Tag Archives: Cambodia

A visit to Cambodia unfortunately isn’t complete without a trip to one the many “Killing Fields,” “Killing Caves,” or “Genocide Museums.”

I say unfortunately because obviously these are not happy places to visit. But similar to the reason that I went to the former concentration camp in Dachau not far from Munich, Germany years ago, I felt it was my duty (as a fellow human) to show respect to the millions who died during the era of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
What follows are photographs I took while at the Genocide Museum Tuol Sleng, the Former Office S.21 in “Kampuchea Democratic” 1975-1979. (It’s located in Phnom Penh in what used to be a high school complex.) This facility (and many others) were used for lodging the people while they were being tortured. Though people did die here; that was not its intended purpose.
This device was used for taking their photographs.
The man on the left is one of the few survivors of S.21 left.
The following pictures I took while visiting the killing field closest to FLO. There were many, many similar places in Cambodia during this time. This one was located on what used to be a Chinese cemetery (where there was an orchard of  *longan trees).
The “typical” procedure was to blindfold the people, tell them that they were being relocated, take them to a field (or cave as a nice Canadian couple I met while in Siem Reap explained to me; they visited one in northern Cambodia), force them to kneel (adjacent to a previously dug hole), kill them (in many different ways), put their body in the hole, and . . . go get more people to kill. It was so incredibly horrible what they did.
This is very close to the killing field.
See the skull? That’s where this killing field is located.
This memorial houses many of the bones found in the numerous mass graves.
***
*From my Apple dictionary:

longan |ˈlô ng gən; ˈlä ng-|  noun

an edible juicy fruit from a plant related to the litchi, cultivated in Southeast Asia. • The plant is Dimocarpus longan, family Sapindaceae.

ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: from Chinese lóngyǎn, literally ‘dragon’s eye.’

A fried banana kind of Sunday morning

Dear Friends,

A few weeks ago while there were still several volunteers at FLO, we decided to give the wonderful cook a Sunday morning off. We headed out into the village for a breakfast of fresh fried bananas (and potatoes). After an entertaining show of watching the young chef prepare and cook our breakfast, we packed up the delectable items and ventured forth to the former home of a FLO student (who is now “out in the world” working as an IT operator). His grandmother’s house had been the happy recipient of a Cambodian style makeover (thanks to the generosity of Boo Rob, founder of eGlobal).

Pictures of the makeover will arrive on this glob at some point . . .

Enjoy!

: )

Don’t try this at home!

FLO’s new and beautiful mural . . .

When Dani, a vivacious 22-year old volunteer (and recent college grad), came to assist in teaching a class on environmental issues at FLO, she also brought the bright idea of facilitating the painting of a mural. She donated the funds to purchase the paint, shopped all over Phnom Penh for the materials, gathered the “artistic” students, and gave just the right amount of coaxing to get their creative juices flowing.

Dani felt that the mural should be dedicated to the memory of Rob’s wife, Mei; everyone quickly agreed. Below are some shots of this most appropriate tribute.

Dani showing off her clean hand.
Once the concept was agreed upon, everyone began to paint with gusto.
The peanut gallery.
A ray of sunshine. : )
There are many artists at FLO.
See?
Looking good!
Even Koko the dog got excited about it!
That’s all for now, folks. : )

Sunrise over the Mekong River

Aloha Everyone,

My stay at FLO has come to an end.

The last day was absolutely magical . . . story and pictures to come.

Meanwhile, a minivan is picking me up in 20-minutes for the six-hour ride to Siem Reap.

Love to you all wherever, however, and whenever you may be.

-sj

Volunteers cooking the meals for the FLO kids one Saturday . . .

Then entire event was being taped by Rick, the Aussie/Hawaiian cameraman;
it will air in Hawaii December 2011.
Just about time to dig in.
First, to give thanks.
Yum, Sean’s egg scramble with lots of veggies was pretty darn good!
Lunch was a classic hot dog; the kids were starving by dinner time!
This is the normal ritual.
Line up before grind (i.e. eat : )
Lots of ketchup on my dawg!
Meanwhile, volunteer Pam bought her new foster son a bike!
Next came Sean’s tasty spaghetti bolonaise, heated by a wood (and sometimes plastic : (      fire).
Wok’s are definitely the way to cook for hundreds of people!
Gal pal time while waiting for dinner to be finished. Both Saturday and Sunday afternoons are devoted to karate class for some of the FLO students.
There was also a dance performance this evening.
This cat took a liking to everyone who’d give her a cuddle.
And now for the noodles . . .
This was their favorite meal of the day; the kids asked for second, thirds, and fourths. Fortunately, there was plenty to share.

So many, many more pictures to come . . . when the time is right.

