The first days in Nghe An of 31 Laotian high school students

Integration

Just 4 days after the reception ceremony for Lao students studying abroadBoarding High School for Ethnic Minorities No. 2, 31 students from Laos attended a special event of the school, which was the Congress of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of the school. To welcome the congress, the students presented to teachers and friends a group dance performance imbued with the cultural imprint of Lao tribes, expressing the close bond between the Lao and Vietnamese peoples.

To prepare for this special performance, students from 6 provinces of Laos, namely Xieng Khouang, Hua Phan, Bolikhamxay, Vientiane, Savannakhet and Khammouane, quickly prepared and went on stage after just over 2 days of practice. The quick integration of the students with teachers and friends at the new school was a good sign, erasing the distance and fear and helping them to be more confident in their first days in Vietnam.

For nearly a month, the study and living schedules of Lao students have been extended continuously from morning to evening. In the morning and afternoon, students will learn Vietnamese taught by teachers from Nghe An Pedagogical College. In addition to the above time, there are lessons on skills, learning about lifestyle, culture and getting used to living in the dormitory.

In the Vietnamese class, although it has only been a short time, teacher Nguyen Thi Hoai Dung - lecturer at Nghe An Pedagogical College can rest assured because the students in the class have gradually become familiar with the learning routine and have begun to grasp Vietnamese phonetics. Some students can speak long sentences, while the majority are pronouncing simple words.

Previously, teacher Dung had many years of experience teaching Vietnamese to Laotian students when they came to Nghe An, but they were all students in university and college training programs. This was the first year she taught high school students, so the teaching process had to be adjusted accordingly.

“The Lao students in the class have in common the characteristics of being obedient, hard-working, and studious. To learn Vietnamese effectively, teachers need to treat them like their own children, teaching, communicating, encouraging, and motivating. The advantage is that the school, teachers, and students of Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2 also pay great attention, creating all conditions for the students to study and communicate in the best way,” said Ms. Hoai Dung.

In Ms. Dung’s class, there are two special students who are considered to be the best Vietnamese speakers. Even now, they can talk quite fluently with teachers and Vietnamese friends. Sulin Phumisun, a student from Savanakhet province, is one of them because before coming to Vietnam, she spent many years studying at the Lao-Vietnam Friendship School, a school with many overseas Vietnamese and Lao students from Savanakhet province.

Sulin also said that because her sister is teaching at this school, she is very excited to come to a school where she can study in two languages ​​and learn a lot about Vietnamese culture and customs. From that initial foundation, Sulin is very excited to come to Vietnam and hopes that studying culture according to the Vietnamese education program will give her a lot of knowledge and new experiences.

In recent days, with the advantage of speaking Vietnamese fluently, Sulin has been a bridge between teachers and classmates. She also joined the school's volunteer team to help her friends get used to the new environment, erasing the initial confusion.

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Up to now, Nghe An is the first province to receive Lao students to study general education. Here, they will have 1 year to study Vietnamese and continue to study 3 years of general education with Vietnamese students. After graduating, they can have 4-6 years of university or graduate school before returning to their home country to work.

The journey can last up to 10 years, which is a very long trip, especially when the students have just finished secondary school, have never been away from their families, parents, homeland, and country. To help them overcome the difficulties when studying in Vietnam, before receiving Lao students, the working group of Nghe An province had many trips to work directly in the provinces of the neighboring country where the students are expected to go to Vietnam.

During that process, plans, problems and difficulties were gradually discussed and resolved. The joy is that the first 31 students who came to study were all outstanding students selected from the localities. They came here with the desire to access the Vietnamese education program at both high school and university levels and later will be the next generation of cadres who will return to serve the country.

For the Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2, being chosen as the first school to receive Laotian students is a great honor. Besides, it is both a responsibility and a challenge. In preparation for this program, the school previously sent teachers to Laos to learn about customs and practices and learn Lao language to be able to communicate fluently, supporting students when they come to study at the school.

Sharing about this, teacher Lo Thanh Binh - Vice Principal of Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2 - the person directly responsible for managing learning and living said: I participated in the training program, learned Lao language and I am a Thai ethnic person, so I see that there are many similarities between the two countries and the two ethnic groups in terms of culture and language. Many students, although they cannot speak Vietnamese, can communicate with each other in Thai and Lao without any problems...

Accompanying the students in the first days, Mr. Binh was happy to say that the Lao students studying at the school were all obedient, polite, and eager to learn. However, the first time away from family, hometown, and country to a new environment, it was inevitable that they would feel bewildered. Understanding this mentality, since the Lao students arrived to enroll, Mr. Binh stayed at the school most of the time. After class, he went down to the dormitory to chat, confide, and hoped that when students come to a new country, in addition to preserving their identity, they need to accept many good and advanced things from other cultures and education.

Talking more about this, teacher Binh shared: We try to create a friendly environment for the children like at home. In the first two weeks, the children are allowed to use their phones to communicate with their families, and they can cook some of their own ethnic dishes in the school kitchen. The homeroom teacher also created a Zalo group to regularly communicate with their parents. Another positive thing is that after chatting with the children, I see that they have been psychologically relieved and have begun to be confident and bold in studying as well as in cultural, artistic and sports exchanges with the school's students...

To encourage the international students, recently, a working delegation from the Nghe An Department of Education and Training visited the students and worked with teachers and lecturers who directly teach, care for, and manage the students at the Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2.

Through the conversation, Director of the Department of Education and Training Thai Van Thanh also encouraged the international students, hoping that they would try to overcome the initial period of confusion and hardship when leaving their families and hometowns to study in a new environment in Vietnam. The Department's leaders also suggested creating the most favorable conditions for the international students to study and live, and if they encounter difficulties, they should promptly make recommendations to the Department for timely support.