Most young people of Vietnamese origin born in Switzerland can speaktheir native tongue thanks to Vietnamese language courses at theGeneva-based Au Lac Viet School.

The school, established and runby the Friendship Bridge Association (FBA), provides Vietnameselanguage courses for both overseas Vietnamese and international friends,according to Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) website.

It has a three-month course for both children and adults to attend twice a week.

Mostof its students are Vietnamese, Swiss and French, who wish to study thebasic grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation as well as learn aboutVietnam’s history, culture and traditions, and how to sing Vietnamesefolksongs or popular songs written by famous composer Trinh Cong Son.

FBAChairman Hoang Van Khan, a Vietnamese expatriate who has been residingin Geneva for more than 30 years, said the first Vietnamese languagecourse was held in 2005 with assistance from the Vietnamese Embassy inthe headquarters of the Vietnamese Mission to the United Nations inGeneva.

The Au Lac Viet School has also participated inorganising various events for Vietnamese expatriates, such as theMid-Autumn and traditional lunar New Year (Tet) festivals.

MaiLinh, 23, a Swiss-fathered student who has studied Vietnamese at theschool since September 2012, can now speak Vietnamese rather fluently.“I have two lessons a week so that I can talk with my mom,” sheconfided.

She added that she is now preparing for a trip to Vietnam to study at a French-teaching school in Hanoi in April 2013.

TranHa Linh, a post-graduate of Geneva University, said she is teachingVietnamese for six adults and they are all studying hard.

HuguetteMicard, 64, who is studying at the Au Lac Viet School, said “I was bornin Vietnam , and left the country when I was just seven. Even now Istill wish to speak Vietnamese”.-VNA