Students improve their language skills by engaging foreigners in caffeine-fueled discussions at English-only cafes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnamese and foreigners gather at Drink English café in Hanoi for nightly English-language discussions.

Drink English café offers the same menu as any other Hanoi coffeehouse… but the menu does not come in Vietnamese.

The café’s manager Vu Ngoc Nam says Drink English customers and staff are only allowed to speak English.

“We often have to explain to customers that no Vietnamese is allowed. We’ve been fortunate so far that they’ve been excited to follow the rule.”

Opened four months ago by five Vietnamese and foreign partners, Drink English hosts nightly topic-based discussions in English that have become popular with a slew of regulars. The discussions have focused on the environment, the beauty of Hanoi’s West Lake and To Lich River, how to declare one’s love in English, and other tips presented by foreigners Monday to Friday.

Anyone finding it difficult to express their ideas can ask the foreigner on duty Рthe caf̩ aims to always have at least one native English speaker on site at all times Рor pick up one of the many English-Vietnamese dictionaries the caf̩ has on hand.

Thuy Linh, a student from the University of Foreign Trade and a Drink English customer, said: “The greatest difficulty is pronunciation. But it’s wonderful when foreigners help us pronounce word’s correctly.”

Vu Ngoc Khiem, one of the café’s founders, said the café first targeted only students, but now the clientele has expanded to businesspeople and university professors, all keen on practicing English.

Trinh Trong Dai, whose idea it was to open the café, said he did so because it was difficult to find a free and easy place to learn useable, practical English.

“There are so many free-wifi cafes, why not open a free-English café?”

He says the café doesn’t aim to rigidly train customers in English the way schools do, but instead aims to “retrain” them in casual speaking English.

Southern style

Drink and Talk Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City operates on the same principles as Drink English.

Vy Na, a student from HCMC-based University of Foreign Trade, said she was skeptical before she visited Drink and Talk, but that the establishment’s games and discussions with foreigners won her over.

“I never would have thought a café would be the best place to improve my English skills,” Na said.

Richard Donarski, executive director of Nam Khoi FPE Company, said he and some of his friends run an English club at MM café in District 10 every Sunday morning to help young Vietnamese who find it difficult to speak English even after years of study.

With his friends from Canada, Australia and the US, Donarski screens free English-language films and hosts audio listening sessions. The club is popular not only with students, but also with local office workers.

Thu Thuy, a student from Open University in HCMC, says few places help students effectively practice the kind of English they’ll need to interview for jobs in the future.

She also says training costs are a big problem.

“Since English centers charge big fees, my friends and I chose to learn at MM Café instead,” she says.

Another “free” English venue, Education Café on the third floor of Ly Thuong Kiet Co.opMart Supermarket in District 10, is run by a group of university lecturers and foreigners who host an English club every Sunday night at 6 p.m.

VietNamNet/TN