Bangkok (VNA) - As the friendship between Vietnam and Thailand continues to thrive, the Vietnamese language is gaining popularity as a foreign language choice among Thai students, unlocking new opportunities for educational collaboration and cultural exchange between the two nations.

In a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency in Bangkok, Assistant Professor Dr. Anchalee Jansem, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Srinakharinwirot University, revealed that Vietnamese has been part of the university's curriculum for over a decade.

Mastering Vietnamese would be beneficial for students' future careers, she said, adding that as members of the ASEAN community, fostering mutual understanding through language and culture will strengthen regional ties.

Nguyen Thi Chiem, a lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities at Srinakharinwirot University, noted that teaching Vietnamese in Thailand requires considerable effort. Educators must design lessons and tailor programmes to suit different proficiency levels. To captivate students, teachers often transform lessons into interactive games.

Chiem noted that the Internet has become an invaluable resource for building lesson content, offering access to updated materials on trending topics such as sports, cuisine, and pop culture, all of which resonate with young learners. This dynamic approach has significantly improved Thai students' grasp of contemporary Vietnamese, she added.

Parinya Chimbanlang, who has spent seven years teaching Vietnamese at Srinakharinwirot University, pointed out that similarities between Vietnamese and Thai, both part of the same language family, make pronunciation easier for Thai students. Moreover, since Vietnamese uses the Latin alphabet, it is generally simpler for Thais to learn Vietnamese than for Vietnamese speakers to learn Thai.

Parinya expressed confidence that students proficient in Vietnamese will enjoy ample job opportunities, particularly as economic ties between the two countries continue to expand. With numerous Thai corporations actively investing in Vietnam, demand for Vietnamese-speaking professionals is on the rise.

Beyond Srinakharinwirot University, Vietnamese language courses are also offered at several other major Thai universities, including Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University, Thammasat University, Chiang Mai University, and Udon Thani Rajabhat University.

ꦑ Do Thuy Ha, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Philology, noted that Vietnamese has long been recognised as a foreign language option at the university. Many of her former students who studied Vietnamese are now serving as diplomats at the Thai Embassy in Vietnam.

In recent years, the enthusiasm for learning Vietnamese among Thai students has grown steadily, supported by active engagement from Vietnamese diplomatic missions in Thailand. Last November, the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand sponsored the inaugural Vietnamese language speaking contest for university students, hosted by Srinakharinwirot University. The event attracted participants from five universities across Thailand.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand has pledged to continue supporting Vietnamese language programmes in Thai universities, fostering language learning and promoting deeper understanding of Vietnamese culture throughout the country./.