answered about 7 months ago by jimbo
It's a real problem for students because tourists are often a bit suspicious being approached for 'conversation,' and ex-pats are usually worn out from daily interactions (personal and/or professional) and aren't going to be in the mood to endure a halting conversation with someone trying to practice English.
I've seen young adults/late teens with clipboards and questionnaires at Temple of Lit and on the grounds of HCM Mausoleum complex, approaching tourists and being greeted in a friendly manner. Foreigners feel safer than 'on the street' and are more approachable than in a cafe where they may feel an intrusion. You could role-play how to go about this, then have them report their 'findings' to make it legitimate!
answered about 7 months ago by suvving
I agree with Jimbo - people assume students are vendors and are trying to sell something.
Even in my hometown of Los Angeles, I was a an outdoor shopping mall and was approached by a foreign student. She wanted to practice English with me, but I immediately assumed she was trying to sell me something, so I just brushed her off. I didn't figure out she was a student who wanted to practice her english until I was two blocks away.
To prevent that from happening in Hanoi, you might want to make a small sign for the student to carry that clearly states "I'm a student, could you please practice English with me for 2 minutes?" or something like that.
