This week's episode focuses on the National Resource Center for Asian Languages (NRCAL), highlighting one of my favorite initiatives – The Vietnamese Community Literacy Project. This week's guest is Evelyn Linh Nguyen. She is one of the published authors of NRCAL Community Literacy project.
The Vietnamese Community Literacy Project is a Vietnamese Book Writing Contest supported by NRCAL. The project aims to address the lack of authentic resources available to support Vietnamese language programs in the U.S. We currently have over 70 children’s books written for children by children. Some of the themes include: community, what does it mean to be Vietnamese Americans, Anti-Asian Hate in America, and this year’s contest focuses on "Asian American Leaders, Heroes, and Inspirational Figures in the Community." Selected books from the competition are illustrated by the art students and alumni at Cal State Fullerton and published by NRCAL. Recognizing the lack of authentic resources available in Vietnamese, we hope that this project will generate additional resources that can be used in K-12 classrooms across the country.
Beyond being a NRCAL Community Literacy project author, this week's guest, Evelyn Linh Nguyen, has been an active community member and leader in the Vietnamese community, well known for her singing among other talents. She is multilingual in Vietnamese, Spanish, and English.She is currently a student at Boston University.