháp

Tôi đến Hà Nội vào tháng 8 năm 1997, hai năm sau Việt Nam gia nhập ASEAN. Hệ thống đường xá ở Hà Nội ngày ấy rất đơn giản. Nó đã thay đổi rõ rệt khi trải qua 18 năm. Những cây cầu vượt và nhà cao tầng mọc lên như nấm!

Peter đến từ Mỹ

2. Read the posts on Viet Travel Forum (VTF) and retell them to your friends.

Đọc lại những bài viết và kể lại cho bạn bè của bạn nghe. 

Charles is from France. He said that the first time he had been to Viet Nam was in 1965. He said that many people were/had been illiterate then but he was astonished that after nearly 30 years there was no more illiteracy although the population had nearly tripled. He was also surprised to learn that the country was one of the largest rice exporting countries.

Peter is from America. He said that he had gone to Ha Noi in 1997 when Viet Nam had been part of ASEAN for two years. He was shocked/astonished to see that so much had changed over the last 18 years flyovers and high-rise buildings were mushrooming.

3. Work in groups. Use the suggestions in the table to write as many posts as possible about the recent changes in Viet Nam that you have heard of or read about. Remember to use adjectives or adverbs to modify the changes.

Làm việc theo nhóm. Sử dụng các gợi ý trong bảng để viết các bài viết về các sự thay đổi gần đây mà bạn từng nghe. Nhớ sử dụng các tính từ và trạng từ để làm rõ những sự thay đổi. 

Past	Present
Manual labour	More technology and equipment
Mostly agriculture production	More industrial production
Few services	More services
Mostly grew rice	Export rice, coffee, cashew nut, pepper, friut
Fewer opportunities for university education	Many opportunities for university education (inside and outside the country)
Only wealthy families went on holiday	Most families go on holiday
Holiday inside the country	Holiday inside and outside the country
Extended family	Nuclear family

Which of the changes do you think are the most beneficial?

I think that more opportunities for university is the most beneficial.

Hướng dẫn:

I went to Viet Nam in 1996. There were mostly manual labour and agricultural productions. 12 years later, when I came back, the country had dramatically changed, there were more technology and equipment and more industrial production too.

Last year, I went back to Ho Chi Minh city after 20 years and to my surprise, there were more services. There were also many opportunities for university (inside and outside the country), which were another surprise for me.

4. Present your group's posts to other groups 

Thuyết trình bào viết của nhóm mình với các nhóm khác 

Bài tập

• Bài 1. Read the posts on Viet Travel Forum (VTF) from people who visited Viet Nam a long time ago.
• Bài 2. Read the posts on Viet Travel Forum (VTF) and retell them to your friends.
• Bài 3. Work in groups. Use the suggestions in the table to write as many posts as possible about the recent changes in Viet Nam that you have heard of or read about. Remember to use adjectives or adverbs to modify the changes.