Elementary Vietnamese – Binh Nhu Ngo

I would like to express my gratitude to my friends Prof. Martha Collins of the University of Massachusetts/Boston and Dr. Glenn Adams of Spyglass Co. for their comments on the textbook and their assistance in editing the English part of the textbook.

I am also grateful to Prof. Hue-Tam Ho Tai of Harvard University for her enthusiastic support and encouragement on this project and her advice on the content of the textbook, to Ms. Ann Robinson and Ms. C. Rose Cortese of Harvard University who contributed to the English translations in some parts of the textbook, to Ms. Nguyễn Thị Nhã of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, Ms. Chu Tuyết Lan of the Institue of Classical Chinese and Nom Writing System of Hanoi, Ms. Xuân Hoa of Hanoi National University, Mr. Todd Espinosa of Harvard University, Dr. Glenn Adams, Ms. Adele Sage, Ms. Lê Kim Liên, Mr. Nguyễn Ngọc Dung of Ho Chi Minh City National University, Mr. Nguyen Thành of Hue University and Mr. Weijia Huang of Harvard University for their contribution to the recording of the textbook. I wish to thank Mr. Bill Countie of the Media Production Center of Harvard University for their excellent production of the audio CDs.

My deep gratitude is expressed to my students of the beginning Vietnamese class at Harvard University in the academic years of 1994-1995, 1995-1996, 1996-1997, and 1997-1998, of the intermediate Vietnamese class in the academic year of 1996-1997, for their comments on the textbook as learners and users. Thanks also to Dr.Glenn Adams, Dr. Do Huyn Han, Mr. Nester Clark, Ms. Nguyễn Thị Nhã, Mr. Nils Per Erik Eriksson and Ms. Narquis Barak, Ms. Trịnh Ngọc Anh Thư and Mr. Benjamin Wilkinson who granted me permission to use their photos of Vietnam in my textbook, to my Chinese colleagues Hwei Li Chang and Weijia Huang in the Department of East Asian Languages to Lesson 14 of the textbook.

My sincere appreciation is due to architect Trần Quang Trung and artist Đỗ Minh Tuấn for their humorous illustrations in the lessons of my text.

Finally, I would like to thank Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc. for honoring me with the First Annual Tuttle Language Grant for Asian Language Publication Research, and the Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning for its support.