The first ninety days in a Vietnamese bilingual preschool are best spent observing more than changing: learning children’s names and routines, building a working relationship with your co-teacher, understanding the school’s expectations and families, and looking after your own wellbeing through the adjustment that almost every international teacher goes through. Teachers who try to transform the class in the first month often struggle; teachers who listen first usually find they can contribute far more by the second term.
This guide breaks the first term into stages, with practical steps for each. It is written for teachers new to Vietnam and to bilingual early-years settings, but much of it applies to anyone joining a new school. Practical matters such as visas, work permits and residence cards are outside its scope; guides such as thaodien.org cover them and should be checked against current rules.
Before you arrive
Preparation before the first day saves a great deal of stress. Ask the school for whatever it can share in advance: the class you will join, the age group, the daily schedule, the language policy, the current theme and any induction materials. Read about the Vietnamese preschool system and the national programme so that the structure of the day does not come as a surprise.
Learn a few phrases of Vietnamese before you go: greetings, thank you, and the words children will use most, such as those for water, toilet, eating and sleeping. Even a handful of words makes the first days with children and colleagues easier, and it signals respect.
Think about practical matters that affect your teaching. Ho Chi Minh City is hot all year, with a rainy season roughly from May to November and a drier season from December to April, and outdoor play is often scheduled for the cooler parts of the morning. Clothing that allows you to sit on the floor, kneel and move easily, while meeting the school’s dress expectations, will serve you better than what you might wear in a primary or secondary school.
Weeks one and two: observe and learn names
In the first two weeks, your main task is to understand the class as it already is. Observe the routines closely: how children arrive, how transitions work, what happens at meals and rest, how the Vietnamese teachers speak to children and to each other. Note what works smoothly and what seems difficult, without judging.
Learn every child’s name, with the correct pronunciation, as quickly as you can. Ask your co-teacher to say each name and write it down with a note on how to pronounce it. Learn which children are new, which have particular needs and which families are especially involved.
Join routines from the start. Help at meals, sit with children during play, take part in handwashing and transitions. This is not a distraction from teaching; it is how you build relationships with children who may be wary of a new adult who speaks an unfamiliar language. Children who trust you in routines will engage with you in planned activities.
Weeks three to six: build the partnership and start contributing
Once you know the class, begin contributing more actively. Lead short, well-prepared sessions connected to the current theme, using English inside real experiences. Keep them simple and predictable at first, so children can settle into your style.
Expect children’s responses to vary widely in these weeks. Some will be eager to talk to you in English, some will answer in Vietnamese, and some will simply watch. All of these are normal. Respond warmly to whatever language a child uses, keep talking naturally in English with gestures and objects, and avoid pressing a quiet child to speak. Children who are watching closely are often learning the most.
Establish a regular planning rhythm with your co-teacher if one is not already in place: a short weekly meeting and a brief daily check-in. Share your plans in advance and ask for her views. Ask questions about anything you do not understand, from a child’s behaviour to a family’s request.
Begin observing children systematically. Note how each child understands and uses English, what interests them and how they relate to others. These observations will feed into development records and conversations with families, and they will help you plan sessions that meet children where they are.
Weeks seven to twelve: settle into your role
By the second half of the term you should have a clear sense of the class, your co-teacher’s strengths and the school’s expectations. This is the time to begin introducing your own ideas carefully: a new song or routine for transitions, an open-ended material, a different way of running story time. Introduce one thing at a time and see how it works before adding more.
Take part in the term’s events and festivals fully. Mid-Autumn usually falls in the first term, along with Vietnamese Women’s Day and Teachers’ Day. These are opportunities to understand Vietnamese culture and to meet families informally.
This is also the period when the pace of the term can catch up with you. Festival preparations, development records, parent meetings and the ordinary demands of the class can arrive at once. Plan ahead with your co-teacher, agree what really needs doing each week, and protect the routines that keep the class calm. Children feel the stress of busy weeks, and a steady adult makes a difference to them.
Toward the end of the term, ask for feedback. Ask your co-teacher and the curriculum lead what is working and what they would like you to do differently. Reflect on what you have learned, and set two or three goals for the next term.
Learning the school’s systems
Every school has systems that new teachers need to learn quickly, and in a Vietnamese preschool some of them are linked to national requirements. Ask early how attendance is recorded, how incidents and minor injuries are reported to families and the office, how children’s development records are kept, and which documents the class must maintain for the national programme. Your co-teacher will usually manage most of these, but understanding them helps you support her and avoid mistakes.
Ask, too, how the school documents learning. Some schools keep portfolios or learning stories for each child, some use a digital platform shared with families, and some rely mainly on the development records required by the national programme. Knowing which format your observations should take, and how often they are expected, means your notes from the first weeks can feed straight into the records rather than sitting in a private notebook.
