All teachers are familiar with displays – whether working with Kindergarten or secondary-aged pupils. However, when you get to Vietnam you will find that display is taken to a whole new level and even though you had reasonable skills previously, you will be amazed by the level of complexity and style that are typical of Vietnamese displays.
This article helps guide you to simple ways to enhance your displays so that although they may not be up to the extremely high standard of Vietnamese displays at least they are reasonable and represent all the skills that you have.
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Materials to use
The good thing about displays is that in Vietnam there is a good range of cheap and freely available materials which can make your display really pop. The first thing to do with any display is to have a plain background – this can be a large piece of paper or even a large piece of felt (as felt is cheap and has a good vibrant colour).
When putting up your background take your time to ensure that there are no creases or bubbles – the best thing to do is to start flattening it out from the center outwards. There are two types of pins in Vietnam – flat metal pins and plastic-tipped pins. It is suggested that for your border background, you use flat metal pins as you want the background to merge into nothing and not be noticeable.
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Borders
For a good Vietnamese display, the most important thing is that it is neat and looks finished and complete.
So that your display looks neat then you need a border. It is vital to remember that for a good Vietnamese display, the most important thing is that it is neat and looks finished and complete.
If you are not that good at perfectly straight lines then a wiggly border is suggested – simply have one edge of the paper straight and make waves with scissors ( try to cut as much as possible in one go rather than lots of little snips to make it look neat).
In the West, the purpose of a display is more a case of showing how students are progressing – demonstrating the stage that they are on now. However, in Vietnam, the purpose of a display is different – it is showing how amazing the students are and how they are the best students ever. I suppose that this difference comes from a financial point of view. with schools in the West being free of charge thus there is no real competition. In Vietnam, schools are also a business, so a display is like an advertising brochure – so there is a need to show that your school and students are the best of the best!
There are a wide range of borders that you can use for your display.
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Work on display
The work that is displayed must be perfect – you can have students’ work, but you need to make sure it is perfectly marked ( as there will be a lot of scrutinies) and that it is all of a high standard. There is a strong tendency for students and parents to compare and contrast the work that is put up on display, so although in the West you would put everyone’s work up regardless of the amount of “ success “ they had with it, with the attitude that this was a good piece of work for them, this is not something acceptable in Vietnam.
To avoid this comparison, it is suggested that there are a variety of pieces of work put up so that it is not so obvious which ones are more correct than others.
This is applicable not only to written work but also to artwork. You will be amazed to see the work that is displayed outside Kindergarten classrooms as typically it will all be amazingly good and look incredibly similar- however, to achieve this effect, many of the Kindergarten teachers will have “photoshopped “ the work.
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The title and writing
Take your time and cut out the letters individually for an effective Vietnamese display.
It is important that the purpose of the display is clearly stated in the title. It is suggested that this is made from individual cut out letters rather than simply one heading on a piece of paper – as the former looks so much more impressive.
One wonderful trick to use to get even letters ( as well as pictures) is to use your projector. You use Word ( or whatever other program you want to use ) and then project it onto your board. Use magnets to pin up the paper so that the projector work is on it and simply trace around. You can then use this template on some other medium such as felt etc to make your letters/pictures. Although it is time-consuming to make these templates, it is well worth the effort as it is almost impossible to get the high Vietnamese standard with free handwriting!
It is a good idea to have other writing explaining what the work is about / asking questions etc – this not only helps fill in the space but also enables those looking to gain more ideas about the work. There is no need to individually cut out the letters for this – instead, you can simply type it on word and print it out.
Note that it is important to make sure that the font you use matches the handwriting style that your school uses – this can be particularly tricky with the letters a and f – you can download specialty fonts or if your school is not that fussy then you can try “ comic sans “ as this one is the closest generally available font that matches standard handwriting styles.
Take your time and cut out the letters individually for an effective Vietnamese display.
3D aspects
Try to have some 3D aspect to your Vietnamese display for more wow power.
Although you can just about get away with simply having a background, a title, a border and then the student’s neat work displayed, you do need to try to have additional aspects to make your display more attractive.
It is suggested that a 3D aspect is introduced as this makes the display instantly look attractive – this can be something purchased or something that you have made yourself – e.g. paper puffed out to make a flower/paper shaped into a car and stuffed with newspaper before being stapled on the wall etc.
If your creative skills really can’t stretch this far, then at least have something else with texture e.g. a piece of sparkly cloth attractively arranged to enhance your display.
Try to have some 3D aspect to your Vietnamese display for more wow power.
Overall, displays in Vietnam are a whole new ball game to the standard displays of the West. It takes some time to look and learn from others as to what is expected and how to achieve that result, however, with work and perseverance it is possible and you will soon end up with a lovely collection of display photographs which will be a bonus when applying for your next teaching position.
Are you facing difficulties in finding and securing teaching positions in Vietnam? Are visa procedures causing you trouble? Feeling overwhelmed and directionless upon your arrival in Vietnam for teaching assignments? Don’t worry, VTJ’s English Teaching Placement in Vietnam (EPIV) Program 2024 provides comprehensive support to solve ALL the matters.
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