THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LAGUAGES EDUCATION

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Cross – Cultural Communication

Assignment: Write an essay to compare England and Vietnam culture

( 5000 – 7000 words )

Lecturer: Nguyen Thi Thu Huong

Student: Nguyen Thi Diem Huong

Class: English K50

Thai Nguyen, 2018

Culture is seen that a trait to distinguish nations from each other and each
country has its own unique culture. The cultural differences of each country
are reflected in many areas such as family, education, food, etc. It is all
contribute to the cultural characteristics of country. This essay presents
findings about similar and difference between culture of Vietnam and
England.

One the one hand, there are some similar between Vietnam and England.
First of all, they both have fascinating, yet contrasting, long histories. In
England, the royal family, the building of palaces and religious houses and
the fighting of wars are considerable marks of British society. This, in a
different guise, is also evident in Vietnam. The Vietnamese had a royal
family until 1945 and palaces still remain, one of which can be found in Nha
Trang. Buddhism was established in as early as 2 AD and the Tran Quoc
Pagoda in Hanoi is over 1,400 years old. Both countries have also fought
many wars, most notably in the 20th century with the 1st and 2nd world wars
and the American war respectively. It must be noted that England was a
colonial country while Vietnam was colonized but this doesn't detract from
the significance that the religious belief and ruling class have made to both
countries. Specially, Vietnam and England have similar in wedding customs.
As early as the sixteenth, up to the nineteenth century, marriages in Vietnam
and England were arranged by parents or guardians. The bride and
bridegroom often were not acquainted until their marriage. The parents often
made the marriage arrangements and betrothals while the bride and
bridegroom were small children (age three to seven). The children would
continue to live with their own parents and meet from time to time for meals
or holiday celebrations. These prearranged marriages came under fire in the
late seventeenth century when a judge held that betrothals and marriages
prior the age of seven “utterly void”. However, they would be valid if, after
the age of seven, the children called each husband and wife, embraced, kissed
each other, gave and received Gift of Token. Secondly, climate in the UK
also has the same characteristics as Vietnam, divided into 3 regions. In the
north, the climate is colder and the weather is warmer in the south. The
difference between seasons in the UK is not so clear, as in Vietnam there are
two dry rainy seasons, although each year still divided four seasons.
However, the weather in the UK still has its own characteristics of rainfall,
daytime and average temperature. The weather is quite erratic not follow a
rule. Each region has its own climate characteristics. Thirdly, Britain and
Vietnam are both three main meals and one extra meal in a day. Breakfast is a
meal, often light, usually taken in the morning, starting between 7:00 and
9:00. Lunch is a meal that is taken at noon or in the early afternoon, starting
between 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM. Dinner is the main meal that is generally
served in the evening, starting between 6:30 PM and 8:00 PM. Extra meal is a
small meal eaten in the late afternoon, staring between 3:30 PM and 5:00 PM.
The common food in both Britain and Vietnam, festival meal is an
opportunity for them to share a meal and talk together about a passing year
and a coming year. They eat the tradition meals in these occasions. The
traditional meal consist of roast turkey, served with roast potatoes and other
vegetables, followed by pudding, a heavy steamed pudding made with dried
fruit, suet, and very little flour. The traditional meal include boiled chicken,
cha, banh, xoi, nem ran, etc. Next, economically there is no difference
between Communism and socialism except that Communism includes a
severe police state with zero tolerance for dissent or any kind of civil rights.
Social democracy is simply a form of government where socialism is the
economy but the government protects certain civil rights. All governments
that embrace socialism are paternal to some extent, where the government
will mandate conditions upon its subjects/citizenry with little regard to the
vote. Moreover, England and Vietnam are both hubs for cheap travel around
their continents. In Europe, Ryanair is famous for cheap travel between
European cities and likewise, Jetstar provides a similar convenient in Asia.
From England, in hours you can be in Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland and
beyond. This is even better if you hold a European passport as you won't need
to apply for different visas to travel between these nations due to the freedom
of movement established in the European Union. Although there is no such
paralleled agreement in Asia, Vietnam is close to China, Thailand, the
Philippines, and Singapore and just a little further are India, South Korea and
Japan. Therefore residents in either locations are blessed with countless travel
opportunities should they seek to explore them. Last but not least, the
similarity is the popular sports in these countries. Both nations share a
passion for the 'King of Sports' football. In parks all around England you will
find children and teenagers playing football using jumpers for goal posts.
Similarly, in Vietnam, everywhere is a potential football pitch. There are
specific 'soccer' facilities and stadiums, the motorbikes and pedestrians often
share the roads and pavements with budding footballers and badminton and
volleyball courts are often usurped as football arenas. Not only is this sport
played, it is also viewed by millions of fans in both countries with the English
Premier League being the most popular league.

