Are you getting ready to learn Vietnamese? Then you’re at the right place. We’ve got the most comprehensive list to get you started. Whether you’re going on a trip to Vietnam, or whether you just need to converse with colleagues, learning everything from basic vocabulary to how to read and write will be crucial.
In this post, we break down which Vietnamese courses you should look for according to quality, focus, and price.
We’ll start with the overall top picks—the best of the best—that are our go-to resources for anyone learning Vietnamese. Then, we’ll cover the best beginner options, skills-based courses, and finally, we’ll touch on the bargain basement section, where we have some budget-friendly courses.
Let’s get to it!
Table of Contents
Table of Best Courses to Learn Vietnamese
Links below will send you to the course websites, and the course details are down below.
OVERALL BEST
Best for Picking Your Own Class: Verbling
Quality Course at an Affordable Price: Lingodeer
A Personalized Podcast Learning Course: Learn Vietnamese with Annie
BEGINNER’S COURSES
Audio-Based Learning for Beginners On Up: VietnamesePod101
An Excellent Intro to Vietnamese: Pimsleur
Decent Instruction for Beginners: Mango Languages
Dated Methods that Might Work for Beginners: Rosetta Stone
READING AND LISTENING
Training Your Speaking and Listening Skills: Glossika
Best for Speaking from Day 1: Pimsleur
Read Your Favorite Content: LingQ
SPEAKING AND WRITING
Best for Speaking Vietnamese from Day 1: Pimsleur
Decent Coverage for Vietnamese: Mango Languages
Good for Intermediate Students Wanting to Practice Speaking: Glossika
VOCABULARY ACQUISITION
Great for Growing Your Vocabulary: Memrise
Phrase-Based Learning With Lots of Grammar Practice: Assimil
TUTORS AND LANGUAGE EXCHANGES
Expert Tutoring at an Affordable Price: italki
Great Way to Find Tutors and Classes: Verbling
Best Way to Find Language Exchange Partners While Taking Its Audio Lessons: HelloTalk
Overall Best Vietnamese Learning Courses
These are our favorite online courses for learning Vietnamese. These courses cover various aspects of the Vietnamese language and will give you a more comprehensive understanding of how the language works.
Best for Picking Your Own Class
EASY TO USE PLATFORM
Verbling is an online language-class marketplace where you can take lessons with teachers of your choice. It has some student-friendly extra features, including a built-in online classroom, flashcards, homework calendar, and a filing system for lesson materials. There are also useful but disorganized forums where you can discuss languages, share writing for critique, and do free language drills and exercises.
The lessons are generally high quality and well structured, plus the filters make it easy to find teachers who specialize in everything from accent reduction to interview preparation.
Pros
- You can find great teachers very quickly
- The platform’s extra features, such as teacher-made, personalized flashcards, help you review the material learned in each lesson
- It seems focused on long-term progression as well as immediate student satisfaction
- You don’t have to give out your contact details, thanks to the classroom technology
Cons
- Some teachers don’t use the platform’s flashcards and materials system
- There are fewer languages available than on italki
- You can only pay in US dollars, plus there’s a hidden fee
- The forums need more moderation
See our Super-Detailed Verbling Review
Quality Course at an Affordable Price
QUALITY COURSE AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE
Since Lingodeer is newer, it doesn’t get as much attention as resources like Duolingo or Busuu. But in our opinion, Lingodeer is better for learning Asian languages, especially, because that’s where the app started.
Overall, Lingodeer’s courses are really well done, which puts it at the top of our list. It also offers a range of lesson types, so you get plenty of practice with grammar and vocabulary.
Pros
- The course design is intuitive with a good variety of lessons.
- There’s some free content available.
- Excellent grammar content and audio recordings.
Cons
- There’s not as much emphasis on developing your verbal skills.
See our Super-Detailed Lingodeer Review
A Personalized Podcast Learning Course
$6.99/month, but you can try sample lessons for free and new subscribers get their first month for $2.99
A PERSONALIZED PODCAST LEARNING COURSE
Learning Vietnamese with Annie involves podcast lessons (new ones come out weekly), with a focus on the Southern Vietnamese accent. You also get a discussion of the audio, plus a vocabulary review audio file, PDF scripts and translations, and online exercises to practice with.
