A: This week, some listeners asked about the weather in Vietnam during the summer.

B: We have experienced different weather patterns so far this month, hot and cold, sunny and rainy. These days, the temperature ranges from 27 to 34 degrees Celsius after having reached its peak of 39.5 DC two weeks ago.

Milky flowers which often bloom in autumn in Hanoi and red flamboyant flowers- flowers of summer - bloom at the same time in early May

A: But during the last days of April and early days of May, the weather was basically the same as in winter when the temperature dropped to less than 20 DC. Maybe it’s because of climate change that we had a few very cold days in May which Vietnamese people call the Ban princess cold. It’s time to tell a legend about sudden cold days in summer.

B: Princess Bân was a beloved daughter of the King of Heaven. However, while her other sisters were very skillful in everything, she was very clumsy. After she got married, she always tried her best to take care of her husband. When the first chilly breeze signaled that winter was coming, she intended to make a warm coat for her husband. However, she was so clumsy that she kept dropping and breaking things in the process.

A: Even so, she still kept working day and night. When the winter was nearly over and spring was preparing to come, she had only just finished the sleeves. She didn’t give up, though. Everyday the poor princess still tried her best to complete her husband’s warm coat. Time flew. January was over. February passed by, too. Finally, she finished the coat. But summer had already come, smiling down its beautiful sunshine. Looking at the coat, she felt  sad and wanted to cry.

Hanoi flowers (Photo: internet)

A: The King, her Father, moving by his daughter’s love, ordered the cold weather to come back for a few days. The princess was very happy to see her husband wear the coat which she made with all her heart. That’s why, people still experience some cold days in early summer. This  reminds people of the story of princess Bân sewing the warm coat for her husband.

B: This week, Olof Rautavaara of Finland sent us a reception report for the program on Saturday, 25th May 2019 at 19:00-19:27 UTC on the frequency of 7280 khz. Rating the program with SINPO of 45444, Mr Rautavaara wrote: “Quite good signal strength. Slight noise.  Some propagation signal fading out from 10 (maximum) to 7.”

A: He also commented on our story about President Ho Chí Minh. He wrote: “President Ho Chi Minh showed the world how nations should liberate themselves from invaders. All nations should have peace and independence. Ho Chí Minh is a great leader of the Vietnamese people whose memory will last forever.”

B: Thank you Mr. Rautavaara for your feedback. We’ll send you a QSL card to confirm your report.

A: As our program is also available on the internet, we have received a lot of comments from our online visitors. Dietmar Wolf wrote: “Love VOV 24/7. I listen to it every day when I vacation in Hanoi. Great programs. Is it possible to listen to VOV 24/7 at home or only on FM? Is there an internet stream?”

B: Thank you Mr. Wolf for tuning in to VOV 24/7. Our programs are also available on the internet and streaming on our mobile app called “VOV Media”. VOV 24/7 English programs are broadcast daily from 6 am to 12 pm on 104 FM and is streamed on the VOV Media app. There you’ll find a lot of interesting features like Food Delight, with fabulous chef interviews, sharing on how to liven up your menus, and telling tales of the culinary cultures of foreign countries. You’ll also find That’s Life, with stories about the interesting people and things around us, and Culture Rendezvous, highlighting the culture, traditions and customs of various countries around the world, or Music Travellers, and so on…

VOV 247 Lunch show with journalist Truong Anh Ngoc in a show about solo travel

A: So, in addition to our 30-minute program on shortwave and our around-the-clock program on FM, you can also listen to other VOV English programs on the internet at our website at vovworld.vn or on our app “VOV Media”.

B: Next is an email from M Saleem Akhtar Chadhar from Pakistan. He wrote:” Greetings from Pakistan. I like your programs very much. I visit your website almost every day and like the informative live videos on your Facebook page.  I am a teacher and want to know about the Vietnamese educational system, the form of your syllabus, as well as operation of vocational schools and colleges during summer or winter like in Pakistan. Thanks.”

A: Education in Vietnam is a system of public and private education. It is divided into five levels: preschool, primary school, secondary school, high school, and higher education.  The twelve years of basic education consists of five years of primary education, four years of secondary education, and three years of upper secondary education. The majority of basic education students are enrolled on a full-day basis. The main educational goal in Vietnam is "improving people’s general knowledge, training quality human resources, and nurturing and fostering talent."

B:  Many reforms have been made, such as that of English playing a bigger role in the curriculum. The school week in Vietnam is six days, beginning on Monday and ending on Saturday. The school year usually lasts from September until May. The curriculum for primary schools includes typical subjects such as the Vietnamese language, math, natural science and social studies, as well as arts and physical education. Students are also taught ethics and morality at school.

A: In higher classes, and in secondary education, a foreign language (usually English, but sometimes Russian, Chinese or French, history, natural sciences, technology, music and geography are added. Morality is only taught during primary school. There have been successful reforms and pilot projects to include English as part of primary education.

B: In Vietnam, we only have summer vacation lasting from the beginning of June to the end of August. During the summer break, many public schools organize summer classes for sports and games such as swimming, volleyball, basketball, football, and chess, and for arts such as singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments. Some schools and educational centers have good facilities and labs where children can study physics, chemistry, and robotics.

A: Some Vietnamese parents are worried that their kids will atrophy in their academic studies and fall behind their peers when the new school year starts, so they  aggressively sign their kids up for summer classes in math, foreign languages, and literature to prepare them for the fierce competition  of the upcoming academic year.

B: During the last minutes of today’s program, we’d like to acknowledge letters and emails from Shyamal Kumar Banerjee, Sardar Munir Akhter, Siddhartha Bhattacharjee, Muhammad Shamims and Tapan Basak of India, M Saleem Akhtar Chadhar of Pakistan, and Pravotorov Kostiantyn of Ukraine. Thank you all for tuning into VOV and supporting our shortwave.

A:  We welcome your feedback at: English Service, VOVworld, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Check out our VOV Media App available on both the IOS and Android platform to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all for listening. Goodbye until next time.