Shadowing Practice: Things NOT to do in Vietnam (Part 2) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Did you know if you cross your fingers in Vietnam, it's inappropriate?
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Or if you play with chopsticks in a restaurant, Vietnamese people might roll their eyes at you?
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So in today's video, I'm gonna save you some trouble by showing you 15 things
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that most foreigners do that make Vietnamese people uncomfortable.
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If you want to learn more about Vietnamese culture, local food, and hidden gems, don't forget to follow my social media at Văn Vụt from Vietnam and my website at whatthefervn .com.
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And now, let's dive into the number one most common mistake.
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Vietnam has a small altar to worship gods.
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Being influenced by Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, Vietnamese people believe that worshipping gods and their ancestors can bring them good luck,
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good health, and wealth.
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Therefore, an altar is a sacred place and very important to Vietnamese people.
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Putting your feet directly to the altar is very disrespectful, because feet are considered the lowest and the least important part of the body.
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So if you have to sit down to have a hot pot, or you have to take a siesta on the floor, make sure that you don't point your feet directly to the family's altar.
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You will drive Vietnamese people crazy if you bring your shoes to their house.
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Spiritually, you're bringing bad luck from the outside to the house.
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Culturally, you're bringing dirt to the floor where Vietnamese people usually gather.
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Due to the collectivist culture, if a Vietnamese person has a party, coming over, like their friends,
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the whole relatives of 50 people, or even the hairdresser.
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And of course, there's not enough room for everyone.
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And that's the reason why Vietnamese people share a lot of activities on the floor, such as eating, playing cards, or even sleeping.
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Therefore, we don't want our floor to be dirty.
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When you enter someone's house, taking off your shoes show that you care enough about the host and the cleanliness of their home.
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Unfortunately, this time is the rainy season in Ho Chi Minh City, so it's not a good idea to enter someone's house with wet socks.
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That's the reason why I partnered with Vessy, the Canadian waterproof shoe brand, to make sure that your socks will stay dry.
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Thank you, Vessy, for partnering with me on this video today.
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is that their shoes are 100 % waterproof.
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It's perfect to wear them during the rainy or snow season.
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I was very surprised when I stepped in puddles, my shoes and my socks were still dry.
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It's because their shoes are made from Dymatics, a neat material with millions of pores small enough to prevent water from entering,
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and large enough to allow heat and moisture to escape from your feet.
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That means you can wear them all seasons and participate in many activities, but still feel very comfortable, lightweight, and breathable.
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Vessi are 100 % vegan and creature -free, so no worry about leaving too much carbon footprint on Earth.
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Vessi was kind enough to give my audience a discount,
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so visit the link in the description and use my code for $25 off each pair of the Vessi adult shoes.
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house with wet socks.
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Hugging and holding hands are okay for couples but aggressive PDA like French kissing or graphing is inappropriate in Vietnam.
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From the traditional Confucian perspective, women and men are not supposed to directly touch each other.
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That's why we have a saying: "Nam nữ thụ thụ bất thân".
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If you go on a date with a PDA at all cost, at least on the first date,
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because she was being taught that if she crossed the line, she's spoiled.
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However, Vietnamese culture more open to the concept of friendly skinship with the same genders.
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It's very common to see men sit pressed up against each other during hot pot due to the small space.
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You can also see two girls holding hands on the street, arms linked, or even arms around each other.
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And you might be confused about their sexuality, right?
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It's okay, they're just close friends.
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If you do this to indicate "come here in Vietnam" you're likely gonna get into a fight.
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This gesture is used to call animals or challenge someone to start a fight in Vietnam.
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So the correct way to tell people to come here is to do this.
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So basically you're moving your hand up and down from the outside toward your body and with a smiling face.
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So it's like this.
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Come here, like this.
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If you want to tell people to go away, you're gonna do like this.
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So you move your hand away from your body Down and up like this and with frowny face like go away.
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"Di ra, di ra đi" When I first came to the US, when I tell people to come here like this, they were super confused.
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And now I learned the difference.
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I remember when I was a kid, I did this after watching Disney Channel, and my mom scolded me for being a bad kid.