One the other hand, the culture of two countries is many differences. The
most difference between Vietnam and England is that the language. The
languages spoken are a big cultural difference. Vietnamese is the official
language of Vietnam, while English is the official language of the United
Kingdom, although English is becoming increasingly common as a second
language for people in Vietnam. Secondly, the ethnic make-up of both
countries differs. In Vietnam there are 52 different ethnic groups: Vietnamese
85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, many mountain peoples,
Dao, Tai, Mong, Nung, etc. There is also ethnic diversity in the UK, but there
are different ethnic groups including white, black, mixed race, Indian,
Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese people. The official religion of the UK is
Christianity, although there are people of many other religions in the country,
such as Judaism, Islam and Hinduism. With its blend of Confucianism and
Buddhism, Vietnamese society tends to be fairly tolerant. For an example in
Vietnam, you should not wear shorts and sleeveless shirts when visiting
pagodas, temples and other religious sites. Women should dress
conservatively as revealing too much flesh is considered offensive. People
should always remove their shoes when entering someone else's house or a
temple. Praising a baby should never be done as it’s believed that this attracts
the attention of jealous spirits who will cause the baby to fall ill. Crossing
your fingers for good luck is seen as an offensive gesture and pointing your
finger at someone is seen as sending them negative energy. Another
significant point of difference is in the climate. The south of Vietnam has a
sub-tropical climate has means the temperatures rarely drop below 25 degrees
C (even at night), there are long dry periods with high humidity and two
periods of about 6 weeks of heavy rain showers. Right now, Saigon has
extreme humidity which is an immediate precursor to the tropical downpours.
In contrast, England has a temperate climate with 4 seasons. As is widely
stereotyped about blight, there is often a lot of rain, wind and overcast
conditions. However, the summers can be pleasantly warm without the sweat
and discomfort of Vietnam. The 4 seasons also allow people to set a natural
body clock. For example, the differing temperatures and amounts of daylight,
means it is easy to know what time of the year it is whereas in Vietnam
everyday feels the day so you can forgive for not knowing which part of the
year you are in. Fourthly, Both the Vietnamese and the UK have an ideal
image about families. “The family” evokes a visual impression and a mental
picture of adults and children living together comfortably as they go about
their lives in mutually satisfying, mutually enhancing, and in a harmonious
way. It also evokes warmth and physical and psychological nurturance in a
setting apart from the troubled world. They hope that family is heaven, a
place of love and protection, in which the relationships between husbands and
wives and between parents and children are especially idealized in the family
image. However, the nuclear family image of the UK family is of a family
unit consisting, most of the time, of a married couple and two or more
children, uncles or aunts do normally not live together. In Vietnam, the
traditional family, most of the time, is an extended family with 3 or 4
generations living under the same roof. The relationship between members in
the family, namely parents and children, grandparents and grandsons are
somehow different from the UK family and that of Vietnam. Vietnamese
parents have a close relationship with their children. Close contact is always
maintained between family members. For example, in Vietnam, children are
the most important members and the center of a family. All of others (parent,
grandparents, uncles, aunt) pay special attention to them. The central role of
elderly people in the family and raising of grandchildren is a lovely tradition
that gives the adults more time to themselves, seemingly keeps gramps
feeling young and develops a community respect for, and connection to, the
elderly. It is not uncommon to see old people taking their younger relatives to
school on the bus, or playing with them outside, which always makes you
smile on your way to work. They have the sense of community, consensus,
and the generation gap is not as large as in the UK. The UK people often
move to different parts for work so that many children have little contact with
their members in the same family, except at family reunions, (for e.g., at
Christmas.). Fifthly, the differences between the educational system of
Vietnam and the England; in Vietnam, the secondary education are divided
into two levels, which are the basic secondary education and the high school
education, the student can leaving school or seeking higher education after
completed year 12. In contrast, the secondary education system of England
encompasses three key stages. Key stage 1 from year 7 to year 9 and key
stage 2 from year 10 to year 11 are compulsory, after completed year 11
student can leaving school or complete two more levels to study in higher
education. In addition, the facilities and the quality of education in England
are much better than Vietnam. Moreover, the national test applied for all
children in both countries at the age of 11, 14, and 16. In England, the
secondary education is a local responsibility, so that the education and
teacher employed and provided by Local Education Authorities (LEAS). In
Vietnam, the Local department of Education is also responsible for secondary
education, but all state schools are employed the teacher individually.
(Encyclopedia Britannica 2008 Ultimate - The ministry of education and
training of Vietnam). With respect to teaching style, it’s completely clear that
UK’s education raise the sense of student’s initiative, they give student the
right to express their own opinion without fear of punishment. Hence,
students are allowed to make individual decisions about the lessons.
Furthermore, in England, the school consider student as the center objects
and teacher is the person who help students to promote their ability. As a
result, student always interested in learning and they want to attend school in
a daily basis. However, in Vietnam, education is different far from England
in that in Vietnam, they regard students as not vital as teachers. Sometimes,
students feel scared of teacher or even they don’t dare to ask their teacher
about the lessons. Hence, students don’t want to go to school and play truant.
In terms of workload, the homework’s and the lesson in each subject, in
England, are greatly lower than workload in Vietnam. It’s easy to understand
the reason for this problem, just due to the subject. In England, Ministry of
Education and Training divides students into the programmer that they hope
to study while, in Vietnam, it’s compulsory for student to learn 12 subjects in
a year from Primary school to High school. In England, they don’t appreciate
the exams as much as in Vietnam. In England, the school always creates for
students the comfortable environment to study. In contrast, the exams usually
fear with almost students. In Vietnam, the number of students per class up to
45 students whereas just only 13 students per class. As a result, Vietnam
teachers don’t have many opportunities to take care of individual students.
England teachers, by comparison, have more chances to communicate with
students and concentrate on each student. However, there are some similar
features when we consider the relationship, for example, friendship in and
outside class. Both England and Vietnam’s students are extremely friendly,
they always help each other in studying. Sixthly, the differences about mean
of transport between Vietnam and UK; In Vietnam, the main means of
transportation are motorcycles. Vietnam is a developing country, people's
