Teaching and learning at Pham Ngoc Thach University, Việt Nam

Over the next two weeks I am volunteering at Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University, in Hồ Chí Minh City, Việt Nam. I am lecturing in their speech sound disorders class - as I did in 2011. Although I am their teacher, I am learning so much from the students, interpreters, and the new graduate speech therapists. I am very fortunate to have Ms Xuan as my interpreter and tutor for the two weeks. Ms Xuan was in the first cohort of speech therapy graduates in Vietnam - graduating in 2012. She visited me in Bathurst, and over the past two years has helped me to understand alot about the Vietnamese language and Vietnamese children. I am also very thankful to all I have learned from Dr Ly Kha Nguyen (Linguistics lecturer) in 2011 - my lectures are much better this year because of her help. Libby Brownlee (course coordinator), Caitlin Stewart (clinical coordinator) and Ms Thanh (interpreter) also have made me feel welcome and have been really helpful. I am also really pleased that Dr Alison Winkworth from Charles Sturt University, and a director of the Trinh Foundation, is in HCMC this week as well. We have worked together in different universities for over 20 years.

Sharynne at the entrance to PNTU

Sharynne, Ms Thanh, Libby Brownlee, Ms Xuan

Sharynne eating street food (bun) with Caitlin Stewart

Dr Alison Winkworth