Vietnam Education Publishing House – efforts to preserve Vietnamese language in foreign lands

Vietnamese is not only a means of communication, but also the cultural soul, connecting the Vietnamese community across five continents. Deeply aware of this value, the Vietnam Education Publishing House has persistently brought Vietnamese to overseas Vietnamese for many years.

Ms. Phung Ngoc Hong (second from left) - Deputy General Director of Vietnam Education Publishing House at the launching ceremony of the Miraculous Vietnamese TV program. Photo: Vietnam Education Publishing House

Contribute to spreading Vietnamese language

Vietnamese is not only a communication tool, but also a cultural soul, connecting the Vietnamese community at home and abroad. Recognizing this value, the Government issued Decision No. 930/QD-TTg in 2022, taking September 8 every year as the day to honor the Vietnamese language in the Vietnamese community abroad. This is not only a day of celebration but also an opportunity for each Vietnamese person abroad to further understand the invaluable value of their mother tongue - the language that has shaped the identity, culture and spirit of national solidarity throughout thousands of years of history.

As a major publishing unit in the field of education, over the years, the Vietnam Education Publishing House (NXBGDVN) has continuously contributed to spreading Vietnamese to Vietnamese people abroad, through many sets of books teaching Vietnamese to Vietnamese people abroad such as: Que Viet, Tieng Viet vui,... Especially the book set Chao Tieng Viet authored by Dr. Nguyen Thuy Anh. The book set supports the teaching and learning of Vietnamese for Vietnamese children abroad from 6 to 15 years old based on the criteria of each level of competence specified in the Vietnamese Language Program for Vietnamese people abroad issued by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2018. Immediately after being published, the book set was welcomed in many places around the world and was honored to receive the A prize of the 6th National Book Award in 2023.

In addition, the Education Publishing House has also cooperated with the Foreign Television Department (VTV4) - Vietnam Television Station, to produce a TV program teaching Vietnamese to Vietnamese children abroad. The program has been broadcast regularly on VTV4 channel, on digital platforms and introduced to Vietnamese communities around the world since April 2023.

Not stopping there, starting from April 2025, NXBGDVN continues to coordinate with the Foreign Television Department - Vietnam Television (VTV4) to launch a new television program called Miraculous Vietnamese. The program is designed based on a combination of folk storytelling and vivid cartoon characters with the aim of supporting the teaching and learning of Vietnamese for Vietnamese children abroad through a treasure trove of folk literature. Thereby contributing to nurturing love for the homeland and national traditions.

Launching the Vietnamese Bookshelf to serve the community in Udon Thani province (Thailand) in May 2025. Photo: NXBGDVN

Community Connection Bookshelf

It is a fact that Vietnamese people abroad always have the need to learn Vietnamese, but due to geographical or material barriers, access to Vietnamese teaching materials is still limited.

To overcome this difficulty, the Vietnam Education Publishing House has coordinated with the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (UBNN NVNONN) to build a Vietnamese Bookcase in places where Vietnamese communities live. The bookcase is for those who are new to learning Vietnamese, Vietnamese teachers and Vietnamese researchers in the community.

After the testing process, the bookshelf model was completed for replication with a flexible design, including textbooks, supplementary materials, children's books, folk literature, bilingual books, etc. suitable for each subject and local conditions. Bookshelf is often placed in representative offices of Vietnam, Friendship Cultural Centers, Vietnamese language classes, or community activities of overseas Vietnamese for easy access.

Since its inception, the bookcase has received many positive responses and has been well received by overseas Vietnamese. To date, the Vietnamese Bookcase has been expanded to 10 countries and territories with 12 bookcases. Specifically in Fukuoka (Japan), Budapest (Hungary), Taiwan (China), Paris, New Caledonia (France), Prague and Brno (Czech Republic), Melbourne (Australia), Thailand, Laos, Belarus, Sweden, with many valuable books. The Vietnamese Bookcase was honored to win the Second Prize of the 10th National Award for Foreign Information in 2024, jointly organized by the Central Propaganda Department, the Steering Committee for Foreign Information, Vietnam Television and relevant agencies.

In addition, in parallel with the traditional book publishing, NXBGDVN is actively promoting the digitalization of its products. Currently, on the website https://taphuan.nxbgd.vn/, NXBGDVN has provided free electronic versions of all textbooks from grades 1 to 12 in the series Connecting Knowledge with Life and Creative Horizons. The two sets of books are compiled according to the 2018 General Education program - including Vietnamese textbooks and teacher guides. This helps people living far from the Fatherland to easily access and have more materials to teach their children.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/giao-duc/nha-xuat-ban-giao-duc-viet-nam-no-luc-gin-giu-tieng-viet-noi-xu-nguoi-20250927130431698.htm