lives are increasingly improving and the use of public transport such as buses,
trains and cars is increasing. However, the road network in Vietnam is poor;
the use of motorcycles is much more convenient. In the city, motorcycles are
the most occupied vehicle, but this is also the cause of traffic congestion
during peak hours, while in rural areas, motorcycles are the most convenient
means of transport on the roads difficult. Driving in Vietnam is sometimes
quite frustrating. There seems to be a lack of rules, or a lack of enforcement
of rules. If you ask a Vietnamese person what the rules of driving are, they
will look at you like you are coming from another planet. Even though,
motorbike transportation is one of the characteristics when foreigners come to
Vietnam, motorbikes bring the initiative, personal and enjoy the new feeling
that cars cannot bring come. In contrast, the main means of transport in the
UK are public transport such as bus, metro, taxi. Cars are a personal and
family-owned vehicle, because in terms of price, cars in the UK are cheap so
everyone can have their own car. Motorcycles in the UK are not so popular;
they are used for delivery such as food, beverages and magazines. Besides,
the road system is very modern and convenient. Infrastructure reaching
modernization level brings satisfaction to the people. Vietnam and the UK
have a great difference in transportation and road infrastructure because of
the many factors that must be mentioned in terms of economic and even
cultural identity of each country. Then, one of the differences between
Vietnamese and England is that getting culture. For the topic British often use
some topic about food, weather, music, sport… while Vietnamese people
often start conversation by asking the opposite person about questions related
families, personal information questions. For example, “How old are you?”,
“How many people are there in your family?”, “Did you get married?”. For
Vietnamese people, getting to know another person is very important.
Because Vietnamese people think that when someone asks them personal
questions, it means someone cares of them. Therefore, that way is considered
a normal one when starting conversation. Moreover, in the first meeting,
Vietnamese people can tell each other everything and talk about any topic
that they are interested in. Vietnamese people often like conversation before
getting down business. To Vietnamese people, starting a conversation by
asking the personal questions is polite and shows the cares for the others.
They want to make close to the opposite people. If someone does not ask
about the other’s family, we can think that he/ she is “cold” person. Besides
this, the culture in public places is also a difference between Vietnam and
England. In Vietnam, almost everyone says no to queuing because there are
so many reasons as to the location, needs of people and virtually no place in
Vietnam is overcrowded. However, the culture of queuing is developing
positively in Vietnam. This represents a new, more modern and civilized
reception. To elaborate, in Vietnam calling 'Em oi' aloud to attract a
waiter/waitress' attention is considered a polite action while the same action
in England would be frowned upon as being incredibly rude. To give another
example, the English will always queue and wait their turn to be served in
shops or when waiting in traffic. However, in Vietnam there is no notion of
waiting in line and nudging ahead of others in line isn't viewed as being an
impolite action. Next, the cost of living is enormously different. As is true
for most developed countries, England has an extremely high cost of living.
In fact, so much so that it is now incredibly difficult for young graduates to
get on the house ladder without significant from their parents. A reasonable
London salary will barely allow a worker to rent a flat near their office
without sacrificing their social life. The price of public transport is very high;
especially the trains, with the only saving grace being that the state provides
education (up to university) and health-care are covered by taxation. On the
other hand, Vietnam is much cheaper. If you are an expatriate earning a
similar salary to home, you can rent an apartment in the best part of town, eat
out every night and still have money to take regular trips overseas and rack
up some savings. Whilst health-care and education must be paid for, the
tradeoff is certainly appetizing to a lot of people. One of these highlight
culture is culinary. Initially, both English and Vietnamese have 3 meals per
day, but British food has traditionally been based on beef, lamb, pork,
chicken and fish and generally served with potatoes and one other vegetable
while people in Vietnam have rice, pork and vegetable as the main
ingredients. Vietnam is currently the world’s third largest exporter of rice,
and this commodity also holds a prime position in the country’s economy,
apart from being a mainstay in the dining table. The country is still
predominantly agriculture in nature, with a climate that can support a large
variety of flora and fauna. Rice is usually consumed jointly by all the family
members because they never use knife during meal but in Britain potato or
bread is the main starch and meat is cooked in big pieces, they cut it during
eating. The typical Vietnamese meal would include several main dishes, a
soup and a bowl of rice for everyone. These are laid out on a table where the
family members sit around and take their food from the dish platters with
chopsticks-this is the only country in the Pacific and the Southeast Asian
regions where people traditionally eat their meals with chopsticks. This habit
is clearly one of the Chinese influences in Vietnamese cooking. Central
Vietnam is abundant with fresh produce, and is characterized by its
propensity to use extreme spices and to serve up colorful food that is
reminiscent of the region’s past as the seat of royalty. A traditional meal
involves several complex dishes in very small portions. Southern cooking has
been most heavily influenced by Thai food, such that their dishes are sweet or
spicy in taste because it boasts of a climate that is suitable to a bigger number
of spices. Immigrants from across the Cambodian border have also helped
define the style and flavor of Southern Vietnamese cooking. This part of the
country is also where the vestiges of French colonial cooking are most
apparent. The meal is usually not divided into courses and everything is
served all at once. When the younger Vietnamese eat with their elders, they
ask the latter to get their share of the food first as a sign of respect typical in
the whole Asian region. Like the Chinese, traditional meals are also
accompanied by a cup of tea, especially when there are guests around. The
meal is not complete without vegetables on the side and a variety of small
bowls filled with salty sauces in which the people dip their food. Vegetables
are usually served as salads tossed in with beef or shrimp, in order to
complement the strong flavor of the meaty main dish. The classic dip in these
traditional family meals is a kind of salty fish sauce called nuoc mam. The
most common foods eaten in Britain include the sandwich; fish and chip trifle
and roasts dinners, opposite to pho, banh mi, xoi in Vietnam. For example, a
typical English breakfast is more likely to be a bowl of cereals, a slice of
toast, orange juice and a cup of coffee but in Vietnam, people usually eat pho,
banh mi, xoi or instant noodles. Another differences is eating manner English
people eat with a knife, fork or spoon (with the fork in the left hand and the
knife in the right one) while Vietnamese usually use chopstick and spoon. In
the meal, the British usually use napkins and drink during meal meanwhile
Vietnamese do not use napkins but wash their hands and their faces before
and after every meal. They don't drink during eating, they drink afterward.