Self-contained lessons make it easy to study what you want—but it also means there’s not a natural progression with what you’re learning. You can, however, sign-up for tutoring as well.
Pros
- Dialogue-based lessons focus on getting you speaking, fast.
- You can take lessons over Skype if you benefit from one-on-one instruction.
- All the additional materials help you with listening, reading, and writing Vietnamese.
Cons
- The lessons jump around, so there’s no clear learning path.
Best Vietnamese Beginner’s Courses
As a beginner, building and strengthening your foundations in the Vietnamese language is very exciting. Have a look at these beginner options and pick the one that best matches your style.
Audio-Based Learning for Beginners On Up
AUDIO-BASED LEARNING FOR BEGINNERS ON UP
VietnamesePod101 uses a podcast format to teach beginners on up. The cultural details are helpful for learning the nuances of the language, and you can start and stop your lessons when it’s convenient.
The hosts talk about a variety of topics as they teach the language in their audio lessons. Although, the course isn’t linearly structured, so it’s better used as a supplementary tool for a better-structured course.
Pros
- A wide variety of lesson topics.
- The casual podcast format lets you get a lot of exposure to the language.
Cons
- An emphasis on audio means you’ll need some written supplements.
- Lots of English used, especially at lower levels.
- They send far too many promotional emails.
See our Super-Detailed VietnamesePod101 Review
An Excellent Intro to Vietnamese
AN EXCELLENT INTRO TO VIETNAMESE
Pimsleur is a strong resource for many languages, and although you can’t use the subscription option for Vietnamese (yet), we think it could be worth purchasing the Level 1 course. The audio-focused lessons feature a range of speakers so you can start working on vocabulary and pronunciation right away.
Since listening and speaking are the focus, you’ll find yourself able to communicate in Vietnamese quicker than with most other options. However, you may need a supplement for working on your reading and writing skills.
Pros
- You start using spoken Vietnamese right away.
- The emphasis is on cultural elements and getting the pronunciation right.
- Audio-based lessons are easy to follow and complete at your own pace.
Cons
- Grammar, reading, and writing are mostly ignored.
See our Super-Detailed Pimsleur Review
Decent Instruction for Beginners
DECENT COVERAGE FOR VIETNAMESE
Mango is comparable to Duolingo in many ways, with its beginner-focused courses and not overly serious interface. Still, the courses aren’t necessarily any better than other courses out there.
You can study multiple languages with a subscription, which is a perk if you’re learning two or more concurrently. And, many libraries offer free access—so it may be possible to use for free.
Pros
- You may be able to access Mango Languages for free.
- Each subscription includes all the languages (70+).
Cons
- Content is aimed at beginners without much for higher levels.
- Not enough grammar practice
See our Super-Detailed Mango Languages Review
Dated Methods that Might Work for Beginners
DATED METHODS THAT MIGHT WORK FOR BEGINNERS
While modern language courses use dynamic interfaces and game-like structures to engage students, Rosetta Stone falls a bit flat. There’s some good information here—if you’re willing to sift through the picture-matching activities to find the actual instruction.
For ultimate beginners, Rosetta Stone can help introduce you to pronunciation and basic vocabulary. The lack of English explanations can make it overly difficult to understand simple concepts. At this price point, you can see why this resource was bumped into our third tier.
Pros
- Beginners can start learning without any knowledge of written Vietnamese.
- You get a lot of pronunciation practice with the speech recognition feature.
Cons
- It gets repetitive and boring pretty fast.
- Other courses offer better instruction for cheaper.
- It feels a bit juvenile with all the picture-matching.
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See our Super-Detailed Rosetta Stone Review
Courses to Learn Vietnamese Reading and Listening
Working on your receptive language skills is essential if you want to reach fluency. With these courses you’ll be able to read and listen to Vietnamese content easily.
