*This article is compiled from a practical perspective for hiring managers and executives by editor Hayato Yamashita, who specializes in the Specified Skilled Worker and operational domains.*

In recent years, hiring of Vietnamese talent has expanded rapidly on the front lines of manufacturing, nursing care, construction, and other industries. Statistics from the Immigration Services Agency of Japan also show that Vietnam continues to rank among the top countries of origin for foreign workers in Japan, and many workplaces rely on them as productive team members through Specified Skilled Worker and Technical Intern Training pathways. At the same time, one of the most common concerns raised by hiring managers and site supervisors is Japanese communication—issues such as “Japanese language guidance is not going well” and “instructions are not understood, leading to work errors.”

This article explains how to design and operate Japanese language guidance for Vietnamese talent in the workplace from three perspectives: linguistic features, cultural background, and practical points of caution. Rather than a pure language-education theory piece, it organizes—from the standpoint of hiring operations and retention support—“what to check and what to prepare,” together with decision criteria.

The Japanese language barriers Vietnamese talent face in Japanese workplaces

Many Vietnamese talent begin employment only after receiving a period of Japanese language education before coming to Japan. When entering under Technical Intern Training or Specified Skilled Worker statuses of residence, it is common for them to have studied up to roughly N4–N3 on the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) at a sending organization or Japanese language school. However, there is a large gap between the Japanese learned in the classroom and the Japanese actually used at work.

The gaps that appear most often on site fall mainly into the following three points.

  • Honorific and indirect expressions are common, making differences from direct instructions hard to grasp
  • Industry-specific technical terms and abbreviations (site jargon) do not appear in textbooks
  • Difficulty keeping up with fast speech, dialects, and abbreviated ways of talking

These issues are often caused less by language ability itself than by the gap between “Japanese that was studied” and “Japanese used in practice,” and they are an area that can improve substantially when the hiring side refines its guidance methods. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has also repeatedly emphasized the importance of Japanese language education and daily-life support in the workplace when accepting foreign workers, and Japanese language guidance needs to be positioned not merely as language training but as part of retention support and labor management.

How the linguistic distance between Vietnamese and Japanese affects guidance methods

When designing Japanese language guidance, it is important to understand the linguistic distance between Vietnamese and Japanese. Vietnamese is a tonal language, and its grammatical structure also differs greatly from Japanese. Word order is SVO, closer to English, and the concept of particles does not exist. For that reason, Japanese-specific distinctions among particles such as “wa,” “ga,” and “o,” as well as verb conjugations (polite form, plain form, causative form, and so on), are high-difficulty areas for native Vietnamese speakers.

On the other hand, Vietnamese contains many Sino-Vietnamese words (vocabulary of Chinese-character origin), so on-yomi vocabulary (for example, anzen = an toàn, kaigi = hội nghị) can sometimes be understood relatively smoothly. Taking this characteristic into account, the following approaches are effective in guidance.

  • Start with short sentences that still make sense even if particles are omitted (for example, “Kore, migi ni oku” / “Put this on the right”)
  • Introduce kanji vocabulary by leveraging sound similarities
  • Prioritize teaching basic forms of nouns and verbs used on site before verb conjugations

If you continue “teaching the same way as for Japanese people” without understanding these linguistic features, both the person giving guidance and the person receiving it tend to become exhausted. When building a guidance plan, it is also worth considering collaboration with people who have specialized knowledge of Japanese language education or with Japanese language schools.

Communication tips with Vietnamese talent from a cultural background perspective

To raise the effectiveness of Japanese language guidance, understanding cultural background is essential in addition to the language side. Vietnam has been influenced by Confucian values, while a culture that places strong importance on family and community ties remains deeply rooted. In the workplace as well, the following tendencies are often seen, and whether you understand them greatly changes the effectiveness of guidance.

First, Vietnamese workplace culture values respect for elders and supervisors, while there is also a tendency to hesitate to say honestly that something is not understood. This comes from consideration such as “saying I don’t understand may cause the other person to lose face, or I may be seen as lacking ability.” A typical failure pattern is when a Japanese supervisor asks “Do you understand?” and receives “Yes,” even though the person has not actually understood.

In addition, in Vietnam the Lunar New Year (Tet) is the largest annual event, and spending time with family is highly valued. The period around Tet is also when more people hope to return home, so consideration is needed for guidance schedules and shift adjustments at that time. On the religious side, Buddhists make up the majority, but there are also a certain number of Christians and people from ethnic minorities, so it is desirable to respond on the premise that there are individual differences regarding food as well (for example, avoiding pork, or preferring distinctive seasonings such as nước mắm).

