The good thing is that most people who have worked in Vietnam, as a volunteer or a paid employee, have not had the absolute need to know Vietnamese. Most of the Vietnamese people with whom you’d need to interface or at least to coordinate do speak some English and there are always interpreters around.

The realistic goals you should set for yourself in three months, if I might suggest, would consist of:

- Learning the Vietnamese alphabet. Basically, it’s almost the same as the English alphabet in appearance…but the accent (diacritical) marks are very important to learn as well as the letters. Example- Ma: Ghost, Mà: But, Má: Mother, Mả: Grave, Mạ: Seedling. Get the idea?
- Learn basic pronunciation rules. So that when you ask for a street, at least people would know which street you mean. Or the name of a food item, the waiter would know what you’re trying to order. Example – Cá: Fish; Cà: Eggplant; Ca: Canteen.
-Buy a phrase book such as the Lonely Planet Vietnamese Phrase Book (you can order it from Amazon.com; $ 4.90 new, $0.99 used, plus shipping). Learn common phrases but don’t worry about grammar or syntax…that will take years to learn.