A Vietnamese lesson with... hands

The first workshop "Helping the deaf to be good at Vietnamese" organized by the Free Sign Language Interpreting Support Community on August 3 in Cau Ong Lanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City was filled with positive energy. Mr. Ly Tuan Thien, a literature teacher at Trung Vuong High School, Saigon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, brought to the class useful knowledge about using Vietnamese for many deaf people working and studying in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces.

Một buổi học tiếng Việt bằng tay - Ảnh 1. — Teacher Ly Tuan Thien (left) opens an article *Thanh Nien* Newspaper once wrote about him, introduces himself to the students, next to Mr. Tran Trung Hiep interpreting sign language.

Deaf students are taught to write Vietnamese in an applied way, so that they can apply it immediately in life. To make it easier to absorb, Mr. Ly Tuan Thien gives students some exercises such as how to arrange the word order in a sentence; look at pictures to write short sentences; write short paragraphs; look at pictures to learn how to read and understand, identify problems; write statuses/comments to express opinions on social networks...

There were sentences with incorrect word order; words were placed in the wrong places, but everyone did not hesitate to let the teacher correct their mistakes. Everyone raised their arms and used their hands to express their questions, so that the teacher could answer them more thoroughly.

Ai Van, a deaf goldsmith, shared with Thanh Nien Newspaper reporters using sign language: "During work, I have to write in Vietnamese to communicate with my superiors, colleagues, and customers about product designs, work progress, etc. Sometimes I don't know if I'm writing correctly, so I'm afraid. I've gained a lot of useful knowledge after today."

Một buổi học tiếng Việt bằng tay - Ảnh 2. — Vietnamese classes for the deaf are applied practically, linked to real-life situations and current events.

Một buổi học tiếng Việt bằng tay - Ảnh 3. — For example, from the image of U.23 Vietnam celebrating victory, deaf students will arrange the available words to form a meaningful sentence.

Một buổi học tiếng Việt bằng tay - Ảnh 4. — People use their hands to discuss ideas together.

So that using Vietnamese does not become a barrier for deaf people

The free sign language interpreter support community was founded in December 2024, specializing in providing Vietnamese answers for the deaf and hearing impaired (deaf and hearing impaired are two completely different concepts, many people often confuse them - reporter). The founders of this community are Mr. Tran Trung Hiep (32 years old) and Mr. Tran Trung Dung (51 years old) - freelance sign language interpreters.

Having studied tourism and worked in the tourism industry, 9 years ago, Mr. Tran Trung Hiep started learning sign language interpretation. Until now, sign language interpretation has also been his main job.

Mr. Hiep said that recently, the Free Sign Language Interpreter Support Community won first prize in the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Creative Ideas Contest and was funded to open the first workshop "Helping the deaf become good at Vietnamese" on August 3.

Một buổi học tiếng Việt bằng tay - Ảnh 5. — Sign language interpreters Tran Trung Dung (right cover), Tran Trung Hiep (middle) and teacher Thien

Accompanying Mr. Tran Trung Hiep and Tran Trung Dung to make the workshop successful were Mr. Ly Tuan Thien, a literature teacher at Trung Vuong High School, Ho Chi Minh City, and also a Vietnamese consultant for the project Community Support for Free Sign Language Interpretation; Ai Van and other deaf friends because according to Mr. Hiep, Mr. Dung "no one understands his problems better than deaf people themselves". Everyone works non-profit for these humanitarian activities.

"The problem deaf people often encounter is that they want to say what's on their mind, want to express their thoughts and opinions, but they can't write sentences. Vietnamese words are too different from sign language - their mother tongue. Sign language is very practical and visual, for example, the sentence "I just wish them to get well" means deaf people understand two sign images: you are sick; I wish you well. Because it's so short, the communication process between hearing people and deaf people is difficult. They can write too short, or write messy, so the process of working and studying with hearing people will encounter many problems, leading to many hearing people underestimating them, or they are paid lower salaries (the company uses the excuse of having to hire more interpreters, for example)," said Mr. Tran Trung Hiep.

Một buổi học tiếng Việt bằng tay - Ảnh 6. — Positive energy in Vietnamese class with hands

Một buổi học tiếng Việt bằng tay - Ảnh 7. — Students use their hands to express their opinions to the teacher.

Therefore, according to Mr. Hiep, this workshop helps deaf people improve their Vietnamese writing skills, to be more proactive in daily communication and at work, helping to increase their salary.

"In the near future, to reach more deaf people in more provinces and cities, we plan to organize online workshops on "Helping deaf people be good at Vietnamese". At the same time, in the near future, we aim to open a "Popular Education" class on Vietnamese, and later develop an app for deaf people, so that everyone can use Vietnamese better, without it becoming a barrier in communication and work for everyone", Mr. Hiep added.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mot-buoi-hoc-tieng-viet-bang-doi-tay-185250804144951646.htm