Before having meal, people in England normally pray for the God because of
providing them with food, however, in Vietnam, everybody (especially young
people) have to invite other members having meal. About drink, there is a lot
of cheap, cold, draft beer, sitting on a plastic stool on the side of the road.
That pretty much sums up the bia hoi experience. Bia Hoi is a draft beer,
made with no preservatives. You will see lots of people sitting around,
drinking, talking, eating, and people watching. One good thing is rarely do
you drink without eating, at least a little something – generally sliced
cucumbers served with salt, chilies, and lime, or a fried, battered corn. The
Snake Wine is quite popular in Vietnam. They put the whole snake (or
scorpion) into the bottle and then pour the rice wine into it. Drink Traditional
British beer (know as ale), it’s quite strong and leaves a bitter taste in your
mouth after drinking. Served at room temperature. Stout is dark brown and
tastes a little bitter The most popular is the Irish drink A lighter-coloured type
of imported beer and is normally served cold. A mixture of beer and
lemonade. Wine is an increasingly popular drink in the UK; the most
common option is to ask for a glass of the house wine (red or white). Cider
(or Scrumpy) is a traditional English drink made from apples. Also known as
'fresh beer’, bia hoi is relatively low in alcohol, produced daily, and served
ice-cold. It’s cheap, ubiquitous and delicious on a hot day! The range of
alcoholic drinks in Vietnam is limited. Apart from expensive imported wines
and spirits, most drinks available are domestically produced variations on rice
wine, or lager-type beer. The wine is also used as a base for the addition of
plants, barks or animals. These are usually drunk for their ‘medicinal’
purposes - snake wine is very popular with men who believe it enhances
virility.

