Every weekend, Ngoc Hieu visits the city’s central lake with his mother Hoang Ngoc Anh to strike up conversations with foreign tourists, turning the popular Hanoi attraction into an open-air English classroom.
A two-minute video showing him confidently chatting with two American visitors has attracted more than 25 million views since his mother posted it on her personal TikTok account in mid-August.
Wearing a shirt bearing the Vietnamese flag, Hieu looks up at the two tourists and tells them: “I just come here to practice speaking English because I’m learning the language.”
The video has drawn attention for the boy’s confidence in approaching strangers and his determination to seek out foreign visitors to practice his English.
6-year-old Ngoc Hieu chats with two American tourists in Hanoi. Video provided by Hoang Ngoc Anh
Hieu began learning English in July 2025, but his English lessons were interrupted. As Anh did not speak any foreign languages, she initially struggled to find ways to support his learning.
She spent nearly two months researching online and teaching herself pronunciation so she could guide him.
In June this year, she decided to take him to Hoan Kiem Lake to practice communicating with foreign visitors and improve his pronunciation.
When she asked him if he was afraid of approaching foreigners, he replied: “They aren’t ghosts – why should I be afraid?”
On the first Saturday morning of June, the mother and son set out to find foreign visitors. Beforehand, Anh used AI tools to learn how to start conversations and memorized an English sentence to ask tourists if they had a few minutes to talk to her son.
“I could only say that one memorized sentence; I was terrified they might ask something more that I would not know how to answer,” she says.
Since then, they have visited the lake every Saturday, usually arriving at around 8 a.m. and staying until 11 or 11:30 a.m.
Hieu initially approached visitors with basic questions about their names, ages, nationalities, and favorite foods or animals.
He started by speaking to two people per visit, but gradually increased it to four or five. On some recent outings, he has approached as many as seven or eight visitors, depending on how much time they have available.
Anh has taught him to ask if someone he approaches speaks English, is willing to chat, and agrees to be filmed.
Now, a few months later, she realizes that Hieu has moved beyond memorized questions, takes the initiative to broach new topics, and asks follow-up questions to keep conversations going.
To encourage his curiosity, Anh bought him a globe and explores the countries of the people he meets with him. They use English-language materials to learn about geography, wildlife, and local cuisine. Hieu also keeps a notebook of topics he likes and things he wants to learn more about.
During a conversation with a visitor from Israel on Trang Tien Street, Hieu learned about the country with the help of a map the tourist opened to show him its location.
When meeting someone from an unfamiliar country, he often asks about its capital, traditional dishes, and native animals to keep the conversation going.
“There were many times when I was surprised by my son’s ability to think on his feet,” a proud Anh says.
“Since my English is limited, I could not fully understand their conversations at the time. It was only when I used translation software while editing the videos that I realized what he had asked and how he had responded.”
One encounter that particularly impressed her involved a visitor from Tunisia, who spent more than 10 minutes discussing colors with the boy. The man was so enthusiastic that he even seated Hieu on his lap. Anh eventually had to remind her son to wrap up the conversation because her phone was running low on battery and storage space.
Most visitors spend four or five minutes chatting with him. Before saying goodbye, he often gives them bookmarks, keychains, or handmade souvenirs representing Vietnam as a gesture of thanks and a way to introduce his country.
The Tunisian received a wooden dragonfly.
Anh records the conversations and shares them on TikTok and YouTube. When she began, her intention had been simply to preserve memories and document her son’s English-learning journey.
“I never imagined they would attract tens of millions of views,” she says.
Initially, her accounts had only a couple of dozen followers.
They now have hundreds of thousands of followers.
After the video of Hieu chatting with the two American tourists surpassed 25 million views, his activities also attracted international media attention.
Anh said a U.S. news outlet contacted the family in September. Its representatives later flew from Singapore to Hanoi and accompanied the mother and son to Hoan Kiem Lake to observe their conversations with foreign visitors firsthand.
Many tourists are surprised to learn that Hieu is only six years old. They often praise his communication skills and become even more engaged when he shares information about their home countries.
Not every tourist obliges, however. Anh said weekends are often crowded with English clubs and language centers bringing students to the lake to practice speaking with foreign visitors.
“We face rejection quite often,” she says.
Sometimes they approach tourists who have already spoken with several groups of students and are no longer interested in chatting. In such cases, they apologize and move on rather than insist on a conversation.
She says since a six-year-old may not be able to recognize whether someone is busy, taking a break, or open to a conversation, it is her responsibility to observe visitors’ expressions and body language before allowing the child to come closer to them.
Approaching foreign tourists to practice English has been going on for years at popular attractions such as Hoan Kiem Lake and the Temple of Literature in Hanoi and around Notre-Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City.
For many visitors, however, these unexpected encounters can be a pleasant surprise. Videos shared by Hieu’s mother show tourists engaging warmly with the boy and appearing charmed by his spontaneous conversation.
American tourists Kendall Stempel and Chloe Starr who appeared in the viral video told The Wall Street Journal that they initially thought Hieu was trying to sell them something when he approached them at Hoan Kiem Lake.
They then stopped to chat after realizing he simply wanted to practice English.
Stempel, 34, said whenever people compliment the boy on his English, he simply responds with a “thank you” before moving on to his next question.
A German visitor was also surprised when Hieu began sharing information about different types of sausages from his home country.
After nearly six months, Hieu has become more confident, taking the initiative when unfamiliar topics arise and showing growing curiosity about other countries.
Anh says he continues to follow his school’s English curriculum while visiting the lake whenever possible. She sets no targets for how many tourists he should approach, preferring instead for him to develop a habit of natural, spontaneous conversation.
After each weekend outing, she rewards him with an ice cream.