Communication approaches that take this cultural background into account include the following.

  • Ask specifically “What was hard to understand?” rather than “Do you understand?”
  • Set aside one-on-one time to confirm understanding, and avoid pointing things out in front of a group
  • Adjust schedules in a way that respects home-country events such as Tet leave

Note that comparisons with talent from other parts of Asia, such as Myanmar talent, also show a tendency for consideration of home-country culture to connect directly to retention rates. For more detail, the article on workplace communication with Myanmar talent is also useful.

Practical methods for Japanese language guidance that work on site

In actual guidance settings, the key to retention is less a fully systematic Japanese language curriculum than how people are exposed to Japanese in day-to-day work. The following are practical methods that have produced results at many accepting organizations.

First is the use of “Easy Japanese.” By avoiding double negatives and honorific expressions, keeping each sentence short, and consistently stating the conclusion first, comprehension improves substantially. For example, instead of “Before carrying out this task, please be sure to complete the safety check,” convert the wording into something concrete and simple such as “First we do the safety check. Then we do the work.”

Second is combining language with visual information. By creating manuals that show work procedures with photos or illustrations and add Japanese captions, understanding becomes possible without depending solely on language ability. Vietnamese talent in particular often belong to generations accustomed to learning on smartphones, so using video manuals and translation apps together is also effective.

Third is developing OJT leads (mentors). It is important to provide internal training so that guidance staff themselves can use “Easy Japanese,” and to eliminate inconsistency in guidance. If the teaching style changes every time the person in charge changes, learners become confused more easily.

Fourth is regular confirmation of Japanese ability. Beyond JLPT attainment, a growing number of companies have set up their own mechanisms to check practical workplace Japanese (safety terms, wording for reporting, contacting, and consulting, and so on). The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s foreign worker employment measures page also highlights the importance of Japanese learning support for workplace retention, and some companies secure Japanese study time within working hours as an internal system.

Common on-site concerns, failure patterns, and how to avoid them

Among inquiries from hiring managers, especially common ones are “They keep making the same mistakes even though we already gave guidance” and “They are motivated, but instructions still do not get through.” Behind these issues are intertwined factors such as the cultural tendency noted earlier of being unable to say “I don’t understand,” and the complexity of Japanese particles and honorifics.

Typical failure patterns and ways to avoid them can be organized as follows.

The first failure pattern is relying only on verbal instructions. When procedures are conveyed by speech alone, parts that were not heard remain vague for the person, and later surface as major mistakes. An effective avoidance measure is to always combine verbal instructions with written materials or illustrated manuals, and to make confirmation by having the person repeat the instructions a habit.

The second failure pattern is leaving Japanese language guidance entirely to “the individual’s own effort.” If Japanese learning is left as an off-the-clock personal responsibility, learning does not progress, practical misunderstandings accumulate, and cases leading to resignation are not uncommon. The avoidance measure is to build even a few hours a month of Japanese study time into working hours and to make clear that the company supports learning.

The third failure pattern is having multiple guidance staff teach in different ways. If content and wording differ from person to person, learners become confused and more likely to lose confidence. Avoidance measures include standardizing a guidance manual and conducting simple training for guidance staff.

Sharing these failure patterns and avoidance measures across the organization becomes a decision criterion for stabilizing the effectiveness of guidance.

Points hiring managers tend to overlook

Attention often focuses on on-site handling of Japanese language guidance, but in many cases insufficient checks at the hiring stage later increase the guidance burden. Points hiring managers tend to overlook include the following.

First is confirming the actual Japanese level at the time of hiring. If you take JLPT grades at face value based only on résumés and self-reporting in interviews, and hire without checking actual conversational and listening ability, a heavier-than-expected guidance burden arises after placement. Where possible, it is desirable to conduct a simple conversation test close to actual work during the interview and assess real ability.

Next is insufficient confirmation of work restrictions and renewal schedules by type of status of residence. Depending on the status of residence—Technical Intern Training, Specified Skilled Worker, Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, and others—the scope of work that can be performed, the period of stay, and renewal requirements differ. Checking the latest information on the Immigration Services Agency of Japan’s Specified Skilled Worker system page for details of the Specified Skilled Worker system, and reviewing relevant immigration statute provisions on e-Gov Law Search, is also important for avoiding labor risks.