Love to you all,

-sj

Monday at the Water Park!

Classes were cancelled for the day. Over 100-students joined in the fun.

That’s Andrew with EGBOK playing with the kids.
It was a fun free for all!
She looks like she’s having a blast, doesn’t she?
So many different places to play in the water!
 May you too have some fun in the water, wherever you are, and whenever it may be.
Aloha,
-sj

Gogo Loves English 1 is about to begin . . .

Koko, the dog. This entry is dedicated to Rudy Williams, who left this earthly plane earlier this week. May Rudy and Fido have fun playing together again!
Note from my 8 a.m. class:
(the class for “slower” learners—FLO’s description, I don’t know what the “correct” word is. Enlighten me please. Thank you.)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Today was our first “class,” though it “officially” begins on Monday the 22nd when the Ss will receive their books.
The Ss who will be starting Gogo Loves English 2 at some point (no one seems to know when) also came to class this morning. ST1 told me that they’d rather be in my class than just go play. So I simply asked them to sit in the back.
“Why?”
So that I could clearly see who the Ss in this class (officially) are. (I offset “officially” because I’m learning that things are very fluid in Cambodia; something will be planned, but that’s not necessarily what will be done. It may be done, or it may be done slightly differently, etc.) Of course the Ss from the other level were welcome, but I didn’t want them to call out the answers to something that was new for the Gogo Loves English 1 Ss. It worked out fine with them sitting in the back; they watched the class and mostly restrained themselves from calling out the pronunciation of words.
First, I made sure that all Ss in GLE 1 had made their name cards; there were 5 who hadn’t. Then I called all the GLE1 Ss to come up front. I shifted the desks some so that they could gather around my computer. I’d wondered if it would work with 17 Ss; it did. The audio level was high enough and they could see the screen. I played the Silent E song from the Let’s Start Smart Long Vowel Word Families DVD (which I played for the more advance Ss earlier in the week).
Whereas I was able to include a fairly long list of words (mentioned in my post on Tuesday, August 16th) with the other class, I only included 4-sets (8-words) with this class: tot/tote, kit/kite, rip/ripe, pet/Pete. I also only played the song once. I had my flashcards on-hand and went through these 8-words. To elicit the meaning, I drew on the board and mimed different actions representing the words. To confirm their understanding, I asked simple CCQs, such as, “I fly a  . . .” “Kite!” they called out. The most difficult words for them in terms of pronunciation were: rip/rip and pet/Pete.
To mix it up a little and add variety to the lesson, I then called them up to stand up and form a line (this introduced nicely the phrases/words, “Stand up.” “Sit down.” “A line.”) One by one they pronounced a word, some correctly, some incorrectly. Regardless of their performance, I asked them to go to the back of the line. This continued for several passes for each student.
From this exercise, I could see that some still had problems with the words. (Duh! They’d just been introduced this. : ) So after these initial rounds, I asked them to sit again, and I reviewed the 8-words with the Ss. Holding up a card, putting my hand on my ear, “rip,” “Ripe!” some would call out. But sure enough, there was always at least one, if not two or more, who knew the correct pronunciation. After going through the words in this manner, I then called on specific Ss. Repeating, repeating these same 8-words.
When it looked like most were “getting” them, I asked them once again to form a line. This time when they answered correctly, I said, “Awesome!” raised my arm for a high-five, and asked them to sit down. It came down to about 3-Ss who still had problems. I noticed before when I was “assisting” in the review lessons with STs 1 and 2 that these same couple of Ss had more difficulties learning. Just after class I spoke with the director about some things on my bullet list (I need to renew my visa next Monday, I’d like to get a lot of copies of the alphabet work sheet, I’d like to get a lot of copies of lesson plan templates*, etc.), I also mentioned that a few Ss need extra help. He suggested that some of the visiting volunteers . . .
(It’s interesting how I’m not really in that group any more when speaking with the director . . . yesterday Rob went so far as to say that I’m the “best” volunteer they’ve ever had . . . hmm . . . that’s cool . . . but does that mean I feel pressure to keep it up? Nah, my goal is to continue to have fun learning, teaching, and simply being here at FLO. : )
