UNIT 4.

ETHNIC GROUPS OF VIETNAM

BASIC PRACTICE
A. PHONETICS
Exercise 1. Put the words in the correct column depending on the pronunciation.
folk housework sticky costume close culture folk
community city know gardening tiger gathering community
big group get average energy gentle big
/k/ /g/

Exercise 2. Find the word which has a different sound in the underlined part. Then say
the words aloud.
1. A. folk B. know C. monkey D. kitchen
2. A. close B. community C. costume D. peaceful
3. A. ethnic B. musical C. terraced D. second
4. A. dance B. peace C. excited D. custom
5. A. color B. pencil C. citizen D. circle
6. A. big B. cottage C. gong D. gardening
7. A. gathering B. grandmother C. energy D. group
8. A. grow B. tiger C. gentle D. get
9. A. guest B. average C. large D. village
10. A. ground B. gone C. guy D. gesture
B. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR
Exercise 1. Underline the right word in brackets to complete each sentence.
1. (Terraced fields/ Stairs/ Cottages) are agricultural areas that are constructed as a series of
steps on hilly slopes.
2. A (farmhouse/ cottage/ stilt house) is built on high posts to prevent flooding during the
rainy season.
3. The (stilt house/ communal house/ detached house) was a central meeting point for the
community's events and celebrations.
4. Viet Nam is a multi-nationality country with 54 (ethnic/ language/ music) groups including
the Kinh people, accounting for 87% of the country's population.
5. Some ethnic (majorities/ minorities/ origins) like the Tay, Hmong, Yao... live mostly in the
mountainous regions in the north.
6. Minority people in my village often gather around the campfire, singing (pop/ folk/
western) songs late into the night.
7. The (gong/ bamboo flute/ rock xylophone) is a simple instrument consisting of a stem of
fine bamboo, one mouthpiece, and 10 finger holes.
8. Five-colour (sticky/ wet/ melted) rice is one of the most popular dishes by the Muong in the
north of Viet Nam.
9. The (post/ roof/ staircase) inside the Muong people's house was always made of wood in
the old days.
10. The minority people in the north of Viet Nam grow crops to feed (wild animals/ livestock/
sea animals).
Exercise 2. Look at the pictures and write the correct word in the box under each
picture.
weaving folk dances Rong house five-colour sticky rice
wooden statue open fire staircase stilt house
livestock terraced fields

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10.
Exercise 3. Fill each blank with a word/ phrase in the box.
musical instruments unique features stilt houses terraced fields
ethnic group minority groups traditional livestock
1. They are trying to turn the mountain slopes into ________________.
2. ________________ help people in northern Viet Nam prevent cruel animals and floods.
3. The ________________ of the Muong people include their rich cultural traditions and
unique handicrafts.
4. The ________________ of Viet Nam preserve their unique customs and contribute to the
nation's cultural picture.
5. The bamboo flute is one of the most popular ________________ of Viet Nam.
6. Visiting wife's parents - on the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year - is a ________________
custom of Tay and Nung people.
7. The Hmong ________________ has a rich cultural heritage and distinctive traditions.
8. The farmer raised healthy ________________ to provide meat and dairy products for the
local community.
Exercise 4. Change the sentences into Yes/ No questions.
1. I have ever been to a village of ethnic minorities.
___________________________________________________________________________
2. We traveled to the mountainous provinces in North Viet Nam last summer.
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Pho is a popular traditional dish in Viet Nam.
___________________________________________________________________________
4. There are 54 ethnic groups in our country.
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Ethnic groups in Viet Nam speak their own languages.
___________________________________________________________________________
6. They will visit the Nung village next month.
___________________________________________________________________________
7. Farmers raise cattle and poultry for their own use.
___________________________________________________________________________
8. Ethnic minorities worship their ancestors.
___________________________________________________________________________
9. They held festivals and ceremonies with songs and many traditional games.
___________________________________________________________________________
10. The Thai language belongs to the Tay-Thai group.
___________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 5. Write C (countable) or U (uncountable) for the underlined words.