Furthermore, not a few companies fail to build the cost and time required for Japanese language guidance into their hiring plans. Japanese language guidance does not produce results overnight; you need to assume a retention support plan on at least a six-month to one-year horizon and factor in the person-hours of training staff and the cost of creating manuals. The overall operational flow of hiring foreign nationals is also explained systematically in the basics of hiring foreign nationals article, so we recommend reviewing that as well.

In addition, when hiring Vietnamese talent as highly skilled professionals, the acceptance framework needs to emphasize expertise and management experience more than Japanese language guidance. On this point, the explanation of statuses of residence for highly skilled foreign professionals is also useful.

Diagram: Pre-hire confirmation flow

To keep hiring managers from misjudging the burden of Japanese language guidance, it is effective to organize the items that should be checked before hiring. As a diagram image, assume confirmation proceeds along a flow such as the following.

First, confirm the applicant’s type of status of residence and period of stay, and grasp the scope of work in which employment is permitted. Next, in addition to the JLPT grade on the résumé, conduct a simple conversation test in the interview and evaluate actual listening and speaking ability. Then identify the level of technical and safety terminology required in the planned assignment department, and estimate the scope and volume of Japanese language guidance needed. On that basis, confirm whether the internal guidance framework (number of mentors, secured guidance time, and readiness of manuals) can meet the actual guidance needs. Finally, consider whether support systems from external organizations such as Hello Work or specialized staffing firms can be used, and reflect that in the overall hiring plan.

By organizing this flow in advance, you can avoid situations in which “you only realize how large the Japanese language guidance burden is after hiring.”

Practical checklist

  • Have you confirmed not only the applicant’s JLPT grade but also actual conversational and listening ability in the interview?
  • Have you identified in advance the list of technical and safety terms required at the assignment site?
  • Have you trained OJT leads so they can provide guidance using “Easy Japanese”?
  • Have you prepared manuals with photos and illustrations, not only verbal instructions?
  • Have you built shift and leave schedules that take Vietnamese annual events such as Tet into account?
  • Is there a mechanism to secure a certain amount of Japanese study time within working hours?
  • Do you understand the type of status of residence, period of stay, and scope of permitted work?
  • Have you considered using Hello Work, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare support systems, or external staffing firms?

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Q1. How long should we plan for Japanese language guidance for Vietnamese talent? A. There are individual differences, but it is realistic to allow at least about six months until the practical Japanese needed for work (understanding instructions; reporting, contacting, and consulting) takes hold, and one year or more if specialized terminology is included. It is important not to assume complete mastery in a short period, and instead to build a continuous support framework.

Q2. Why do people often say “Yes, I understand” when they have not actually understood? A. As part of Vietnam’s cultural background, there is a tendency to find it hard to say “I don’t understand” to supervisors or elders. Rather than asking “Do you understand?,” it is effective to ask back specifically “What was hard to understand?” or to make it a habit to have them repeat the instructions.

Q3. Should Japanese language guidance be outsourced to an external organization, or handled in-house? A. A hybrid model is realistic: use external resources such as Japanese language schools or online materials for foundational Japanese learning, and supplement job-specific technical terms and site rules through internal OJT. As a decision criterion, it is useful to allocate based on whether the company has people with guidance know-how.

Q4. Do we need to change the content of Japanese language guidance depending on the status of residence? A. Yes. For Technical Intern Training and Specified Skilled Worker, guidance centers on practical Japanese directly tied to on-site work, whereas when hiring as highly skilled talent under categories such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, the weight of business Japanese—meetings, report writing, and so on—increases. We recommend adjusting guidance content by status while checking information from the Immigration Services Agency of Japan and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Summary

Japanese language guidance for Vietnamese talent goes beyond the frame of simple language education; it is a practical challenge in which hiring plans, cultural understanding, and labor management form one whole. By understanding linguistic features and cultural background, and by stacking concrete measures such as using “Easy Japanese,” combining visual information, and standardizing guidance staff, both guidance effectiveness and retention rates improve steadily.

Hiring managers are expected to organize the pre-hire confirmation flow, use the practical checklist, and continually review the guidance framework. If you have questions on the institutional side or are unsure how to design an acceptance framework that fits your company, consider consulting specialists through the Foreign Talent Insights inquiry form.

Where to check official information

Systems, employment management practices, and official announcements by country are updated over time, so also check the following primary sources before and after publication.

Immigration Services Agency of Japan Specified Skilled Worker system page Check this page and cross-reference the latest systems, employment management practices, and official announcements.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare foreign worker employment measures page Check this page and cross-reference the latest systems, employment management practices, and official announcements.

e-Gov Law Search Check this site and cross-reference the latest systems, employment management practices, and official announcements.

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