. . . could work individually with these Ss. Hmm, now I need to look through my photos and find their names. The list of student names I want to learn has jumped from the initial 64 to 111 (32 + 32, 64 + 9; 73 + 17; 90 + 21!) !!! Wow, that’s a LOT of names!
Okay, back to today’s first meeting with the first of two Gogo Loves English 1 classes per day (with younger Ss, How young? About 7 to 13-years old.)
What did I learn?
I learned that it takes a long time to really go over new words/ideas/pronunciations/etc. I learned (confirmed) that I do need to break it down into bite-sized chunks for them (like I did today). I learned that they love it when the “get” it and receive a high-five from the teacher. I learned that some really do learn more quickly than others. I learn that some who learn more slowly CAN learn; they just need a little extra attention. I learned that I do like working with the younger Ss; they’re just so excited to learn!
Now, what else is on my agenda for the day?
-Finish the next “chapter” of my “Patty, the Pig” story for the two different level of classes this afternoon (with the older Ss). I’m including “I’d like to,” “I hope to,” and “I want to” from this week’s lessons (in the story). I prepared the lesson plan last night except for this part.
-Teach the 1 p.m. class with the 21-younger Ss who are also going to “officially” start Gogo Loves English 1 on Monday. This class is with student teacher number 2 (ST2).
-Prepare my list of what I was a lot of copies of. Organize the names cards into the appropriate group. Organize the photos for copying into a word doc and printing. (Okay, this last item will most probably be pushed back to later in the day or for this evening.)
-Teach my 3 and 5:45 p.m. classes.
-Mark their stories which they’ll be writing in today’s lesson.
Yesterday after my 3 p.m. class, I met with the two student teachers. We discussed (okay, I talked mostly) what we plan to do over the course of the next 4-weeks (while I’m still here at FLO). Essentially, I told them that I want to think about it first, write the initial lesson plans, and then add more for them to do in regard to the planning, etc. I’d like to think it through first and give them a model (okay, several models).
Later last night as I thought about it, I realized that I really should prepare the very formal CELTA-style lesson plans for these Gogo Loves English 1 classes.**
“What? You haven’t been doing that?” you ask.
“Well, not exactly,” I reply.
Part of what I didn’t particularly enjoy while studying in Bangkok this past June were the many, many hours I spent typing into my word doc template my lesson plans. I really didn’t mind writing them (I enjoyed this, in fact.), but I found it to be annoying to type them in that awkward word doc. (I still think an Excel file would be better, or maybe the combination of the two, but I never had the time to design a template.) I think I’ve come up with the perfect solution (read below).
So, it’s 10:37 a.m. and I have my next class at 1 p.m.; lunch is at noon. Time to get to work!
Aloha everyone. I hope you’re well, happy, and enjoying your summer (wherever you may be : ).
In the Divine Light which encompasses us all,
-sj
*lesson plans. Bright idea from last night. Delegate the typing of the lesson plans into the computer to the student teachers! They will (hopefully) learn while doing so, they’ll see an example, and I won’t have to do it! Yahoo! Sounds good to me. As a self-employed person for the past 25-years, the idea of delegating is new to me. I like the thought of it!
**A lot of copies of the lesson plan templates? Why?
FLO is essentially asking me to train these two young student teachers (ST1 is 17-years old; ST2 is 20) how to teach. The director gave me a sheet yesterday that I surmise is the current teacher’s lesson plan. It’s an outline of the subject matter with a note that it will take 2 to 3 lessons or 2 to 3 weeks for any given item. There’s no more detail noted than that basic information. So when I prepare the lesson plans, I expect that they will continue to use them as a guide. Also, I plan to assist the student teachers as they look ahead for the lessons, which will follow my departure.
Ah, this leads me to a very important side note. Rob Hail, founder of eGlobal and major supporter of FLO, would really like to see a more developed volunteer program evolve where trained and/or experienced ESL teachers sign-up for specific time period. For example, I depart on September 17th. Who wants to sign-up to start teaching on the following Monday the 19th? And ideally arrive my final week, so that I can show you the ropes????? Enquiring minds want to know! : )