Training Your Speaking and Listening Skills
TRAINING YOUR SPEAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS
Glossika is a useful resource for many languages (especially if you’re learning multiple at a time), but it’s got a few drawbacks, too. One of which is the price, at $30/month, we tend to expect a bit more.
Although it’s not ideal for beginners, lower-intermediate learners can practice Vietnamese with listening, speaking, and comprehension drills. Repetition is also the name of the game, which might get dull for some learners.
Pros
- You can access all the languages with a single subscription.
- Lessons focus on speaking and listening.
Cons
- The price is comparatively high.
- The repetition can get boring, so you’ll need to stay motivated.
See our Super-Detailed Glossika Review
Best for Speaking from Day 1
AN EXCELLENT INTRO TO VIETNAMESE
Pimsleur is a strong resource for many languages, and although you can’t use the subscription option for Vietnamese (yet), we think it could be worth purchasing the Level 1 course. The audio-focused lessons feature a range of speakers so you can start working on vocabulary and pronunciation right away.
Since listening and speaking are the focus, you’ll find yourself able to communicate in Vietnamese quicker than with most other options. However, you may need a supplement for working on your reading and writing skills.
Pros
- You start using spoken Vietnamese right away.
- The emphasis is on cultural elements and getting the pronunciation right.
- Audio-based lessons are easy to follow and complete at your own pace.
Cons
- Grammar, reading, and writing are mostly ignored.
See our Super-Detailed Pimsleur Review
Read Your Favorite Content
ENJOYABLE AND EASY TO USE
LingQ is a language-learning platform that focuses on extensive reading for over 30 different languages. You can import your own content or choose from the community library of books, articles, podcasts, YouTube videos, and more.
The app highlights unknown words across every lesson and makes them reviewable via different types of SRS flashcards. The more you read, the more accurately you will be able to identify content that is suitable for your level.
Although I did not find it beneficial for languages I had never studied before, I think LingQ can be helpful for upper-beginner to advanced language learners who enjoy reading. It is especially helpful if you struggle to find graded readers in your target language.
Pros
- Easily import any material you want to learn
- Each lesson in the library displays the percentage of known and unknown words based on my reading history
- There are many dictionaries to choose from for definitions
- You can use SRS flashcards to quiz new words from a specific page
Cons
- Reviewing words is chaotic
- The extra features are overpriced and can be found other places for cheaper
- The free version is extremely limited
See our Super-Detailed LingQ Review
Courses With Vietnamese Speaking and Writing Emphasis
The more you practice speaking and writing in Vietnamese, the more comfortable you will get with the language. The courses in this category provide you with ample practice to help you work on these skills.
Best for Speaking Vietnamese from Day 1
AN EXCELLENT INTRO TO VIETNAMESE
Pimsleur is a strong resource for many languages, and although you can’t use the subscription option for Vietnamese (yet), we think it could be worth purchasing the Level 1 course. The audio-focused lessons feature a range of speakers so you can start working on vocabulary and pronunciation right away.
Since listening and speaking are the focus, you’ll find yourself able to communicate in Vietnamese quicker than with most other options. However, you may need a supplement for working on your reading and writing skills.
Pros
- You start using spoken Vietnamese right away.
- The emphasis is on cultural elements and getting the pronunciation right.
- Audio-based lessons are easy to follow and complete at your own pace.
Cons
- Grammar, reading, and writing are mostly ignored.
See our Super-Detailed Pimsleur Review
Decent Coverage for Vietnamese
DECENT COVERAGE FOR VIETNAMESE
Mango is comparable to Duolingo in many ways, with its beginner-focused courses and not overly serious interface. Still, the courses aren’t necessarily any better than other courses out there.
You can study multiple languages with a subscription, which is a perk if you’re learning two or more concurrently. And, many libraries offer free access—so it may be possible to use for free.
Pros
- You may be able to access Mango Languages for free.
- Each subscription includes all the languages (70+).
Cons
- Content is aimed at beginners without much for higher levels.
