With English their first language, Nguyen knows that Vietnam and its traditions are only stories they hear. I'd like them to know the language, know a little bit about their background, know where their grandparents came from. Professor Son Kim Vo, director of the Intercultural Development Center at Cal State Fullerton, says Asian immigrants also are motivated to maintain their language because the culture emphasizes close ties with extended family. Many friends of ours came here and spoke English only at home. They were afraid their children wouldn't learn otherwise, but I think that's a mistake.
Children learn so fast.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, instructions barked out on a megaphone call a crowd of children to order in the central courtyard of La Quinta High School in Westminster, where the Hong Bang Cultural Center holds classes. Dressed in Hong Bang's teal T-shirts, youngsters file into orderly rows by class level. As the national anthems of the United States and the former South Vietnam blare over a loudspeaker, the 450 students stand at attention as red, white and blue along with red and yellow fly overhead. It is the monthly flag ceremony, a ritual for schools in Vietnam. As in most other schools, the format calls for two hours of instruction in reading, speaking and writing followed by an hour of cultural activity, which ranges from martial arts to brush painting to music lessons.