Lookatvietnam – Finding an English speaking environment is no longer a problem for young people in HCMC. They can go to Master’s Cup, an ideal place to enjoy coffee, make more friends, and practice English in a pleasing environment.

Jerry (2nd, L), an American volunteer at Master’s Cup, talks to young Vietnamese guests at the coffee house.

“This is a comfortable place to make friends while practicing English, so I come here every day and now my English is really good,” confided Hung, a regular guest of the house.

“Master’s Cup is special! We welcome all guests who want to make friends and speak English,” said Mary, one of the eight American volunteers at the house. On every shift there are always two volunteers who are available to talk to customers and help them with their pronunciation.

The most crowded time at Master’s Cup is between 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. This is when regular guests, mostly university students, official staff and high-school pupils, as well as other English students, come to relax. They usually gather in groups and talk freely together or to a foreign volunteer.

Master’s Cup is neither a class nor an English club; the volunteers are not English teachers. “This is a meeting place for English learners, we are just offering friendly guidance to Vietnamese students and officers to improve their English speaking and listening skills, to complement the grammar they have learnt at schools. The motto also is the idea for the name Master’s Cup,” said Mary.

In the young and carefree ambiance, the coffee house is an inspiration for having discussions in English. “We don’t have a planned theme, but our topics are usually on festivals of the year or issues in society and daily life,” said Quyen, a manager of the coffee house. Guests can enjoy coffee, soft drinks, and fast food served in American style and the servers can speak fluent English as well.

“I am a loyal customer and now I’m really confident with my English since I come here,” said Nam with perfect pronunciation.

As Master’s Cup is getting more and more popular the house seems to need a more spacious place to serve the growing number of customers. “We have plans to move to another place after the Tet holiday but still provide similar services for English lovers,” Quyen said.

Master’s Cup at 314/1B Dien Bien Phu Street, District 10 is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at. The house offers free parking and wi-fi services to customers.

(Source: SGT)