In addition, there are differences in some aspects. The wedding in Vietnam

(an Asian country) and England (a Western country) is different from each
other. In Vietnam, the groom’s family and relatives go to bride’s house. They
bring about three or twelve trays (It depends on the finance of the groom’s
family) that contain betel leaves and areca nut, wines, cigarettes, etc. People
who hold the trays all wear traditional dress ao dai, normally red ao dai
because red is a symbol of happiness. The groom’s parents ask for permission
for their son to get marriage. On the wedding day, the groom’s family and
relatives go to the bride’s house bringing a lot of gifts wrapped in red papers.
These gifts are similar to those of the engagement: betel leaves and areca
nuts, liquor, fruits, cakes, tea...Those who carry these trays are also carefully
chosen, usually they are happily married. Women are all dressed in ao dai.
Men could be in their suit or men traditional costume. The procession usually
led by a couple that is most wealthy and successful among the relatives, this
mean to wish to – be – wed couples a blessing life together in the future.
After wedding, Vietnamese young couple often don’t have honeymoon. The
day after in the morning the new husband and wife visit the bride’s family.
They bring biscuits, sweets, chickens, sticky rice,.. Because bride’s family
will use these foods to cook meal for all family together. Wedding flowers
are scattered by a small girl preceding the English bride and her wedding
party, who walk together to the wedding chapel or the wedding site. .In
England, before wedding, bride and groom organize a party as an
engagement party. Families, relatives, friends of bride and groom join
together; they are witnesses of the coming marriage. The couple then gives
reasons of the party to guest. They exchange rings and cut the cake. The
flowered path and symbolic walk express hope for the bride’s path through
life to be happy and lovely. English bridesmaids wear wishers, who might
curse her for her happiness. Finally, housing in Vietnam and England has
more differences. In Vietnam, Homes are small in cities and towns’. In the
country side, homes are usually made of bamboo trees, dry rice plants and
mud. In the cities, they are constructed of brick or cement. One room is
reserved for an altar. This is the sacred room where the worship ancestors.
Not everyone owns a bed and Vietnamese can share a bed with the same sex.
It is not abnormal for two male or female friends or relatives to share one
bed. It can even sleep three or four people. A bed is made of either wood or
bamboo. Children often sleep with their parents. In the UK, Homes are
mostly constructed of wood or brick that more rooms, space and
conveniences. There are places for children to play inside. Having more
rooms are reserved for bedrooms and everybody owns a bed, including
children.