Spring is a (1) time when there are many (2) festivals in our country. Among them, Hoa Ban
Festival is the most beautiful and interesting, and it takes place in Lai Chau. It is typical of the
cultural (3) life of the Thai (4) people. In the second lunar month of the year, when it gets
warmer and hoa ban - a kind of beautiful flower in the northwest mountainous area - (5)
blossoms, Hoa Ban Festival is celebrated. This is a great time for everyone, especially for
boys and girls. The (6) boy picks the most beautiful flower and gives it to his girlfriend. This
is not only a time for (7) love but also for the Thai people to pray for good crops, for (8)
happiness, and express their special thanks to the gods and (9) ancestors. The festival is
always full of (10) songs and prayers.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
C. SPEAKING
Exercise 1. Choose the best answer to each question below.
1. Tom: What do you like best about Sa Pa? - Jim: ______________
A. It is in the north of Viet Nam.
B. I like its local markets best.
2. Linda: where can we find the most beautiful terraced fields? - Jane: ______________
A. In Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai province.
B. You can see them in the spring.
3. Mark: when is the Ban Flower Festival? - Nancy: ______________
A. It's in spring.
B. About 260 kilometers from Ha Noi.
4. Louis: How tall is an average stilt house? - Janet: ______________
A. About 5-6 metres tall.
B. It is longer than a flat.
5. Trang: what do you think about life in the mountains? - Linh: ______________
A. I think it's very interesting. People in the mountains live close to nature.
B. I prefer living in the mountains to living in the city because it's peaceful.
Exercise 2. Complete the following dialogues with the sentences in the box. Then
practice with your partner.
A. It is a single-family home, surrounded by its own land or yard.
B. The foundation is the base upon which the entire house is built.
C. It depends. Common materials include wood, brick, concrete, or a combination
of these.
D. I'm living in a detached house. Do you know this type of house?
E. That's a great question. I would say the foundation is one of the most important
components.
Harry: where do you live?
Minh: I live in Sapa, Lao Cai province.
Harry: what type of home do you live in?
Minh:(1)
___________________________________________________________________________
Harry: Oh, I don't know well. Can you tell me about it?
Minh:(2)
___________________________________________________________________________
Harry: what materials is it made from?
Minh:(3)
___________________________________________________________________________
Harry: What is the most important part of your home?
Minh: (4)
___________________________________________________________________________
Harry: The foundation? That's interesting, why is the foundation considered so important?
Minh: (5)
___________________________________________________________________________
D. READING
Exercise 1. Put a word from the box in each gap to complete the following passage.
ethnic minority mountainous customs cultural
social communal terraced livestock
The Muong are an (1) _____________ group in Viet Nam, known for their rich cultural
heritage and distinct way of life. The Muong people primarily inhabit the (2) _____________
regions of northern Viet Nam, particularly in Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, and some parts of Phu
Tho provinces.
The Muong have a long history and have preserved their traditional (3) _____________ and
practices. They have their own language, which belongs to the Tai language family, while
many Muong people are bilingual, speaking Vietnamese as well, the Muong language
remains an important part of their (4) _____________ identity.
Agriculture with growing rice and raising (5) _____________ is the main occupation of the
Muong. They are skilled in (6) _____________ farming, a technique used to cultivate rice on
hilly terrain. Other crops, such as corn, beans, and vegetables, are also grown to feed cattle.
In Muong society, the family plays a central role. The Muong people live in (7)
_____________ houses called nha san, which are large, stilted structures with multiple
rooms. These houses serve as the center of (8) _____________ activities and are often shared
by several related families.
Exercise 2. Read the text and answer the questions.
Gong culture in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam has been recognized by UNESCO as a
Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Gong culture covers five provinces of
the Central Highlands: Kon Turn, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, and Lam Dong. The masters
of gong culture are the ethnic groups of Bahnar, Sedang, Mnong, Coho, Ede, Giarai... The
Gong Festival is held annually in the Central Highlands. In the festival, artists from these
provinces give gong performances, highlighting the gong culture of their own province.