Silent E Words Lesson

Puthy

Puthy

Notes from my class that just finished . . .

I just had a very good class with the 9-younger kids. Yesterday I’d played the Silent E song from the Long Vowel Word Families DVD. I decided to make flash cards with these words and review/continue with them.
The words are:
rob/robe
cub/cube
fin/fine
cap/cape
pet/Pete
cut/cute
tot/tote
man/mane
not/note
rip/ripe
kit/kite
dim/dime
her/here
man/mane
First, I held up each one one-at-a-time to see which ones they knew/remembered. I then modeled and drilled the ones they didn’t know. When it was a new word for them, I elicited the meaning either by miming, drawing on the WB, or using the surrounding posters (such as the giraffe and horse for mane). Also, I happened to have an art kit, which was a perfect example for the word “kit.”
I then went around the room holding the flashcards face down (spread out like a deck of cards). Each student chose one and then said the word. Several of the Ss were able to correct the others, and when no one remembered it, I modeled and drilled it.
Then I played a “game” with them. I arranged them in a line. “Form a line.” I figured it’s time they learn that expression/sentence. “Form a line.” With 9-students it’s so much easier (than with 32)! I then turned over all the flashcards. Each student selected a card. If they said the word correctly, they were able to pass through to the other side. If not, they sat down. Each student tried again until they got one right. Then we all cheered that everyone had gotten “passed through to the other side.”
I then did a quick review of all the words, holding the cards up and not saying anything (unless they couldn’t remember the correct pronunciation). I then divided the cards into 3 and had 3 groups of 3 Ss. They then said the words on their own and corrected each other (or asked for the pronunciation of a couple of the words when they weren’t sure). There was enough time to make one change of the cards between the different groups.
I then did one final review of all the words, holding one card up at a time.
Lastly, I had written on the board a few of the words written using the phonemic symbols. I simply pointed them out to the Ss at the end. Perhaps that was a silly thing to do since I hadn’t built up to it. But it felt like a simple way to introduce them to a few phonemic symbols using words that they’d just been pronouncing. I wrote them for Pete, pet and cut, cute.
At the beginning of the class, I gave them each a half sheet of paper for making their own name cards. At the very end of class, I took their pictures with their name cards (on the back of which I wrote the phonetic spelling of their names). Then ST1 showed me the list of the other Ss and that she and ST2 have divided them into two groups. Both groups will learn Gogo Loves English 1, but one group is comprised of the slower learners (17), and the other group is comprised of faster learners (22, I think).
“Are the Ss I’ve just been working with in this group?”
“No,” she replied. “They go to Gogo Loves English 2.”
Well, I took their pictures just in time. I do want to learn their names; I see many of these Ss around the school at various times. Several are in the dance troupe (which I watched rehearse last night).
It hasn’t been decided yet whether ST1 or ST2 will be paired with the faster or slower learners. Either way, I think it’ll be a fascinating challenge to be their teacher for a specific book. They’re not the only ones who will be learning!
And when will these new classes begin? Either tomorrow (Wednesday) or the next day. It depends on when the director gets a chance to type up and then post the list. (I noticed that my other class lists are posted by the Ss dining area.)
And now it’s time to get ready for my next class . . .
aloha,
sj
p.s. I was just told that the classes can meet starting tomorrow, but I won’t get the “official” teaching materials until Monday (or maybe sooner). It’s up to me to decide which student teacher is paired with each class . . . giving this some thought . . . :~)

p.s.s. I was just about to post this when the power went out; this often happens as the surrounding factories in the area draw more and more electricity from the main power grid. “Start the generator,” called out Rob from another desk in the office. “Yes, it’s happening,” the director replied. A little while later I learned that a rat was fried in the process. Yes, one’s timing and location are everything—even for a rat!

Some Shots of Week 3 at FLO, teaching shots . . .

Jan (left) is a singer from Honolulu (among many, many other things!) She was leading the song about the old woman who ate a spider . . . why? I don’t know why? : )
Showing shots from the beach trip.

Susan Jane teaching at FLO, Cambodia

Susan Jane teaching at FLO, Cambodia

They l o v e seeing shots of themselves.
This was also my “lead-in” for the lesson.
They wrote letters that day to their eFoster parents about . . . drum roll, yes, their trip to the beach!
Love this shot Rick! All the ones of me and my class were taken by Rick the Aussie cameraman. Thanks mate!
Looks like I’m smiling : )
Sharing the beach trip pixs with the younger kids one morning in the library.
They love to hang out in the library and read, draw, listen to stories, etc.
Koko met me one day when I came early to my 5:45 p.m. class.
He’s a sweet little guy.
“Now that feels good!” says Koko.
“Where are they?”
“I think I hear someone coming.”
The Knot Game. Fun to play and also a cool new word. What’s that “k” doing there?
Dani’s here teaching environmental themed classes with Kai and Sean. She’s great at games and helped me out coming up with ideas. Also, their little WB’s were super handy.
Hmm . . . I spy a misspelling . . . Can you spot it?
The little kids really, really l o v e to play hangman.

That’s all for now . . .

Working with Student Teachers at FLO

Friday’s “game” day ! They l o v e Hangman. Yep, Hangman is still around.
This is a very, very long entry about working with student teachers at FLO. I realize that it’s very, very long (even that’s long : ), but there are some of you who I know are really interested in the teaching aspect of this journey. This is for you . . .

