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Struggling with learning a foreign language? Talk to this young Vietnamese man who is proficient in English, Italian, Spanish, and French and can read the news in Chinese, German, Russian, and Portuguese at the tender age of 24.    

Khanh has just graduated from the English Faculty at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

He told Tuoi Tre that he is preparing for exams set for proficient users under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languagesin Italian, Spanish, and French.

The young man said that he can read the news as well as watch movies in Chinese, German, Russian, and Portuguese without subtitles.

Diligence is the mother of good fortune

Khanh started learning English in 6th grade at Chu Van An Middle School in District 11 in Ho Chi Minh City.

To learn new words and how to pronounce them, a dictionary became his best friend. “I could remember almost all of the grammar in the book,” Khanh said proudly.

After graduating from high school, Khanh passed the entrance exam for the University of Economics and Law but realized that he liked learning languages more than anything else.

So, after one year studying at the school of economics, he dropped out and took another exam to enter the HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities, where he majored in English.

Khanh joined Italian and Spanish clubs when he was enrolled at the social university.

But he did not stop there. Khanh then embarked on another journey to conquer French because of his love for famed singer Celine Dion.

His class schedule was daunting: Khanh attended an English class in the morning and Italian and Spanish classes in the afternoon.

The language aficionado took French and Japanese classes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights, in addition to German and Chinese classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights, resting only on Sunday.

Diligence is the mother of good fortune. From his great efforts, Khanh has become proficient in eight languages, with the exception of Japanese, the only language he gave up.

In 2010, Khanh attended an international writing contest during “Italian Week” – a week celebrating Italian culture – and was honored as one of the world’s 10 best writers in the Italian language.

After the contest, Khanh was given 30 books of Italian literature by the Embassy of Italy in VN.

Practice makes perfect

According to Khanh, the best thing about knowing many languages is the ability to understand documents from many sources and perspectives.

“If I cannot find explanations for a matter in English, I can find it in other languages,” he said. “Sometimes I open 5-6 newswire sites in different languages on my computer at one time.”

“Moreover, knowing many languages can help you when traveling, as well as communicating with people in places where English is not widely known,” he added.

One of Khanh’s most important tips for understanding languages is to listen carefully.

“You have to listen to the language you learn through radio, music…every day no matter if you can understand or not. You will become acquainted with it after several months,” he shared. “I usually sit in front of the mirror to practice my pronunciation, as well as summarize the main content of books or documents I read; then the language will solidify in my mind.”

“Before deciding to learn a language, I carefully study its grammatical and pronunciation rules. I often talk to my instructors for things I cannot find on …Google,” Khanh said.

Khanh tries to speak to native speakers at every opportunity. He practices speaking Spanish by teaching Vietnamese to people from Spain.

He has built a group of foreign friends in HCMC, including people from Italy, Spain, and France.

“I love learning European languages. I am exploring Latin and ancient Greek. They are the roots of many languages in the world. Knowing Latin helps me learn languages developed from the Latin alphabet,” Khanh shared.

Asked if he gets confused sometimes because he has learned so many languages at the same time, he responded that other languages come at times into his mind when he is speaking, but if one understands the similarities and differences in different languages well, there is no confusion.

Wishing to become more fluent in Spanish, Khanh is working toward earning a scholarship to get his master's degree in Spain.

In the future, Khanh wants to run a language school, focusing on English, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian.