Your chance to learn Vietnamese

Vietnam is a thriving, resilient country in Southeast Asia, home to more than 97 million people with close connections across Pacific and beyond. Many New Zealanders first encounter Vietnam as a tourist destination and as a major exporter of coffee. While it is renowned for beaches and good coffee, Vietnam is also a culturally rich society that counts its history in the thousands of years. Today, the country has a youthful population and dynamic tech industry and plays an increasingly central role in global value chains in digital technologies and manufacturing.

The New Zealand Asia Institute is offering a Vietnamese language course designed for complete beginners.

This course will run for eight weeks, with 1.5-hour evening classes held each Thursday, 6-7.30 pm. Class times may be adjusted to accommodate participants' preferences.

The course will introduce spoken Vietnamese, with an emphasis on communicating everyday needs and understanding Vietnamese culture. Topics covered include:

• Greetings and introductions
• Ordering in a restaurant
• Shopping
• Asking for directions

Further classes will be available according to demand.

The course will be taught by a native Vietnamese speaker, educated in Vietnam and New Zealand. The core course book used will be Learning Vietnamese by Bac Hoai Tran, supplemented by other teaching materials (which are included in the course fee).

Event details:

Each course runs for eight weeks, with 1.5 hour evening classes held once a week.

Course duration: 1.5 hours

Date and times: Thursday, 16 July to Thursday, 3 September 2026, 6-7.30pm
(8 x consecutive Thursday evenings)

Venue: Room 315, Level 3, Sir Owen G Glenn Building, 12 Grafton Road, Auckland 1010. (pay parking is available beneath the building at $6 flat rate)

Instructor: Thy Le

Course cost:

$295 plus GST (including a textbook).

$250 plus GST (excluding a textbook).

Refunds will not be given after the start of the course.

For further information please email d.towle@auckland.ac.nz

We look forward to welcoming you!

We wish to acknowledge the generous support of the Nicholas Tarling Charitable Trust.