And for everyone else, the next posting will simply be shots taken this past week while teaching (Thanks Rick for taking them!) or hanging-out in the library.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Working with the two FLO students who are teaching classes has been a challenging proposition. Why? Well, first of all, it was unclear to me what they were doing, what their objectives were. Communication at FLO is often a muddled affair.
The first day (of my first week) I went to class at 8 a.m., and  ST1 (student teacher number 1) was simply writing words in Khmer and English on the board. The Ss were copying these words in both languages in their books. What I was able to gather from her was that they were reviewing these words (sports and foods) for a test that she was going to give the Ss on that Saturday. I then gathered that I was to write a test that she was going to administer. We met one morning after class in the library and came up with test for the Ss that was mostly oral. “How many Ss are there ST1?” 20 “How many minutes do we have to give the test?” 60 “So how much time can we take with each student?” Three minutes per student was the agreed upon response. I anticipated that we needed to keep the other Ss occupied while we gave the test. Fortunately, I had a few games, which did the job partially; I really could have used more and better games for their skill level. It ended up taking longer than 3-minutes per student, so I became more efficient. “Call up the next student please,” I asked when the previous student was at the board writing his or her answer to the few written questions. I would go ahead and start asking the next student the list of questions we had prepared, “How are you?” “I’m fine and you.” etc. ST1 and I then had a nice rhythm working together and were able to test all the Ss in our allotted time.
Working with ST1 was more pleasant initially than working with ST2. Why? Well, ST1was more open to me conducting the class differently. She seemed genuinely curious to see how I could review words without simply writing them on the board. I would draw the mango to elicit the word after asking “*What is this?”
What I found, however, was that the Ss were simply memorizing the words or few word chunks without really understanding the meaning. For example, in the oral test I asked the Ss one-by-one, “What is this?” while holding up my pencil. “That is my pencil” was a frequent reply. “Your pencil?” I asked. They had no idea what I meant. A few of the Ss did respond, however, with “That is a pencil” or simply “pencil.”
In ST2’s class, it was clear that he was in charge. He was not curious as to how I could conduct a review. Since I was stepping into an existing class, I didn’t feel comfortable taking over. However, I did ask him if I could conduct the review differently. “Okay,” he replied in the manner of a polite 20-year old boy, shrugging and generally looking disinterested. I then proceeded to draw the different activities or foods on the board to elicit the meaning. I also put the Ss in pairs and/or in the chain-line to ask the basic questions, “What do you like to play?” “I like to play football/volleyball/baseball.” None of them seemed to really ever get “baseball.” I’m not sure why it was included in their list because it is not (as far as I know) in their world.
From what I could gather by asking these two student teachers and the director, the test we administered on the Thursday of my first week was to determine if the Ss were able to move up in to Gogo Loves 2 or the first Gogo Loves Basic.
When my third week began (August 8, 2011), I was not sure if there were going to be classes or not. When I asked the director about them, he said that he wasn’t sure yet because he hadn’t been able to discuss it with the student teachers. From my conversations with him, it appeared as if I was to simply assist them. As things have developed, I am actually to teach the classes and help teach the student teachers how to teach.
Monday morning on the 8th, I went to ST1’s 8 a.m. class to see if it was going to take place. No one was there. Okay, I guess it’s not meeting.
At 1 p.m. I went to the room to confirm that ST2 was not teaching only to find that he was there with the Ss. Okay, it looks like there is going to be class, I thought to myself. I had brought along a DVD of songs that the director had given to me previously (to have on hand so that I could do something interesting with the Ss if they were there). I showed it to ST2; he looked at me with confusion. “Do you have a plan for the day” I asked. “Review the words from last week,” he replied. Okay, I said and sat down and waited for him to begin. For the next 10 minutes he simply spoke randomly in Khmer and the Ss were just at their desks talking amongst themselves.