Learn the school’s procedures for health and safety. Find out what happens when a child has a fever, who administers medicine and how, what to do in a fire drill, how children are released only to authorised adults at pick-up, and which areas of the school children may use at which times. These procedures are often stricter and more detailed than newcomers expect, and following them exactly matters.
Finally, learn the school’s communication systems for staff: where announcements are posted, which messaging group carries urgent news, who to tell if you are ill and how far in advance. Missing an announcement about an event or a schedule change is one of the easiest ways to feel out of step in the first weeks.
Being observed and receiving feedback
Many schools observe new teachers during the first term, either informally or as part of a structured induction. Observation may be carried out by the principal, the curriculum lead or an experienced teacher, and it may include a written report. In a bilingual school it may focus on how English is used across the day, how you interact with children and how you work with your co-teacher.
Approach observation as support rather than judgement. Ask in advance what the observer will be looking for, and afterwards ask for one thing that went well and one thing to work on. Feedback in Vietnamese professional culture may be delivered indirectly, with praise first and suggestions softened, so listen carefully for the suggestion and ask follow-up questions if it is not clear.
Act visibly on what you hear. Trying a suggested change in the following weeks, and mentioning it to the person who suggested it, builds credibility quickly. It also shows that you see yourself as a learner in the setting, which is exactly the attitude that makes international teachers successful in Vietnamese schools.
The adjustment curve: culture shock is normal
The anthropologist Kalervo Oberg described culture shock in the 1950s as the anxiety that comes from losing familiar signs and symbols of social interaction. Later writers described a common pattern: an initial period of excitement, followed by frustration as differences become wearing, then gradual adjustment and eventually comfort. Not everyone follows this curve, and its stages are not fixed, but many international teachers recognise it.
In a preschool, the frustration phase often arrives a few weeks in, when the novelty has worn off and the daily differences, in routines, communication, food, noise and heat, accumulate. Small things can feel larger than they are: a misunderstanding with a colleague, a child who will not engage, a family question that feels like criticism.
Recognising this as a normal stage helps. It does not mean you made the wrong decision or that the school is the problem. Talking with other international teachers, keeping some familiar routines, getting enough rest and remembering why you came usually carry teachers through to the adjustment that follows.
Common first-term mistakes to avoid
Most first-term difficulties come from a small number of predictable mistakes. Knowing them in advance makes them easier to avoid.
- Trying to change too much too soon. Colleagues need time to trust you before they will welcome your ideas.
- Treating routines as someone else’s job. Stepping back from meals, rest and hygiene separates you from the life of the class.
- Speaking only to the children. Building a relationship with your co-teacher matters as much as building one with the class.
- Making commitments to families alone. Always involve the lead teacher in conversations about concerns or requests.
- Over-planning English vocabulary. Long lists of target words teach less than rich talk during real experiences.
- Ignoring your own wellbeing. Tired, isolated teachers struggle to be patient and responsive with children.
None of these mistakes is fatal, and most teachers make at least one. What matters is noticing and adjusting, ideally with the help of a colleague who is willing to be honest.
Looking after yourself
Teaching young children is physically and emotionally demanding anywhere, and doing it in a new country adds layers of effort. Look after the basics: sleep, food, hydration in the heat, and some form of exercise. Find a routine outside school that gives you rest and something to look forward to.
Build a support network. Other international teachers, at your school or elsewhere, understand the particular challenges you face. Vietnamese colleagues can become friends as well as co-workers, and their perspective on the city and the culture is invaluable. Many schools have experienced international staff who are willing to mentor newcomers; ask.
Finally, be patient with yourself. Learning a new school, a new culture and a new way of teaching takes time. By the end of the first term most teachers find that the class has become theirs, and that the children who were wary at first now run to greet them in the morning in two languages.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
What should I focus on in my first week at a Vietnamese preschool?
Learning children’s names, observing routines, joining in with meals and play, and getting to know your co-teacher. Resist the urge to change things. The first week is for understanding the class as it already is and for building trust with children and colleagues.
How long does it take to adjust to teaching in Vietnam?
It varies, but many teachers feel the first term is the hardest and find themselves settled by the second. Adjusting to the school, the culture and the climate at the same time takes effort, and a dip in mood a few weeks in is common and usually passes.
Is it normal to feel frustrated a few weeks after arriving?
Yes. Many people moving to a new culture experience a period of frustration after the initial excitement, as differences in daily life accumulate. Recognising it as a normal stage, talking with others and looking after your wellbeing usually help you move through it.
Should I introduce my own teaching methods in the first term?
Gradually and carefully. Spend the first weeks observing and building relationships. In the second half of the term, introduce one idea at a time, ideally in your own sessions, and invite your co-teacher to see how children respond before suggesting wider changes.
How can I prepare for the climate in Ho Chi Minh City?
Expect heat all year and a rainy season roughly from May to November, with sudden heavy showers. Wear light, practical clothing that lets you move and sit on the floor, drink plenty of water, and follow the school’s schedule for outdoor play, which is usually planned for cooler times of day.