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In the West, people cross their fingers when they're hoping for good luck.
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But in Vietnam, cross fingers equal to the middle finger.
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female and it's not
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that it's specifically the woman's private parts are insulting as all sexual organs are taboo and vulgar in Vietnam.
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If you give something with one hand to older people, it disrespectful.
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Or if you pat someone who is older than you on the back or touch the head, it's disrespectful.
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Seniority and hierarchy are very important in Vietnam and when I say older people,
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it doesn't only refer to the elders but also the people who are older than you.
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That's why in Vietnamese language we have different pronouns to indicate that we are younger and the
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And when we answer their questions, we usually have the word "à" at the end of the sentence to be more polite.
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Have you ever seen this picture and do you know what it is?
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Vietnamese people stick two chopsticks with an egg into the rice bowl to honor dead people.
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So sticking your chopstick into the rice bowl reminds Vietnamese people of funeral or death.
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So don't do that.
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on a bowl and it would make Vietnamese people very uncomfortable too because you might break the bowl.
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Or you might accidentally invite wandering spirits or goats that are bringing bad luck to their family.
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This custom and belief are heavily applied in the north because I'm from Hanoi.
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So if you're from different parts of Vietnam, don't hesitate to comment down below so we can all learn from each other.
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My friend went on a date with a foreign guy last week
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and she was very upset and disappointed because he didn't fight to pay Excuse me, can I have a bill please?
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Oh, it's okay.
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I can pay for this date.
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Are you sure?
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Uh, yeah.
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Okay.
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If you go on a date with a Vietnamese girl or you visit your future parents in law,
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make sure that you fight to pay and the rule of thumb is to fight three times.
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Excuse me, can I have a bill please?
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Oh no no no it's honest.
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Oh it's my honor to pay.
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Let me pay.
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No, it's our treat.
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Oh no no I can pay.
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No no we can pay.
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Are you sure?
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I can pay.
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No no no we can pay.
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Give us a bill.
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Okay you win.
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Next time.
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Next time then.
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Again, I'm from the northern part of Vietnam, so there's more rules and traditions.
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To explain this kind of behavior, it's all about saving face culture.
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If you can pay for a meal, you show the parents that you can take care of their daughter.
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You can still go skinny dipping at some places in Vietnam.
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However, you might make some Vietnamese people feel uncomfortable
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if you go naked at the beach because it's not very common in Vietnam just yet.
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Vietnamese women are taught to be "doan chang", meaning we need to dress appropriately and conservatively.
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This culture is less strict in the South, though, international and diverse there.
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If you're traveling with children, be aware that Vietnamese people love kids and they love to touch them.
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Especially those little round -eyed Western kids who are very rare in Vietnam.
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They stand out as extra cute and irresistible.
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So if you tell people not to touch your child,
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it might seem rude because people might think stranger touch overload is to tell people that your child is not well.
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"Đàng bị bạc" is a phrase to say as you shield your child from touches.
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This will be understood without it seemingly that you don't approve for their kind touching.
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If you're okay with people to hold your baby, it's a perk for you because Vietnamese people are willing to take care
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and hold your baby so that you can finish These people show love through food,
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so if you refuse food, You refuse love.
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period.
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There's a friendly question and it's like a greeting in Vietnam
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that goes "an gì chưa"
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and translates to "have you eaten yet?" It's kind of like asking how are you to show that they care about you.
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If you are offered food that you cannot eat due to your allergies or spiritual religious reasons, the best is just to be honest.
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For example, if you are vegetarian and you're offered meat,
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come over for dinner and you don't want to come, just make up an excuse.
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For example, you can say you're full, you already ate or you're not free.
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But if you are already in the table with the whole Vietnamese family, refuse to eat the host food is considered very rude.
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Since Vietnam experienced a period of prolonged warfare, Vietnamese people love peace and they would avoid fighting at all costs.
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However, if you provoke a Vietnamese person by raising your voice or insulting them, they have a whole gang to fight you back.
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Just like how Vietnamese people fight China for 1000 years, France for 100 years, and American for 20 years.
