July is here. At least now you can say it in Vietnamese, can you? Yes, "Tháng 7".

Are we that concerned about seasons and months? Are we just trying to find a topic? No. Just be honest: aren't the seasons a strong influence on your life?

You VinaTowners are all students, whatever your age is, since you study Vietnamese. And what is the most important for students? Holidays. July is often a relaxing month, the streets are quieter than usual, people spend more time eating barbecues than surfing on internet and students hide their books and syllabi under their messy bed.

Will you VinaTowners do the same? Actually… no. First, there is no syllabus on VinaTown. We chose to do a different way, with videos and colourful lessons. You can’t hide VinaTown under your bed then.

Secondly, studying Vietnamese is not like going to Uni or school: it's an everyday effort. Oh I know, 'effort' sounds like a negative word. But let me tell you: an effort is most of the time a very pleasant, fun, enjoyable moment. What?! Yeah: no one asks you to memorize kilometric lists of vocabulary 24/7, nor to learn 10 pages of grammar before going to sleep. No. By 'effort', we mean being into a Vietnamese mood at least a short moment every day. It can be 1 hour, 5 hours, 10 minutes if you're that busy. But at least, do something VinaTown each day Mother Nature offers you.

You don't feel like really studying? I know, the sun is hot and you want to lay lazily on the grass. Good. You can not bring your computer in the garden? Good. Why? It's time to train your imagination! Close your eyes and imagine yourself speaking Vietnamese fluently in a Vietnamese restaurant. Or better: in Vietnam. Feel how good it is to be understood by kind people, who will admire your skills. How nice it will be to converse with them about your country (they'll be curious) and to learn about their. How nice it will be to discuss the price of the pair of shoes you want to buy in Sài Gòn. To ask a waiter/tress what's the name of the veggies that are on your bowl of phở. How great it is to book a boat ride only by yourself, and talk with the rower about her/his family, his goals and his vision of the place (maybe not as romantic as yours). Imagine, imagine…

Hmmm, is it what I call “to study”? Maybe not exactly, but it contributes to reinforce your will into studying, because it creates a goal. Unlike school, where to study sometimes seems a boring and useless piece of work that only leads to be scolded by parents, ignored by teachers and get no recognition for efforts made, to study a language is a real purpose in life. And to think of everything that's linked to it is already a step into study. Go out and eat in a Vietnamese restaurant, listen to Vietnamese music, see a TV report about Hà Nội, go online and download pictures of Hội An, print pics of Sài Gòn. Anything. Call a friend who's been there and ask him/her to describe how it was.

Train mentally with what you want to do when your skills will be better. And believe me, they will quickly improve if you take action (of course –don’t expect much improvement if you only dream. Be a practical dreamer).

See how much you can do under the warm sun of July to improve your skills, without having the feeling of studying!? Isn’t life great, when you think of it?

Now go out and take some reprints of VinaTown. Enjoy your holidays, the sun, the air and Vietnamese!

Ps: VinaTown doesn't take holidays yet. We continue to upload our lessons for you as usual.