ABSTRACT
Americans willingly assumed the role of introducing Vietnamese to America and suggesting how Vietnamese would have to live in the U. S. They did this within the refugee camps which the U. S. Government established to house Vietnamese while they awaited clearance to enter the country. English instruction was by far the most widespread educational activity in the refugee camps. The English language curriculum of the school was by no means consistent in its stance regarding preserving Vietnamese culture or in what aspects of American life and society it would present to Vietnamese. Undeniably English instruction for Vietnamese was both necessary and desirable. There remains the issue concerning the extent to which the language training necessitates the teaching of new cultural norms. The adult classes denied the possibility of pluralism—Vietnamese adjustment was to be on American terms—but insofar as Vietnamese were concerned, such an adjustment was impossible, regardless of what Americans wished for them.
