American Foreign Policy – Have our war lovers learned anything?
Over the past four decades, of all the reasons people over a certain age have given for their becoming radicalized against US foreign policy, the Vietnam War has easily been…
Truman Administration’s Containment Policy in Light of the French Return to Indochina
It is possible to argue that Truman (with the creation and the implementation of his Doctrine) made the first steps towards the American presence in Southeast Asia that involved United…
Beyond Language: Reflections on the Arakan Tragedy
Earlier this week, I listened to the Turkish First Lady, the wife of the Prime Minister, Emine Erdogan, speak about her recent harrowing visit to the Rohingya people in the…
(South China) Sea of Problems: A Question of Energy Security
Why China Should Devote Energy Into Regional Security…
A Night at the Theatre With Vietnam’s Water Puppets
On a warm evening in Hanoi’s Thanh Long Theatre, the best way to cool off and be entertained is watch a few wooden characters tell a story while floating in…
Hanoi, Quy Nhon and My Bargaining Curse
From the moment I arrived at Hanoi’s main bus depot late at night after a 27 hour bus ride, I had a bad feeling about what would transpire. The only…
The Afghanistan War in the Mirror of the Tet Offensive: When ‘Defeat’ Became ‘Victory’
On January 31, 1968, the combined forces of North Vietnam (DRV or Democratic Force of Vietnam) and the NLF (National Liberation Front) launched a spectacular series of attacks throughout the…
Vo Thai Lan in Saigon
My first experience training with a Vietnamese boxing and Muay Thai team didn’t work out very well. A bigger boy picked on me, and smashed my innards into jelly. After…
Now I’m Talkin’ Vietnamese, Part 2
Two older American guys, hanging out in the alley next to my house, introduced me to their Vietnamese friend. When I said my name, one of the Americans asked me,…
Now I’m Talkin’ Vietnamese
After an exceptionally long and frustrating “silent period”, I am finally speaking real Vietnamese. Many people who have been following my blog posts told me that I should already have…
Dictionary Culture and Anti-Fluency
Doing my translation homework, I looked up the Vietnamese word, “buc,” and found it had three meanings: picture, face, or sultry. That’s not confusing. While face and picture could sort…
Meeting Elvis in Vietnam
Elvis is not dead. The King has come back as an elephant and lives in one of Vietnam’s most famous nature reserves. I have experienced riding bareback on an open…
Outdated Methods and Low-Expectations in Language Learning and Teaching
My entire Vietnamese course consists of a single textbook — the textbook for Saigon — two teachers, and a whiteboard. There is nothing else. There are no videos, no significant…
A day visiting Uncle Ho and my new Hanoi family
Be honored to learn about Vietnam’s past, embrace the local people you meet, and encourage them to achieve their future goals as if they were your own. That will provide…
Children Learning Languages faster than Adults: The Argument Continues in Vietnam
In conclusion, my theory is if an adult and a child attend the same number of hours of classes, the adult will learn faster.…
Native Tongue and Learning Vietnamese Language
Although an argument could be made that a student with a given native tongue may have an advantage in area of learning a second language, he or she may have…
Spelling Words with Words
For all students, regardless of their native tongue, it is clear to me is that it is impossible to use words to write other words. So, we need to find…
Peace with Honor? Lessons from Ending the Vietnam War
Despite many critical voices of the overuse of the Vietnam War metaphor when talking about the war in Afghanistan, there are many striking similarities between the last years of the…
Adventures in Vietnam Banking
Often, the advice you get is downright stupid. It makes you wonder how these people survived over here, or somewhere else for that matter.…
Teaching English Pronunciation to Vietnamese Students
The short answer is: if you want students to have native-like pronunciation, they need to listen for 800 hours. The more the students listen, the better their pronunciation will be.…
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