Tag: Writing

Do you feel like you should write in Vietnamese, but you don’t really know what to write about?

Choosing the right topic enables you to practice your Vietnamese in a low-pressure setting. Writing gives you time to think about what you want to say, to build on what you’ve been learning and to try out new things.

But sometimes it can be hard to choose what to write about. If you pick the wrong topic for your interests or your level, it can frustrate you, kill your motivation and even cause you to give up and avoid writing.

Similarly, different styles of writing are suited to different levels. If you’re a beginner trying to write an essay or letter of complaint, you’re going to have a hard time.

It can be tricky to know what to write about. Here are 12 ideas to get you started.

1. Make up a conversation

   This is a great one for beginners. It can be hard trying to write when you don’t have much language to work with, so go with what you know and write a fictitious dialogue between two friends or colleagues.

   Intermediate learners can also use this to practice different types of writing because you can vary how formal it is by changing characters. This can be a good way to check if you’re using slang or polite words like thưa in the right way.

2. Keep a diary

   Write about your daily routine or recount something unique or different about your day. If you’re struggling at first, commit to just writing one sentence each day. It will get easier over time.

3. Describe a trip or event

   Write about an interesting event like a dinner party or wedding you attended or describe a holiday or day trip you’ve been on.

4. Practice vocabulary

   Think of sentences or stories based on new vocabulary you’ve come across.

   Eg. If you learn the word ‘leo’ (climb), you could write a few sentences about any mountains you’ve climbed, climbing trees when you were a kid, or why you’d never do either of those things.

5. Write about a hobby

   Describe when and why you got started with one of your hobbies (or why you’re learning Vietnamese) and how often you practice it.

6. Describe a familiar place

   Write about a place you know well – like where you grew up or went to university. As well as describing it physically, say what you like about it.

7. Write about a local event

   Explain about a festival or annual event in your town, why it started and what usually happens.

8. Comparisons

   Make a comparison between something in your country and that in Vietnam. Eg. differences in climate, eating habits, transport…

9. Story summaries

   Summarise what you watch or read in your free time. Even if that film or book was in English or another language, you can still practice Vietnamese by describing the basic story, key events and why you liked (or didn’t like) it.

10. Use the same topic as your study material

    Write your own take on a topic that you’ve seen/read about in Vietnamese.

    Eg. If you listen to someone describing their best friend, write about your own.

11. Translate something

    Find a short article or letter that you’ve read in your native language and translate it into Vietnamese.

    This is a harder task than writing something directly in Vietnamese, but on the other hand you don’t have to think about what to say.

12. Ask questions

    Ask questions in Vietnamese about the language or culture.

    If you wrote a sentence while chatting that you didn’t think was natural, rewrite it, ask questions and find out a better way to say it.

    Or you could ask about something you’ve read or pose a cultural question like if people really chew betel nuts.

    Post your questions on a peer-correction site like Lang-8 or iTalki*, wait for answers from native speakers and make it a discussion by responding to them.

Top Tip: Keep a list of writing topics

Instead of trying to think of a topic every time you’re in the mood to write, keep a list of things you want to write about.

As you go about your daily life, look out for potential topics and jot them down. That way, when you want to write you can simply look at your list and go with one of those ideas.

Over to you: Do you struggle to think of things to write about? Did this list of topics inspire you, if so… What’s your next piece of writing going to be about?

Photo credit: ralaenin

When you think about writing in a foreign language, what springs to mind? Writing essays for class? Writing a short text about a trip you went on or a fun evening you had with friends?

Those are great topics for practising your Vietnamese but to write about them, you usually have to sit down with the sole aim of writing. You have to be focused, think carefully about what you’re saying and how you’re saying it. So sometimes you never even get started.

Beyond essays and diaries

Of course writing texts like that can be extremely beneficial, however these ‘essays’ are not the only forms of writing.

Do you ever send SMS messages to your friends in Vietnamese? Or chat with them on facebook? Or message back and forth with a potential language partner on iTalki*?

All of these are also writing practice, even if you don’t think of them as practice… It’s just chatting to your friends, right?

Common types of writing

Bearing this in mind, it’s probably much easier than you first thought to get regular practice writing in a foreign language.

Here’s a taste of the different kinds of writing there are.

Formal

• Writing opinion essays
• Making an enquiry (eg. to a language school)
• Sending work emails
• Writing reports

Informal

• Writing a diary or telling a story about a trip or film you’ve seen
• Writing an email to an exchange partner or chatting with them on Facebook/Skype
• Replying to comments on Lang-8
• Writing blog articles or how-to’s

Very informal

• Replying to an email from a close friend
• Writing a status update on facebook
• Commenting on a friend’s facebook status
• Sending a SMS to a friend

Chances are, even if you think you don’t like writing in a foreign language, you actually do one or more of these on a regular basis.

Develop your skills

Each different style of writing requires a different tone, level of formality and often different vocabulary.

No matter what language you do it in, writing a cover letter when applying for a job is totally different to messaging a friend.

So mix it up.

• If you only write about your day or a holiday, have a go at comparing the food or weather in Vietnam to that in your country.
• If you usually just send messages to friends, try to write the occasional longer essay or story.

By varying your practice, you’ll develop the ability to use Vietnamese in a wide variety of situations.

If you’re not sure what to write about, check out these 12 topics to kickstart your Vietnamese writing.

Over to you: Have you realised you do more writing in a foreign language than you first thought? What styles of writing do you practice most often?