Learning Memoir: A Journey of Learning Vietnamese at Home One of the most significant learning experiences in my life didn’t take place in a classroom, but at home, where I learn Vietnamese, my family’s native language. Growing up in a household as a second-generation Vietnamese-American, I was constantly surrounded by the language. My parents encouraged me to speak it because they thought it would be good for me, but for most of my childhood, I only spoke English because there weren't a lot of Vietnamese influences in my life outside of home. While I could understand what was being said to me, and I was able to reply in full sentences in Vietnamese, I found myself losing the ability to speak it well as I got older. I relied on memorizing …show more content…
For a long time, I thought learning was about memorization—repeating something enough times until it stuck. However, through this process, I learned that true learning is about more than that. It requires curiosity, immersion, and a genuine effort to understand not just the words themselves, but the underlying meaning and structure. One of the biggest insights I gained from learning Vietnamese is the importance of context. When I was younger, I learned isolated words but didn’t fully understand how to use them in real-life conversations. I came to realize that understanding a language requires more than knowing the vocabulary—it involves understanding cultural nuances, grammar, and tone. This lesson applies not just to language learning, but to many other areas of education. Whether I’m learning a new subject or skill, I now know the importance of understanding the “why” behind the information I’m learning, not just memorizing it. Another takeaway from this experience is the power of immersion. When I immersed myself in Vietnamese media and surrounded myself with the language, I stopped viewing it as a foreign thing I had to memorize. It became more familiar, and I started thinking in Vietnamese, which made the learning process much easier. This has influenced how I approach learning in other areas of my life—whether it’s through books, conversations, or hands-on experiences, I’ve learned that being fully engaged and curious is key to mastering something new. Lastly, learning Vietnamese taught me to embrace mistakes. Early on, I was hesitant to speak because I was afraid of saying something wrong. But I soon realized that making mistakes was a natural and essential part of the learning process. My parents corrected me when I mispronounced words or used the wrong grammar, but each correction helped me get better. I’ve carried this lesson