There are a lot of cultural differences between England and Vietnam that
called "Culture shock". In Vietnam, people must remove the shoes at home;
however, in the UK, it depends on whether people want to remove or not. It
really shocks me when I saw a friend of my parents did not remove his shoes
when he visited us. Englishman will use body contact more readily than
Vietnamese, especially hugging. Vietnamese communication-normally, not
much eye contact, and communication can be quite long with a great deal of
repetition. While Vietnam people prefer to wear umbrella because of
sunshine and they also wear a mask or hat or gloves, England people never
bring an umbrella since they prefer to walk in the sunshine. They just use the
umbrella in case of rain. In the UK, people prefer to enjoy outdoor activities
at the weekend or holidays such as hiking, camping, BBQ and so on. Since in
weekdays, people are busy for working, they prefer to spend their weekend
for family and friend by joining outdoor activities. In contrast, Vietnamese
people prefer to go outside for eating both weekdays and weekends. In the
UK, you still keep patient to wait when you make any kind of appointments
from health check-up, eyes check-up to restaurants. For example, it takes me
a month for my annual health check-up appointment. In contrast to Vietnam,
people do not prefer to wait since they want to get the service as fast as
possible. In Vietnam, when I need to buy furniture, I just need to make the
order (in-store / online / phone), the furniture will be shipped to my house
and the store staff will help me to install/assemble. However, in the UK, you
need to do by yourself from installing a table/chair/sofa and so on. Since the
labor cost in the UK is high, people prefer to do by themselves to save cost. It
is hard to find a Karaoke store in the UK since this activity is not popular that
makes me feel sad and bored. Since the Karaoke fee in a store is expensive,
people prefer to buy Karaoke machine system at home. In Vietnam karaoke is
quite popular; there are streets full of karaoke bars. However, there are many
social evils that karaoke bars cause bad effects on karaoke. Vietnam has
about 10,000 loudspeakers. Loudspeakers are a throwback to the 1960s- 70s
war years between N. Vietnam and S. Vietnam, when they delivered news
and warned people to get into a bomb shelter for protection against attack
from the air. Nowadays, these loudspeakers still exist, with announcements
covering a range of topics like residential clusters meetings, avian flu
prevention, and healthcare information and sanitation reminders all over
Vietnam through the daily 6:30 AM and 5:30 PM broadcasts in a male or
female voice. They begin and end with some beautiful music sort of patriotic
rhythms. Napping in Vietnam is an art and the people here are professional
nappers. Vietnamese people can take a siesta almost everywhere from
hammocks made of rope mesh and suspended by cords at the ends to under
the trees and in the bus next to strangers, pavements, right on the concrete
floors, pavements or motorbikes. At elementary schools, taking a nap is
mandatory, little students have to listen to their teachers, transforming desks
made with two wood panels into beds to sleep after lunch time. Nap-time is
when you can observe the very slow pace of life by strolling through the
streets in light volume traffic, feeling the chilling breezes going through your
hair, and seeing an idyllic Vietnam in the midday.

In conclusion, culture in Vietnam and England has the similar and

differences. Thus, the understanding of the two countries' culture helps us to
have a general overview of the two countries in all aspects of culture. The
culture that characterizes each nation, and Vietnam and England represent
two cultures in Asia and Europe.