GUAVA is a professional organization for teaching professionals and researchers in the Vietnamese language, culture and literature encompassing language pedagogy, second language acquisition and applied linguistics. Its mission is to promote and expand interests in Vietnamese language and culture around the world. As an academic organization, GUAVA aims to provide teachers and scholars of Vietnamese an intellectual space to present and exchange ideas, teaching methodologies, research findings, to update information and resources to improve the quality of Vietnamese language teaching and learning. 

GUAVA was founded in 1991 under the name of “Group of Universities for the Advancement of Vietnamese Abroad”. During the early years of operation (1991-2011), GUAVA’s main mission was to administer Vietnamese Advanced Summer Institute (VASI), an advanced intensive Vietnamese language program, supported by grants from the Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad (GPA). Under the GPA grants, VASI was designed to provide opportunities to students from higher institutions in the U.S. to study intensive advanced Vietnamese in the host country, Vietnam. 

Since 2011, the development of Vietnamese teaching and learning in the United States has grown considerably. With a growing number of institutions in the United States offering Vietnamese, most through the advanced levels, the mission of GUAVA has also evolved. The current official name of the organization is “Group of Universities for the Advancement of Vietnamese in America,” a more aptly name to reflect the core principles of the organization: to continue providing support, enhancement and promotion of teaching professionals of all levels of the Vietnamese language in the United States of America.

The activities of GUAVA include but are not limited to our (CHESS) motto: 

• Connect and collaborate with colleagues to share experiences and activities on Vietnamese language teaching and learning,
• Host workshops and conferences to exchange ideas, information, research results and finding for professional development, 
• Expand the interest of the Vietnamese language and elevate its position around the world, 
• Support and provide resources for all Vietnamese language professionals,
• Share our work and achievements through GUAVA’s own newsletters.