For the ethnic groups of the Central Highlands, gongs are musical instruments of special
power. It is believed that every gong is the symbol of a god who grows more powerful as the
Gong gets older. Therefore, gongs are associated with special occasions in people's lives, such
as the building of new houses, funerals, crop praying ceremonies, a new harvest, victory
celebrations, etc. The gong sound is a way to communicate with the gods.
1. Where is Gong culture from?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. How often is the Gong Festival held?
___________________________________________________________________________
3. What do artists do in the Gong Festival?
___________________________________________________________________________
4. Who does a gong symbolize?
___________________________________________________________________________
5. On what occasions are gongs used?
___________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 3. Choose the correct word A, B, or C for each of the gaps to complete the
following text.
With around 1.7 million people, the Tay are the second (1) _____________ ethnic group in
Viet Nam after the majority Viet ethnic group. They live mainly in Viet Nam's northern and
northwestern provinces - Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Ha Giang, Thai Nguyen, and Lao
Cai. They (2) _____________ along the valleys and the lower slopes of the mountains.
Tay villages are usually (3) _____________ at the feet of mountains and are often named
after a mountain, field or river. A Tay village has from 20 to over a hundred households. They
live in wooden (4) _____________ houses on the high posts with tile or palm leaf roofs.
Both men and women wear clothes made (5) _____________ hand-woven cotton, dyed with
indigo. Women wear high collared, waist or knee-length shirts buttoned on the right side.
Their pants have roomy legs and a wide belt. Tay women enjoy (6)_____________ jewelry,
particularly silver necklaces and arm and wrist bracelets. Men's clothing is similar to that of
women.
The Tay have developed a rich (7) _____________ of poems, songs, epics, tales, funny
stories, and dance. Popular (8) _____________ singing genres of the Tay are call-and-
response singing, lullaby, then, and wedding and funeral singing. Then is sung at important
events and is an indispensable part of the spiritual and religious life of the Tay.
1. A. bigger B. biggest C. big D. the biggest
2. A. stay B. take C. arrive D. inhabit
3. A. to build B. built C. building D. build
4. A. detached B. tree C. stilt D. cottage
5. A. from B. in C. of D. with
6. A. to wear B. to wearing C. worn D. wearing
7. A. culture B. language C. clothes D. food
8. A. folk B. simple C. modern D. pop
F. WRITING
Exercise 1. Use the given words to write the complete sentences.
1. The language/ the Cao Lan/ belong/ the Tay-Nung group
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Some/ ethnic minorities/ drink/ a lot of wine/ during/ the Tet holidays/ festivals.
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Lao Cai Province/ the north/ Viet Nam.
___________________________________________________________________________
4. It/ take/ us/ only/ 3 hours/ get/ Moc Chau/ from/ Ha Noi.
___________________________________________________________________________
5. People/ can/ buy/ local products/ nice costumes of the ethnic group/ the open-air market.
___________________________________________________________________________
6. There/ many/ festivals/ our country/ spring.
___________________________________________________________________________
7. Hoa Ban Festival/ most beautiful and interesting/ Lai Chau.
___________________________________________________________________________
8. The boy/ pick/ most beautiful flower/ give/ it/ his girlfriend.
___________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 2. Write questions for the underlined ports of the following sentences.
1. My uncle went to Toy Nguyen to write an article about the Bahnar.
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Mr. Lam feeds the cows once a day.
___________________________________________________________________________
3. The Yao people are famous for their elaborate costumes.
___________________________________________________________________________
4. The Viet people have the largest population in Viet Nam.
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Artists from the Central Highlands will give gong performances in the festival.
___________________________________________________________________________
6. My mother bought a costume of the Yao at an open-air market in Sa Pa.
___________________________________________________________________________
7. It is two kilometres from my house to the communal house. 8. The tourists got to the
ancient village on foot.
___________________________________________________________________________
9. The Hani people live in Lai Chau and Lao Cai.
___________________________________________________________________________
10. Giang A Pao spent three months making this musical instrument.
___________________________________________________________________________