Vietnamese is considered a rare foreign language and is only taught in some research institutes or universities in big cities like Paris and Bordeaux.
This is a new development step of the cooperation between Paul-Valéry University, Montpellier 3 and University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS) under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU).
Representatives of Paul-Valéry University, Montpellier 3 and ULIS signed a cooperation agreement (Photo: ULIS)
According to Vietnamese Ambassador to France Nguyen Thiep, this event has great significance and represents a breakthrough.
"The course will train a generation of young French researchers about Vietnam, contributing to the cooperative exchange development between the two nations," he emphasized.
He said that he had received similar offers from several universities in Lyon and Marseille about exchanging research scholarships between Vietnam and France. Their viewpoint is that it is impossible to understand Vietnam without speaking Vietnamese language. So they want to send students to Vietnam to learn Vietnamese and they will accept Vietnamese students to study and conduct research.
Historian Pierre Journoud, a professor at Paul-Valéry University, Montpellier 3, laid the foundation for the launch of the university degree in Vietnamese language and culture. He affirmed that this project comes from a personal wish.
Professor Pierre Journoud has known Vietnam for more than 20 years. He traveled across the nation from the north to the south and became fond of this country. The professor carefully studied the history of the relations between France and Vietnam, and the history of the conflicts that Vietnam had to confront.
When teaching at Paul-Valery University, Montpellier 3, a large social science university with 20,000 students, he recognized that there is a gap about Vietnam in its curriculum. He began to mention to this country step by step at seminars on master training, about Asia-Pacific, on the struggle for national liberation, on military history of Vietnam.
"I see many students interested in this country. We have cooperated with ULIS to conduct an exchange program, helping these students have an opportunity to explore Vietnam. And they want to know more, want to stay or come back to Vietnam. This contributes to opening a course dedicated to Vietnamese language and culture at Paul-Valéry University, Montpellier 3," shared Professor Pierre Journoud.
The first course started in mid-October 2019, attracting 20 French students. The students will have 36 hours of studying Vietnamese language and culture, and 36 hours of intensive study of the history and geopolitics of this Southeast Asian country.
Lecturer Nguyen Thanh Hoa, Deputy Head of the Faculty of French Language and Culture of ULIS, is one of the main lecturers of the course. She said that apart from learning Vietnamese language, various cultural activities will be included to help the French students better understand the country and people of Vietnam.
ULIS and Paul-Valéry University, Montpellier 3, have maintained the cooperation for many years, thus many French students at the end of the third year chose Vietnam for their probation.
According to the exchange program, from this school year, Paul-Valéry University, Montpellier 3 will receive six Vietnamese students from ULIS’s Faculty of French Language and Culture. These students will serve as tutors and a language and cultural bridge for French students, who will be granted degrees in Vietnamese language and culture.
Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hoa expressed her desire that in the future, not only lasting one year in France, the course will extend to one more year of probation in Vietnam to help French students have conditions to better understand the development of Vietnamese language and culture in the context of globalization today./.