- Not enough grammar practice
See our Super-Detailed Mango Languages Review
Good for Intermediate Students Wanting to Practice Speaking
TRAINING YOUR SPEAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS
Glossika is a useful resource for many languages (especially if you’re learning multiple at a time), but it’s got a few drawbacks, too. One of which is the price, at $30/month, we tend to expect a bit more.
Although it’s not ideal for beginners, lower-intermediate learners can practice Vietnamese with listening, speaking, and comprehension drills. Repetition is also the name of the game, which might get dull for some learners.
Pros
- You can access all the languages with a single subscription.
- Lessons focus on speaking and listening.
Cons
- The price is comparatively high.
- The repetition can get boring, so you’ll need to stay motivated.
See our Super-Detailed Glossika Review
Learn Vietnamese Vocabulary and Grammar
In order to speak Vietnamese fluently, it is important that you constantly expand your vocabulary and have a good understanding of how the grammar works. The courses below provide a lot of practice to help you with your vocabulary and grammar.
Great for Growing Your Vocabulary
SO MUCH LEARNING CONTENT AVAILABLE
Memrise is a super popular language-learning app available online and on mobile. It functions much like a gamified flashcard app, and it offers a lot of content for free. A lot of the content is user-created, and there is a premium subscription that provides access to additional features. Memrise can be a great tool in your arsenal, but you’ll need more to learn a language seriously.
Pros
- Lots of free content
- SRS makes for efficient practice
- Videos of native speakers are engaging and informative
Cons
- You’ll need to supplement with other resources to get well-rounded practice
- Website navigation is clunky
See our Super-Detailed Memrise Review
Phrase-Based Learning With Lots of Grammar Practice
HIGH QUALITY AUDIO
Assimil is a French company that has been selling language-learning resources since 1929. Assimil materials are available as books, CDs, and downloadable e-courses; there are a variety of available course types, and instruction is based on interacting with phrases in the target language. The popular Sans Peine or, With Ease, courses are for absolute or false beginners that would like to reach the B2 level, but we think you’ll need to incorporate some other study materials to make this happen.
Pros
- The audio quality is great
- The culture notes add a lot of value
- There are plenty of grammar explanations, but they aren’t a focus
Cons
- The mobile app isn’t super intuitive
- The pronunciation feedback method could be better
- The exercises aren’t especially engaging
See our Super-Detailed Assimil Review
Tutors and Vietnamese Language Exchange
If you’re looking for a more immersive way to learn Vietnamese, then finding a tutor or a language exchange partner to help you learn Vietnamese is necessary. These language exchange options are the best to get you started.
Expert Tutoring at an Affordable Price
EXPERT TUTORING AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE
No matter what level you’re at with learning Vietnamese, italki can offer the expert instruction you need. We like recommending the tutoring platform for all language learners because you can match up with a professional teacher or tutor for help in specific areas.
Tutors are usually native speakers, and their lessons often cost less than professional teachers (who often have a degree and teaching experience). You guide the session, so you can learn what you want—when you want it.
Pros
- Scheduling lessons is easy and convenient.
- You can try out lessons for a lower trial price with most instructors.
- The community features are helpful and free.
Cons
- Paying with italki credits is a slight inconvenience.
- It can take some time to find a teacher that you really click with.
See our Super-Detailed italki Review
Great Way to Find Tutors and Classes
EASY TO USE PLATFORM
Verbling is an online language-class marketplace where you can take lessons with teachers of your choice. It has some student-friendly extra features, including a built-in online classroom, flashcards, homework calendar, and a filing system for lesson materials. There are also useful but disorganized forums where you can discuss languages, share writing for critique, and do free language drills and exercises.
The lessons are generally high quality and well structured, plus the filters make it easy to find teachers who specialize in everything from accent reduction to interview preparation.
