It is designed primarily for the growing number of students of Vietnamese who need a good and reliable English-Vietnamese dictionary. Although it is targeted mainly at English speakers and other non-native users who need to learn Vietnamese, it can also be used by Vietnamese speakers who are learning or need to know English. Along with 18,000 enries—covering contemporary words and phrases used in educational, business and tourist settings—the attractive and user-friendly layout is organized effectively, making it easy to locate words and phrases quickly. It also includes many valuable pointers and information about the Vietnamese language. The first edition, published as , was by and his daughter . It became a classic in the teaching of Vietnamese. This edition, completely revised and updated, is the work of who was a distinguished professor of Vietnamese Studies at Victoria University, Melbourne. , who has many years' experience teaching Vietnamese and English, is also the author of many Vietnamese teaching/learning materials and editor for several Vietnamese magazines and newspapers. He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal and the International Educator of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to teaching language and culture. is now retired but continues to teach on a part-time basis.