I once commuted by the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line. Every morning, I'd park my motorbike at the National University station and take the train into the city center. But after just a few weeks, I switched back to my motorbike.
As an educator, I have the privilege of meeting hundreds of students and many fellow educators each week. In the days leading up to the summer break, one question kept coming up in our staffroom chats over coffee. How can we keep our children meaningfully engaged over the summer?
What kind of future are we shaping when the children, those we call the future of our country, grow up watching their parents break the law on the streets?
I used to think that purchasing knockoff branded goods was harmless - a bit of fun, nothing serious. But I've come to realize how wrong that mindset is, as buying fake products can fuel a system built on deception and opportunism.
I once asked two parents out of curiosity how they advised their children to go out into the world to earn a living. They told me that they cooed and coaxed their boy, "Go to work, my child, go out into the world so you can have money to show off!"
When I asked my teachers why English has the verb "to be" or why subjects and verbs must agree, I was often dismissed. "That's English," they'd say, or worse, "That's a silly question."
There have been numerous articles on VnExpress about working overseas, and it is hard to say if it is the right choice for everyone, because it is a personal decision dependent on individual circumstances.
For many families, learning English is no longer just about communication or work, it's become a race for high scores and native-like accents. But is early IELTS certification really the right approach?
"Sending VND100 million (US$4,000) home every month after deducting taxes and expenses..." is one advertisement promoting vocational study abroad programs that made me laugh.
Countless "extra costs" behind tuition fees that come with sending a child to an international school are making my friend anxious—and even considering pulling his child out to return to public school.
Many of my students express confusion and anxiety about the necessity of university degrees in the age of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence (AI).
After years of working, hiring, being hired and watching people getting passed over despite impressive résumés, this is how I would navigate university today.
When I transferred my child to a public school near our home, I knew the school didn't have strong foreign language resources. However, I decided to apply the Australian English learning approach that I had experienced firsthand.
Hundreds of people crowded around to board the Binh Chuan, a ship designed, built and operated by Vietnamese, when it was launched in 1919 from a Hai Phong port.
Recently, I had to deal with a flat tire on my electric motorbike, and what I thought would be a simple fix turned into a frustrating ordeal, as most shops were reluctant to deal with an unfamiliar product.
After a driver in Ho Chi Minh City shared his ordeal of making multiple trips over 800 km to pay a traffic fine, other VnExpress readers shared simpler procedures overseas and elsewhere in Vietnam.
The education systems in Vietnam and the Netherlands differ significantly in terms of class schedules, teaching methods, and grading systems, with the Dutch system encouraging independent study and adopting a stricter grading system.
When visiting our parent company in Japan, I was surprised to see the company chairman and his wife buying tea and snacks for employees at a rest stop.
I am 48 years old, the founder of a mid-sized food sales company. Over the past 12 years, I have worked tirelessly to build a nationwide customer base, overcoming early struggles to achieve steady growth.
Afraid of losing my job in the aftermath of Covid-19, I pushed myself to study relentlessly — and five years of waking up at 4 a.m. have finally brought me greater job security.
My divorcee brother recently found out the girl he has been raising for years is not his biological daughter. He is lost and does not know what to do next.
Installing Windows was not just a way for me to earn money as a student, it also helped me build relationships and opened doors to numerous business opportunities.
A recent proposal to introduce a 10-year "golden visa" for billionaires in Vietnam has garnered support from tourism insiders, who view it as a strategy to boost the country's regional competitiveness. However, readers urged the government to also consider issues such as retirement visas and citizenship options for dedicated expats.
Takahashi Hisashi, a renowned landscape and urban architect with nearly 40 years of experience in Japan and over a decade in Vietnam, has told me signs of urban decay are becoming evident in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
"The Intern" (2015) is my favorite film. It is about Ben Whittaker, a retired man bored with his solitary, idle life, who decides to return to work at 70.
I recently met an old friend who has been job-hunting for over three months after her company downsized. Despite having a solid résumé with strong work experience and impressive language skills, she never got past the interview round.
I am turning 48 soon and feel more exhausted than ever. Physical activities leave me breathless, and intense work pressure gives me headaches. Aging only makes it worse.
I told my students to read about why the measles outbreak is spreading across Vietnam and to focus on statements made by the Department of Medical Service Administration.
I was hospitalized for coronary artery treatment when a couple I know from the U.S. visited me in January. They were surprised by what they saw and, soon after, signed up for full medical check-ups in Vietnam.
In 1993, gold in Vietnam cost VND4.72 million per tael. By 2023, the price had risen to about VND70 million, a 14.8-fold increase, averaging 9.4% growth per year.
No matter how hard humans work, they will never match the productivity of machines. Those who recognize this will focus on quality rather than quantity in their services and products to succeed.
As AI technology advances, many people worry it will replace human jobs, especially in fields like IT and accounting. While some see AI as a threat, others believe it will only replace workers who fail to adapt.
In 2009, when I moved from my hometown to the city to study at university, I created my first Facebook account, "quan ph." It was a simple start, no capital letters, no accents, no profile picture.
The other day, I saw a Facebook post from a friend. It was not her usual travel photos or food pictures but a long essay analyzing South Korean actor Kim Soo Hyun's dating history with late actress Kim Sae Ron when she was underage.