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So learn the history, lower your voice, and don't get into the fight with the local people.
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Never ever criticize or blame a Vietnamese person in public because it can cause people to lose faith.
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Saving faith culture is crucial to Vietnamese people, especially people from the northern part of Vietnam who were heavily influenced by Chinese culture.
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In a book called The Culture Map, Aaron Mayer said, "The Chinese manager learns never to criticize a colleague openly or in front of others.
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While the Dutch manager learns always to be honest and to give the message straight, Americans are trained to wrap positive messages around negative ones.
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While the French are trained to criticize passionately and provide positive feedback sparingly.
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Since working with multicultural teams, I confirmed that this is 80 % true.
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And if you want me to do a separate video talking about the Vietnamese culture in business, let me know in the comment down below.
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If you visit your Vietnamese girlfriend family or you meet with your business partner here in Vietnam, having heavy beard will make some people,
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especially the older generation, feel uncomfortable.
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People might think that you don't care about your cleanliness or you're just lazy to shave.
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Having heavy facial hair is not very common in many Asian countries such as Japan, Korea or Singapore.
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I'm not sure if it's because of genetic or diet reason
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that make it hard for Asian men to grow beard compared to Western men.
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I've heard a lot of my male friends said
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that it's very hard to grow a full face of beard because there's some parts that have hair, some parts don't.
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So it's easier for them to just shave.
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With a collectivist culture, if you have a full face of beard and others don't, you might draw attention.
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Also in Vietnam, We eat a lot of rice and noodles,
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so having a full beard would be considered unhygienic because the food might drop on your beard.
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But if it's your style or you feel comfortable with yourself, there's nothing wrong with it.
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Last but not least, blow your nose in public.
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Burping out loud or using toothpick without covering your mouth are considered rude in Vietnam as well.
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There are a lot of Vietnamese gestures and behaviors that make other people feel uncomfortable too, like speaking loudly or covering sneezes with their hands.
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So let's just roast each other in the comments down below
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because I feel like the more we understand each other's culture, the better.
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This type of content usually consumes a lot of my time
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and my effort to do research and find the right information about the culture.
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So make sure if you like this video, don't forget to share and follow my channel.
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everyone for watching and I'll see you in the next video.
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Bye!
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I'm so...
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Oh my gosh, I can't think of words right now.
About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills by engaging with cultural insights from Vietnam. The video discusses various social norms and behaviors that may be unfamiliar to foreigners, emphasizing how important it is to understand cultural contexts when traveling or living abroad. By shadowing the provided content, you will not only enhance your vocabulary and pronunciation but also deepen your understanding of Vietnamese culture, which can be invaluable for effective communication.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Altar - a sacred table or place where offerings are made to gods or ancestors.
- Collectivist culture - a culture that prioritizes group goals over individual desires.
- PDA (Public Display of Affection) - physical affection in public, which varies in acceptability between cultures.
- Wet socks - socks that are damp from water, which are considered uncomfortable and potentially disrespectful in Vietnamese homes.
- Gesture - a movement of the body, often hands or arms, that expresses an idea or meaning.
- Skinship - close physical contact between friends, often seen as a sign of friendship in some cultures.
- Respect - a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something, important in maintaining cultural norms.
- Confucianism - a philosophical system based on the teachings of Confucius that emphasizes ethical behavior and respect for tradition.
Practice Tips
To make the most of your learning experience, use a shadowing app while you watch the video. Listen carefully to the speaker's tone and pace; they maintain a conversational speed that is understandable and engaging. Try to repeat phrases immediately after you hear them, mimicking the intonation and rhythm of the speaker. This technique will improve your English pronunciation and help you sound more natural when speaking. Remember to focus on the cultural contexts being discussed, as they provide real-world examples of how language is used in everyday situations.
As you practice shadowing, keep in mind the distinctions between casual and formal speech, especially regarding gestures and behaviors that are culturally specific. Incorporating these insights into your English speaking practice will not only increase your fluency but also prepare you for meaningful interactions when you travel or engage with speakers from different cultures. This approach will make your journey to learn English with YouTube both effective and enriching!
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.