Job Discussion Forums

[martinphipps]

I am writing a book about teaching English in Asia, but my experience only relates to Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines. Tell me about teaching English in Cambodia. I have some specific questions. The questions probably make more sense if you are teaching children: I might be wrong in assuming that most people are teaching kids because that is the case in Korea and Taiwan.

Do you work with a local teacher? Is she in the classroom with you or does she teach the same class at a different time? Is he or she considered your boss or your equal or does this depend on how much experience you have?

When in Cambodia, do people expect you to learn the local language or are they surprised whenever you use Cambodian at all? Are you forbidden by your school owners from using Cambodian in class? Do the students seem to expect you to understand Cambodian and get frustrated when you don't understand Cambodian?

Do most people work in private cram schools or in government sponsored public schools? Do they provide you with textbooks and a syllabus or is that entirely up to the teachers? Do you get in trouble for using Cambodian in class or by not playing enough games or are teaching methods left up to the teacher to decide?

If it isn't you who makes the decision as to how to teach your class then who's decision is it? Your co-teacher? Your supervisor? The owner of the school?

What is the biggest problem that Cambodian students have? How does the local language affect the way they speak English? Are there any words they especially have trouble pronouncing?

Thank you.

Martin Phipps,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Applied Foreign Languages,
Chungtai Institute pf Health Sciences and Technology,
Taichong, Taiwan

[anospi]

I'm short on time, but I'll do my best to help you out. I've been teaching here for two months now, and my students range from young teenagers, 13-14 years old, to middle aged students, with a class full of immigration police officers thrown in for variety!

Do you work with a local teacher? Is she in the classroom with you or does she teach the same class at a different time?
Yes and no. The school I work at has three 90min lessons per week. For elementary level, a Khmer teacher takes two of these lessons, and an expat one. Pre-Int to Int and the khmer teacher only takes one of three lessons. Upper Int and above are taught entirely by expat teachers.

Is he or she considered your boss or your equal or does this depend on how much experience you have?
Considered equal. Expat teachers at my school require a minimum of a CELTA. Local teachers need a 4 year master or diploma.

When in Cambodia, do people expect you to learn the local language or are they surprised whenever you use Cambodian at all?
Khmer people will appreciate any attempt to speak their language. It is also very useful to speak some Khmer when bargaining at markets or negotiating a ride on a moto.

Are you forbidden by your school owners from using Cambodian in class?
I'm not sure if it's specifically forbidden, but I know the expat teachers don't use Khmer in class. Maybe the Khmer teachers do at basic elementary level.

Do the students seem to expect you to understand Cambodian and get frustrated when you don't understand Cambodian?
No

Do most people work in private cram schools or in government sponsored public schools?
They don't really have cram scools here. Many schools are privately run by well off Khmer's, and they offer teachers jobs, who are then paid directly by students. Most teachers I know work at one of the 59 universities in Phnom Penh.

Do they provide you with textbooks and a syllabus or is that entirely up to the teachers?
My school uses the New Headway coursebooks, and we have a syllabus. However, we are told to use about 60% Headway and 40% supplementary material. So we get a fair bit of freedom. My school also has a fantastic Staff resource centre. However, being Cambodia, you can buy ANY English coursebook at the market for about $2!

Do you get in trouble for using Cambodian in class or by not playing enough games or are teaching methods left up to the teacher to decide?
Left to the teacher.

If it isn't you who makes the decision as to how to teach your class then who's decision is it? Your co-teacher? Your supervisor? The owner of the school?
See above

What is the biggest problem that Cambodian students have?
They find it very difficult to read, as they don't read books in Khmer. It's a new skill for them to learn.

How does the local language affect the way they speak English? Are there any words they especially have trouble pronouncing?
In the Khmer language, most words end in a silent consonant, so they have a lot of trouble with word endings. There is no punctuation in Khmer either, so you will often come across 10 lines of writing without a comma or full stop when marking writing assignments. The use of articles is a problem as well. They seem to go as well as any other learners with grammar, because the grammar rules in Khmer aren't very complex.

Hope this helps you.

[Stumptown]

That's funny. What the last poster described are all of the crappy situations you get into teaching here in Korea, as well as the fact that a student 2 levels below the rest of the class are only in the class because their friend is there. Then, the waste the rest of the students' time by constantly distracting them. Aside from universities, I think most of the places in Korea are shitty places to teach. Couple that with a dull and monotonous culture, and you've just described Korea. Not to mention racist.