Speaking Vietnamese

Is anyone here fluent? How long did it take to become fluent and what method worked best for picking up the language?
-@Emerald Bay77554

70 Years Old, an inactive member (for 3 years) is hopefully still alive & fluent in Tiếng Việt.

Although he began his "studies" many years ago during wartime, I know (based on what he's written here and in private messages) that he'd likely say he learned through the total immersion method by living with Vietnamese people, one of whom became his wife.

My suggestion to anyone wanting to become fluent in Tiếng Việt while living in Việt Nam is to create a situation for yourself similar to that of a foreign exchange student, the old-fashioned homestay, where you eat your meals with the family and avoid hanging out much in expat establishments.

I think written language is doable. Memorize 2000 words probably enough.

Conversation - a long time ago, I heard the best path was to attend University of Social Sciences and Humanities and take courses taught in English. I suggest you try a class, it has to be in person, one-on-one, to study the teacher's mouth, and see if you can discriminate the very subtle differences in sounds. And if you can say them. In a couple months, you will know whether it makes sense to proceed.

In California all my friends were foreign born, and all had to speak English to survive. I was able to tune my ears for their accents (Indian and Chinese and Spanish ALL sound different ) and understand them.

Also in English, you can figure out the context:

I'm gowne to work. (Alabama)

I'm gaying to work (Australian) 

I'm gooen to work. (Lumberjack)

In Vietnam, few English speaking Vietnamese have that experience hearing foreigners attempt to speak Vietnamese to them, so if you are off a bit, they will just stare at you. Also, if your tones aren't right, there will be too much ambiguity and their brains freeze.

Is anyone here fluent? How long did it take to become fluent and what method worked best for picking up the language?
-@Emerald Bay77554

Vietnamese is not really a language that can just be "picked up" due to its dificult pronunciation. Either immersion or intensive classes, as mentioned by OB and Gobot above, are required for a year or more.

There are some apps that can introduce you to some basic vocabulary and allow you to hear how words are pronounced. I used to use one called Mondly, which offers a free 5-minute daily lesson.

The best most expats can manage is to be able to count (beyond 3), say "how much?", properly pronounce the names of the things they often buy at the market (for example xoài = mango) or eat at local food shops (cơm = rice, which is not pronounced as "com") and important places like the restroom/washroom/toilet/wc (nhà vệ sinh).

Also, it's handy to be able to tell a taxi driver "turn right/left", "go straight" and "stop".

For most situations, you can just speak English.

Is anyone here fluent? How long did it take to become fluent and what method worked best for picking up the language?
-@Emerald Bay77554

How old are you?   I mean this question seriously as it has a bearing.   Also were your raised in an urban or rural environment?

Is anyone here fluent? How long did it take to become fluent and what method worked best for picking up the language?
-@Emerald Bay77554

I am not fluent in Vietnamese, but being fluent in two languages beside my mother tongue I can say, nothing beats going to good intensive language course, hard work and will to speak language with helpful friends. When I heard my second future language under my belt - I was thinking "nobody can learn this language, it sounds so difficult and cryptic". But after 5-6 months I spoke the language FLUENTLY. You can do that too with Vietnamese.

I think written language is doable. Memorize 2000 words probably enough.
Conversation - a long time ago, I heard the best path was to attend University of Social Sciences and Humanities and take courses taught in English. I suggest you try a class, it has to be in person, one-on-one, to study the teacher's mouth, and see if you can discriminate the very subtle differences in sounds. And if you can say them. In a couple months, you will know whether it makes sense to proceed.
In California all my friends were foreign born, and all had to speak English to survive. I was able to tune my ears for their accents (Indian and Chinese and Spanish ALL sound different ) and understand them.
Also in English, you can figure out the context:
I'm gowne to work. (Alabama)
I'm gaying to work (Australian)
I'm gooen to work. (Lumberjack)

In Vietnam, few English speaking Vietnamese have that experience hearing foreigners attempt to speak Vietnamese to them, so if you are off a bit, they will just stare at you. Also, if your tones aren't right, there will be too much ambiguity and their brains freeze.
-@gobot

Funny enough I pronounced city of Hue to VN  guy in different way and he did not get it. How is possible that speaker of language where sounds are so important did not picked up that and guess?

You don't need to speak Vietnamese.  My Vietnamese wife and I and 50 year old son who speaks not a word of Vietnamese recently visited for a month.  I was once near fluency but have forgotten most for lack of practice and age - 89.   Son had an iphone app.  He spoke English into the  iphone which then repeated it out loud in spoken Vietnamese.  A Vietnamese then replied  and the phone repeated his/her reply in English.  Almost as good a a regular conversation.  All the Vietnamese appeared to be delighted and bystanders were eager to join the conversation.  Even more amazing, the phone spoke Vietnamese in the Northern dialect, but was able to easily understand my relatives, Southerners living in the Mekong Delta.  The app unfortunately only appears to work on an iphone.

You don't need to speak Vietnamese. My Vietnamese wife and I and 50 year old son who speaks not a word of Vietnamese recently visited for a month. I was once near fluency but have forgotten most for lack of practice and age - 89.  Son had an iphone app. He spoke English into the iphone which then repeated it out loud in spoken Vietnamese. A Vietnamese then replied and the phone repeated his/her reply in English. Almost as good a a regular conversation. All the Vietnamese appeared to be delighted and bystanders were eager to join the conversation. Even more amazing, the phone spoke Vietnamese in the Northern dialect, but was able to easily understand my relatives, Southerners living in the Mekong Delta. The app unfortunately only appears to work on an iphone.
-@williamherron13

The same exact function is available in the conversation mode of the Google Translate app on Android phones.

Also, that method is satisfactory for tourists and expats who have zero desire to exist outside the expat bubble.

Anyone wanting to get to know their neighbors and other Vietnamese people better should seriously consider putting down the phone and starting to have a basic chat over cà phê.

There is a huge difference between just getting by in Việt Nam and having the advantages of being fluent in Tiếng Việt, which was the request of the OP.