ST2’s mannerisms and demeanor in all the classes made it clear that I was the guest, and he was the teacher. He really wasn’t open to conducting the class differently than what he was used to. So on this particular day, I decided to get up and leave since there was nothing for me to do. I felt incredibly frustrated that these Ss’ time was being wasted. I had a fun DVD in my backpack that would at least have given them something engaging to listen to and something for me to work with in terms of teaching new vocabulary, reviewing vocabulary, etc. I got up to leave and then I saw Rob Hail in the adjacent computer room. I expressed my frustration with him and he approached ST2 and asked what he was doing. ST2 really didn’t have an answer, but Rob kept pressing. Eventually the student teacher pulled out of his bag the test that ST1 and I had designed to give the Ss during my first week at FLO (ST2 and I also gave this same test to his Ss).
“Is this what you’re working on?” Rob asked. “Yes,” ST2 replied.
Rob left and I decided to stay and try again. “Okay, you want to review these words?”
“Yes,” he replied. I went to the whiteboard to draw these words and elicit them like I did the first week, but then I stopped myself. It just felt too boring to do exactly the same thing. I wanted to engage the Ss more, to come up with something where they would be involved.
“Everyone stand up. Let’s make a circle.” I said. It took a bit of miming, gesturing, etc. to get them to understand that we were going to do something different. Eventually we (ST2 assisted) manage to get them in a circle. I then began to ask the Ss some of the different questions, which had been on the test. But rather than simply ask the question, I adapted it so that they they asked another student the same question. I kept the pace up so that more and more Ss had the chance to participate. I did this with the questions: “What do you like to eat?” and “What do you like to play?” I then took it a step further and wrote on the board: 1. “What do you like to play?”, 2. “I like to play . . .”, 3. “She/he likes to play.” I wanted them to respond to how the other students answered. It took several tries, but they did begin to understand. Some of the Ss knew the difference between he and she; some did not. But most of them were able to answer in that way.
After the class ST2 said, “They do not know . .” He meant that they did not know the words “he” and “she.” “But they were learning them,” I replied, “This is how they learn them, by using them.” I had pointed to a boy for “he” and a girl for “she.”
Leaving my Elementary level class (different from these classes, these are the classes that I’m completely responsible for) Monday evening, I noticed ST1 in the computer room. I went and spoke with her to find out when she was going to start the class again. “Tomorrow,” she replied. “Do you have a plan?” I asked. She looked at me fairly blankly. “What do you plan to do?” I asked again. “Review.” “Review the words from the week before?” “Yes,” she replied. “I have DVDs of music and songs that we can use for reviewing. Would you like to do that?” “Yes,” she eagerly replied. Ah, I thought to myself, she’s open to doing things differently. Good.
So today I showed up at the 8 a.m. class with the DVD Kidsongs: A Day with the Animals. The class is small (4 boys and 4 girls), so it was easy for them to gather around my computer. I started at the beginning and went through about four songs stopping periodically. For example, the first song was BINGO (as in BINGO was his name o). “Is this about a cat?” I asked. “No!” they replied. “Is this about an elephant?” “No!!! A dog” one student replied.
And I continued, stopping the DVD periodically to ask, “What’s this?” while touching my ear, leg, etc. I wrote the word on the board as feedback. I also used the poster on the wall of animals to ask, “Does its ears hang low?” etc.
One of the songs was “Little Bo-Peep.” I drew a girl on the WB with sheep all around her. I then mimed how she went to sleep and then lost her sheep. Then when the Ss watched this particular music video again, I stopped it to elicit their response and see if they understood. The overall vocabulary was beyond their skill level, but I focused on just a few elements. I think they were able to understand some, and mostly, I think it was a start in terms of introducing them to new concepts and not just the standard practice of listing words on the WB and writing them in their book.
To wrap up the class, I went to the WB (whiteboard) and went through all the different words we had encountered asking, miming, drawing, etc. in order to see if they remembered the words. All in all, it felt like an effective class for the Ss.
INSERT KNOT GAME SHOT (Looks like I obviously forgot ! L O L )
Later in the day I was in the office and had the opportunity to speak with the director and Rob. They told me that I am in fact “in charge” of these classes and am to teach (or at least provide an example) the student teachers a different way of teaching. I mentioned that ST2 seemed hesitant to hand over the reins, but they assured me that yes, I am to take charge. When I then went to the 1 p.m. class, I went with more clarity about what my role is. I brought the same Kidsongs: A Day with the Animal DVD to use for reviewing the vocabulary of animals, etc.
The classroom, however, was being occupied by Ben and Molly (Ben founded EGBOK Mission, Everything’s Gonna Be Ok—check it out on the web; it’s a very worthwhile mission . . . they assist FLO kids who go to school in Siem Reap to study hotel management and similar things), so we needed to meet somewhere else. I suggested the dancing pavilion. “Yeah!” the kids yelled as they ran across the courtyard.
