VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese read an average of four books a year, including 2.8 textbooks and 1.2 books of other different kinds, according to the Center for Vietnam and South East Asia Studies.

This issue emerged after a local newspaper reported that every student of a primary school in Nago City of Okianawa in Japan reads 20 books a month.

Meanwhile, the survey by the Center for Vietnam and South East Asia Studies shows a quite different situation in Vietnam. 

At least 26 percent of Vietnamese do not read books, 44 percent read books occasionally and only 30 percent read books regularly. 

Vietnamese read an average of four books a year, including 2.8 textbooks and 1.2 books of other different kinds, according to the Center for Vietnam and South East Asia Studies.

Only 8-10 percent of the total population are regular readers at libraries.

Why do Japanese still like reading books though they live in a busy and dynamic society, but Vietnamese don’t have the habit of reading books?

Thanh Phan, deputy director of the Center for Vietnam and South East Asia Studies, believes that the development of the information technology environment has had impact on people’s activities.

For example, Vietnam has a high number of TV channels, which provide entertainment and news programs. The internet is also popular. Vietnamese people like going to Internet cafes to chat, read news on websites, or play games.

Nearly all Vietnamese parents use high-tech devices. Many of them use more than one mobile device, including smartphones and tablets. In Vietnam, children aged two or three can use smartphones or iPads.

In urban areas, Vietnamese parents give mobile devices to their children to play, so that the kids don’t disturb them.

The second reason, according to Phan, is the education method Vietnamese use. Children in families and students at schools are not advised to read books.

“Japanese children like reading books because their parents teach them to read books,” Phan explained.

“Japanese parents get their children into the habit of receiving information and knowledge from books, not from TV or smartphones,” he said, adding that he can see Japanese reading books everywhere, on streets, on buses and the subway.

Meanwhile, Prof Nguyen Van Tuan from the New South Wales University, believes that many Vietnamese do not read because there are not many interesting books available.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, & Tourism three years ago released a report saying that Vietnamese people read 0.8 books a year on average.

Dat Viet