Writing Non-fiction Books on National Culture for Vietnamese Children in the Age of Globalisation: The Process of Building Intercultural Competence

Abstract

This paper tracks down the process of writing non-fiction books on national culture for Vietnamese children to help them understand their identity and respect cultural differences in the age of globalisation. By self-reflecting on the writing experience, this essay elucidates the process of building intercultural competence in its relationship with national identity through the case study of “Kể chuyện văn hóa Việt”. The paper provides a discussion among the three authors in the format of an interview with the co-author who also wrote the non-fiction book series that we focus upon. The first part reflects on intercultural competence as a concept, and the second half considers how the book series emerged and put this concept into practice. The research results show that constructing national identity, individual agency, and intercultural competence for children must be transferred naturally from each book’s topic to the flow of the story. In this case, the most striking feature is the main character’s interaction with his family. In addition, the context needs to integrate both global and local elements. The series creates situations in which there is a comparison between the past and the present, between Vietnam and other countries. It helps readers engage in different worldviews and address diversity by examining their community and nation, thus becoming more tolerant of others. This paper suggests guidance for creating similar books and helps the audience understand the author’s journey to create a trade book series featuring culture-related content.