Under the open-air pavilion, I tried to have the Ss gather around my computer, but it just didn’t work. There were too many of them to be able to see the screen (and the noise from the **funeral was overriding the audio). Okay, I thought to myself, think of something else. I proceeded to start the game “I spy.” (I first made sure they knew what the word “spy” meant using the word to see rather than spy and asking CCQs . . . ). One of the things I learned from CELTA is that the activities need to be changed frequently for very young students (I don’t the ages of these Ss, but they are young, maybe between 5 and 7), so I switched to “Hokey Pokey.” I had played this with them earlier (in my first week), so they were slightly familiar with it. I found that they needed to be really close to me so that I could drill the sentence and confirm that they said it correctly (remember, the funeral was going on : ). This is really a good activity for teaching body parts and the difference between left and right. Though they don’t feel confident enough yet to initiate a verse, they did start staying the “left elbow” etc. and “in” and “out.”
To make it really clear that they got left and right, I lined them up and made sure each student raised their left arm. I formed the letter ***“L” with my left hand. I was able to show them the letter “L” on the wall because of the sign on the wall about the Worldwide Delegation. “How do you spell left?” I asked. Conveniently all the letters were on the wall and I could point them out for feedback. (They knew how to spell left already. This is part of the pattern I’m seeing; they’ve been drilled to learn all this vocabulary; they just don’t know how or when to use it.)
When I could tell they were getting restless I asked them to crawl back up on the platform and to pull out their notebooks and pens (some of the Ss did not have pens so I shared some). Earlier when I had been asking “Where is . . . ?” I had written it on a piece of paper (in lieu of the WB since we were outside).  I had noticed that they didn’t seem to know question words like “Where?” and “What?” So I made it easy and asked, “Where is ST2?” They giggled at my ineptitude as they pointed at him (he was only 2-feet away from me). But I could tell that they didn’t really “get” what the word “where” was all about, so I continued it with “Where do you sleep?” I also drew a bed; they knew the word bed. “Where is your bed?” and they all pointed towards their living quarters. I continued this with “Where are two elephants/a flower,” etc. until I could see that most of them were getting it. One little girl was just bubbling over with her new-found knowledge. She literally wrote a list of about 10 “Where is . . . ?” sentences complete with all the correct words. (She first left out “the” but happily understood that it needed to be included too. : )
I expanded on the “Where is?” to “Where are?” I’ve noticed that when they’re taught phrases, it’s very one-dimensional. I want to do my best to expand it so that they’re actually learning some useful things. Not just “I like to eat mango,” but also “She likes to eat mango” etc.
I then wrapped it up with a “test” of the difference between left and right. And I asked how to spell them. It will be interesting to see if they remember these two words the next time we play “Hokey Pokey.”
A few other observations: 1) They’ve learned “How do you spell?” so when I asked, “How do you write?” they looked at me with blank faces. 2) They’ve learned big and small, but did not know the word little.
There are a few more little tidbits relating to working with the student teachers. On Monday after the 1 p.m. class I was surprised to see Ss entering for a different class. “Don’t you have the 2 p.m. English class also ST2?” It took a while, but eventually I managed to pull out of him that the class he had before is now not taking place. Further inquiries with both student teachers revealed that as of next week, there will be new class arrangements. Some will be studying Gogo Loves English 1 and some will be studying #2. Or, maybe that’s the basic class instead? They don’t know yet, and neither do I. So the rest of the week with the two classes I will continue to use the DVD resources if possible (with the smaller class) and play games that help introduce new word chunks, as well as review what they’ve already studied.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Today with ST1’s class we watched the animal DVD again stopping after the song for an explanation with mime, drawing pictures, etc.
The first song was about birds (Rockin’ Robin).
I asked, “What is this song about?” First, I needed to elicit the meaning of song. Then came “about.” CCQs: Are there elephants? No. Are there dogs? No. What are there? “Birds,” one student replied.
This class had not been introduced to “Where is?” and “Where are?” so this song was a good segue into these questions. I elicited the meaning of those questions, modeled and drilled them and then extended them to other things in the room and at FLO. I also added, “How many?” as in “How many boys are here?” and “How many girls are here?” This brought: “There are 3 boys here.”
By the end of the class, I had this on the board for them to write in their notebooks:

