Hanoi (VNA) – A refresher coursetargeting Vietnamese teachers living in foreign nations on the teaching of themother tongue began in Hanoi on August 11, drawing 80 participants from 12countries and territories.

The two-week course, the sixth of its kind,is co-organised by the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Affairs under theMinistry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Training.

Addressing the opening ceremony, vice headof the committee Luong Thanh Nghi said the Vietnamese language plays asignificant role in connecting 4.5 million overseas Vietnamese across 110countries and territories worldwide; along with the conservation of culturalidentity.

Leaders of the country have paid dueattention to the teaching and learning the language of OVs over the time. Threenational projects on the issue have been carried out by the two ministries andabout 100,000 sets of textbook on Vietnamese language distributed in the past10 years.

Nghi added that more training courses willbe opened in the coming time to help teachers improve their pedagogy and shareexperience in teaching Vietnamese.

Participants of the course will attendlectures in Vietnamese schools and join trips exploring the country’s cultureand history. They will also share their experience with competent agencies tofurther promote teaching and learning the mother tongue for OVs. -VNA