READER’SDIGEST
totheirclassrooms,leavingtheir
sandalsneatlylinedupoutside.They
satonplasticchairsatwoodentables
ingroups.“GoodmorningTeacher,”
they’dgreetmewhenI walkedin.
“Goodmorning,GradeFive!”
I’dreply.
AllmylessonswereinEnglish,
translatedbytheteacher.I spoke
insimpleEnglish,instructingwith
simplecommands,“Handson
head,handsonshoulders,knees
andtoes.”Weallsanghappilywith
actions:“Head,shoulders,knees
andtoes”.Thestudentsresponded
enthusiastically.Theteacher
watchedandlearnthowtomake
lessonsmoreinterestingandfun.
Cambodianschoolsteachby
drill.Thestudentscopyfromthe
blackboard,writingdirectlyinto
theirbooks.Whena foreignteacher
comesintotheclass,theworld
opens,notonlyforthestudentsbut
fortheteacheraswell.Thechildren
gainconfidenceinEnglishasthey
learnnewsongs,stories,numbers,
daysoftheweekandprayers.
Theteachersandstudentsare
keentohearandspeakEnglish.The
lessonsarefrom7.30am to 11.30am,
whenthestaffandstudentsgo
homefora quickricelunchbefore
returningtostarttheafternoon
lessonsuntil5pm.Someofthestaff
wouldstayintheirclassroomand
practisetheirEnglishwithmeover
a lunchofriceandsoup.Here,I’d
bequizzed:“Howdoyousayjam?”
“Autumn?”“Thursday?”“Thumb?”
“Throw?”TheEnglishlanguage
wouldfrustratetheirtonguesjustas
Khmerdidmyown.
Artandcraftlessonsarenotpart
oftheCambodiancurriculumsoI
wouldbringthecraftsuppliesfrom
Australia.Mostofthechildrenhad
neverusedscissors,gluesticks,or
colouredfeltpenstocreatepatterns
andpictures.Thestudentsloved
colouring,cuttingandpastingand
theirfinishedworkwasproudly
displayedontheirclassroomwall,
muchtotheirdelight.
MyfirsttriptoCambodiawasin
2015 andI havesincevolunteered
sixtimesoverthepastfouryears.
Cambodiaishot,humidanddusty
andwhentherainpours,theroads
floodasthecitylacksinfrastructure.
Butwhilethestudentsinthe
bamboo-thatchedhutclassrooms
becomesoakedfromtheheavy
downpourstheirenthusiasm to
learn never dampens.THECHILDRENGAIN
CONFIDENCEIN
ENGLISHASTHEY
LEARN NEW THINGSDo you have a tale to tell? We’ll pay
cash for any original and unpublished
story we print. See page 8 for details
on how to contribute.14 Augus t 2019