Pros
- You can find great teachers very quickly
- The platform’s extra features, such as teacher-made, personalized flashcards, help you review the material learned in each lesson
- It seems focused on long-term progression as well as immediate student satisfaction
- You don’t have to give out your contact details, thanks to the classroom technology
Cons
- Some teachers don’t use the platform’s flashcards and materials system
- There are fewer languages available than on italki
- You can only pay in US dollars, plus there’s a hidden fee
- The forums need more moderation
See our Super-Detailed Verbling Review
Best Way to Find Language Exchange Partners While Taking Its Audio Lessons
FIND A LANGUAGE EXCHANGE PARTNER FOR FREE
HelloTalk is a mobile app for language learners interested in language exchange. It facilitates communication between native speakers and those learning their language with the use of built-in language tools. It also offers audio lessons in 10 languages as part of a separate subscription.
Pros
- It’s exciting to practice communicating with real people
- The built-in language tools are helpful
- It’s easy to pick up and put down whenever you like
Cons
- It’s too easy to rely on google translate
- It can be hard to find good partners
- The paid audio lessons probably aren’t worth it
See our Super-Detailed HelloTalk Review
Maybe Try These Vietnamese Learning Courses
These are decent sources for learning Vietnamese. They may not have made our favorites, but they are worth giving a try.
Udemy
Udemy is a platform with online courses in every subject, and there’s a fair amount of Vietnamese content available. You can choose an instructor who speaks the dialect you want to learn (Southern, Northern, or otherwise), study specific vocabulary for work or school, and go beyond the beginner level.
Courses range from around an hour to over six hours of content, and many instructors offer downloadable homework, worksheets, and other resources.
Assimil
Assimil is a French company that has been selling language-learning resources since 1929. Assimil materials are available as books, CDs, and downloadable e-courses; there are a variety of available course types, and instruction is based on interacting with phrases in the target language. The popular Sans Peine or, With Ease, courses are for absolute or false beginners that would like to reach the B2 level, but we think you’ll need to incorporate some other study materials to make this happen.
See our Super-Detailed Assimil Review
Transparent Language
Transparent Language covers a lot of languages, but the tradeoff is that the quality isn’t there. When it comes to studying a language, the mode of instruction is important, and it’s a major weakness of Transparent Language.
They rely to heavily on rote memorization of individual words and fail to teach the language holistically. There’s a cool recording tool to practice your pronunciation, and you can study just about any language out there. But overall, we’re not huge fans of Transparent Language.
See our Super-Detailed Transparent Language Review
Mondly
We like Mondly because it covers the basics of Vietnamese (and many other languages). But their courses are structured relatively poorly, with each language being taught in the same manner.
The format isn’t very engaging, so you’ll need to really buckle down if you choose Mondly to study with. It’s not a terrible course by any means, but it’s not particularly unique and other courses teach more effectively.
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See our Super-Detailed Mondly Review
123Vietnamese
While we don’t have any personal experience with 123Vietnamese, the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City based language school has a decent reputation. Their courses are available in an online format, but you can also hire one-on-one lessons through Skype.
The beginner course includes 44 videos and exercises, and you’ll start with the absolute basics, like consonants and vowels. Each lesson’s format involves an instructor literally presenting the lesson on a digital whiteboard, which may not be everyone’s preference.
Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone is one of the most well-known resources for learning languages. It takes an immersive approach to teaching and is widely used by corporations and individuals alike. High levels of repetition and an absence of translations or explanations are hallmarks of the course. Rosetta Stone course could be most suitable for learners that don’t mind repetitive exercises and prefer to learn from pictures and context rather than translations and explanations. It’s probably not a good option for anyone wanting to significantly improve their speaking or writing skills, or those looking for an engaging course.
ALR Readers Exclusive Holiday Deal!! Get the Lifetime Subscription for 25 languages for $179 (everywhere else it’s $199 right now!). See details on the website.
See our Super-Detailed Rosetta Stone Review
Best Free(mium) Courses for Learning Vietnamese
These category includes free and freemium selections if you’re looking to learn Vietnamese on a budget. Take a look and see which one suits you best.
Most Useful Free Flashcard Vocab Builder
THE GO-TO SRS FLASHCARD APP
It is the go-to app for free (except on iOS) Spaced Repetition System (SRS) flashcards. It has a simple user interface with various features that more hard-core users can dive into if they choose. Your flashcards will appear according to your natural forgetting curve; the app will test you in increasingly spaced out intervals, with more difficult cards appearing more than once in a session, while easier cards spacing out over weeks — or even months and years.
