Phuong Chung Nguyen

Senior Lecturer in Vietnamese, Director the Vietnamese Language Program

Office: 502-A Kent Hall
Office Hours: T 3:00-5:00
Email: cn2496@columbia.edu

Educational Background

MA: Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Vietnam National University
Diploma: Teaching English as Second Language (TESOL), Hanoi University
BA: English Language and Culture, Hanoi University

Classes Taught

VIET UN1101 & UN1102 First Year Vietnamese
VIET UN2201& UN2202 Second Year Vietnamese
VIET UN3301 & 3302 Third Year Vietnamese
VIET GU4401 & 4402 Mixed Advanced Vietnamese

Research Interests

Vietnamese Language Pedagogy
Vietnamese for Special Purposes
Materials Development
Language Testing and Assessment
Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)
Heritage Vietnamese Language Education

Phuong Chung Nguyen began her teaching career at Hanoi University, where she taught Vietnamese and English and developed instructional materials for international students and professionals. She later served as Vietnamese Language Coordinator for the Post Language Program at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, directing intensive Vietnamese language training for diplomats and overseeing curriculum development and assessment.

She is currently Senior Lecturer in Vietnamese and Director of the Vietnamese Language Program at Columbia University. Her work focuses on curriculum design, proficiency-based instruction, and innovative approaches to Vietnamese language teaching, including task-based pedagogy and technology-enhanced learning.

Selected Publications

2025
Nguyen, C. An Integrated Approach to Contextual Pronunciation Teaching and Listening Comprehension in Vietnamese: A Case Study at Columbia University. Vietnam Journal on Linguistics.

2024
Phung, H., Nguyen, C., & Sakach, A. Intermediate Vietnamese: A Task-Based Journey. Open Educational Resources (OER), Michigan State University.

2023
Nguyen, C. & Nguyen, H. Oral Proficiency Lesson Plans. Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).
Nguyen, C., et al. Reading Materials Development Project. Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).

2022
Nguyen, C. “Best Practices for Teaching Listening Skills in Elementary Vietnamese.” GUAVA Newsletter, Vol. 02–1, pp. 6–8.

2021
Nguyen, T.A., Nguyen, C., & Nguyen, H. Heritage and Project-Based Learning Lesson Plan. Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).

Dinh, H., Nguyen, T.A., & Nguyen, C. Vietnamese OPI Sample Videos Project. Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).

Nguyen, C. “Reflections from SEALC Publication Workshop.” Southeast Asian Language Council News.

2020
Nguyen, C., et al. Oral Proficiency Guidelines for Vietnamese Language. Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).