An SRS system is the most effective way to drive information into your long-term memory. The cards can sync between the web, desktop app, and mobile versions to keep your flashcards updated and with you at all times. You can add images and audio clips to your cards and change the text formatting (if you use it on your computer).
One feature unique to Anki, as opposed to other SRS flashcard apps, is the “Cloze deletion” function, which allows you to block out parts of your card and create a “fill-in-the-blanks” type card format. If you want a resource for how to make effective flashcards, check out the book, FluentForever. The author leaves a whole section dedicated to understanding how to use your Anki deck to advance your skills quickly.
Pros
- Offers a wide range of features
- Allows synching across multiple devices
Cons
- Anki’s interface may be a bit intimidating for beginners
- The aesthetic isn’t very appealing
See our Super-Detailed Anki Review
Free Instruction for Those Just Starting Out
FREE INSTRUCTION FOR THOSE JUST STARTING OUT
Duolingo’s game-like interface and accessible lessons (hey, it’s free) earn it a spot in our second tier. For students just starting out with Vietnamese, the engaging format and quick introduction to vocabulary can be helpful.
That said, relying on Duolingo alone won’t be enough. The vocabulary is a bit haphazardly introduced, and only Northern accents are included in the instruction.
Pros
- Game-style activities are engaging for learning any language.
- It’s free!
- The lessons are organized in a natural progression.
Cons
- The pronunciation uses Northern Vietnamese accents, so you won’t hear Southern accents at all.
- There are more errors than we’d like in the lessons.
See our Super-Detailed Duolingo Review
Free Instruction for Serious Learners
FREE INSTRUCTION FOR SERIOUS LEARNERS
FSI materials are notoriously outdated, but if you can get past the fact that the text and audio are circa 1967, you can buckle down and start studying right away. You’ll find a downloadable PDF text plus 35 audio “tapes” spread across 15 lessons.
The audio-focused instruction is a format that’s still used—and effective—today, so this resource is worth it for that alone.
Pros
- It’s completely free.
- Everything is downloadable—you could even print the PDF text if you wanted.
- Accessible for beginners.
Cons
- The materials are severely outdated.
- There’s not much advanced content—more targeted to beginners.
Convenient, Gamified Practice for Beginners
GAMIFIED APPROACH TO LEARNING VIETNAMESE
Duolingo’s game-like interface and accessible lessons (hey, it’s free) earn it a spot in our second tier. For students just starting out with Vietnamese, the engaging format and quick introduction to vocabulary can be helpful.
That said, relying on Duolingo alone won’t be enough. The vocabulary is a bit haphazardly introduced, and only Northern accents are included in the instruction.
Pros
- Game-style activities are engaging for learning any language.
- It’s free!
- The lessons are organized in a natural progression.
Cons
- The pronunciation uses Northern Vietnamese accents, so you won’t hear Southern accents at all.
- There are more errors than we’d like in the lessons.
See our Super-Detailed Duolingo Review
Comprehensive Learning for All Levels
COMPREHENSIVE LEARNING FOR ALL COURSES
Similarly to FSI, courses developed by the Defense Language Institute (DLI) are extremely thorough but not exceptionally engaging. They also place more of an emphasis on military terminology at higher levels.
Pros
- Courses are well structured and comprehensive
- The courses are free
Cons
- The courses are dated and not very exciting courses
See our Super-Detailed DLI Courses Review
So, What are the Best Vietnamese Courses for YOU to Learn the Language?
High-quality online courses can make learning Vietnamese very worthwhile. With the selections on this list, you won’t have to go through an endless number of Vietnamese courses or shell out a ton of money to learn to speak Vietnamese fluently.
We also recommend incorporating different resources when learning Vietnamese. If you enjoy listening to your lessons, check out our post on Vietnamese podcasts.
Want to share your recommendations with us? Comment below!