How many?

How many boys?

There are 3 boys. There are 4 girls.

There are 7 students here. (I mimed for them to count, first the number of boys and then the number of girls. Then when I came back to it I extended it to all the students; they counted the 7 students).

Where is?

Where is the chair? (one)

The chair is here.

Where are the fish? (1+)

The fish are in the water. The fish are in the ocean.

To elicit water and ocean I drew on the WB.

There were many more examples than these on the WB that I asked and they replied. This short list was simply a recap for them to put in their notebooks.
Since this week is a technically a week of review for them and their “official” class begins next week (when the director decides what that will be and how it will be grouped according to students, as in how many, who, etc., then I will have a better idea of what their long-term aims are), I am using these few days as an opportunity to experiment with CELTA methodology and principles. While I was attending the CELTA course in Bangkok this past June, our focus was on adult ESL education. It is different with children for so many reasons. Their attention spans are much shorter; the activities need to be switched around frequently, etc. This is a completely new experience for me, and I want to do my best for these Ss. I feel that this is such a wonderful opportunity for all of us. I am learning, and I am also providing them with a different type of learning, a more student-centered learning experience. I’m doing my best to keep my teacher talking time (ttt) to a minimum and their student talking time (stt) to a maximum.

The timing of being here is absolutely perfect. Rob Hail arrived at the end of my first week, and he is focusing on improving FLO’s English and Computer programs. Since he’s been here, I’ve had more clarity on my role due to his vision and connection with the school. As a volunteer and guest, I didn’t feel comfortable “asking” for certain things. Rob is one of the main financial contributors and visionaries of the school and has a completely different role than me. One of his main objectives at this time is to hire a consultant to advise them on how to create an appropriate and rigid curriculum. The Cambodian gentleman who runs the vocational program wanted to add more to his function. “No,” Rob said, “We need to improve the existing English and Computer programs to make them top-notch. If the FLO kids have a really high skill level in English and with Computers, they can do any vocation.” I agree with Rob. From what I’ve seen in my short time in Cambodia, being able to speak English well opens so many doors for Cambodians. I imagine that it’s the same for computer skills in today’s world.
Rob agrees that the timing of my 8-week stay at FLO is absolutely perfect. He says that I’m teaching my classes differently than any other volunteers have (with the one exception of a lady named Donna, she apparently made noticeable contributions as well). For those of you who have been following “Susan Jane’s Journey,” you know how the flow or timing of everthing has been working out very naturally . . . : )
At the graduation program this past Sunday morning when 20 FLO students graduated from high school and 22 graduated from the advanced education program (2 from the University with a degree in Accounting and 20 from different vocational programs), it was so inspiring to see how FLO’s teachers, administrators and volunteers envision this orphanage (and its educational program) as the foundation for creating a better Cambodia. They teach the kids to always say thank you; they require the children to contribute to the school’s operation (as in the Ss are cleaning their rooms, helping to prepare meals for themselves and the guests, they are sweeping the grounds, watering the flowers, etc.) They are teaching the children to be good, responsible people who will make the world a better place, and specifically, will make Cambodia a better place. After the incredibly high percentage of educated Cambodians were killed by the Khmer Rouge (over the course of 4-years: 1975-1979), the country has been floundering without its intellectual and cultural base. ****Nuon Phaly who founded FLO has used her knowledge of Cambodian dance and silk making to educate the students and not lose these valuable cultural skills.
Madame Phaly’s Story is no longer available, but here’s a good site that mentions her.
Back to my notes on teaching with the student teachers . . .
On Wednesday this past week, we had access again to our classroom for the second of these two classes with the student teachers and much younger Ss (whose English level is very, very basic). I decided to continue the theme of “Where is?” (or rather “Where’s?” as we were taught to teach it in the CELTA course since that is how native English speakers really talk) and “Where are?” I did the same thing today (Thursday, August 11th) in the morning class. I’ve also added “How many?” It was satisfying to see them starting to really understand the concepts and be able to use them.
For some of the Ss, the ravine they have to jump across in order to change from saying “Where is? to “Where’s?” is quite wide. One little boy kept trying and trying. First, he was able to say, “Where’s is the . . .?” And then lo and behold, he yelled out a, “Where’s?”
I questioned myself as to whether I should persevere or just let them say, “Where is?” But as I thought about it, I decided, “Yes, it’s appropriate.” These Ss are just beginning to learn English; they’re very young, and I think they can adapt to the English that we native speakers really speak. Also, I found out yesterday that they rarely ever speak English in their state school (when they’re first learning). Apparently, it’s quite common for Ss to make fun of other Ss’ pronunciation. As I understand it, they’re only expected to begin speaking English when their writing and reading skills have reached an appropriate level of proficiency. I found this out AFTER I told my two afternoon (and more advanced) classes that it’s okay to make mistakes. They looked at me with BIG eyes. Yes, it’s okay! That’s how you learn!
As far as teaching the younger children goes . . .
Well, this is completely new for me. When I graduated from The University of Tennessee with a B.S. in Education eons ago, it was for secondary education, not elementary education. I received a certificate for teaching 7th to 12th graders physical and foreign language education. (Yes, I agree, those two things just go together! : ) And some of you may remember that I did teach younger children at the local YWCA for a bit. It was a very basic level gymnastics/tumbling class. I managed to find a way to successfully muddle my way through each lesson; I made sure each student learned one skill that they could accomplish and show the adoring audience after class. And who was that adoring audience? Their parents, of course! I asked them to stay out of the class during the lesson; it was just too distracting for the small toddlers; I think they were about 4-years old. Hmm, that was in 1986, they would be about 29-years old now. If one of you is reading this, give me a shout!

Okay, I digress.

Point is, this is new for me. Next week I think I’ll have a book to work from (for these 2 classes of younger Ss, I have 4 classes total per day), but I want to enhance the lessons with activities that really engage the Ss. Fortunately, there are some resources here to draw from. One of my biggest challenges may be getting the student teachers to simply not speak so much Khmer to the young Ss. It’s distracting when they do that (unless it’s for a very specific reason when I’ve asked for their assistance). Why? Because it draws the Ss attention away the lesson, from what we’re doing.
In the one class, I could see that they were starting to get the concept of “Where’s the . . .?” when the student teacher began a blow-by-blow college dissertation on what  “Where’s the . . .?” means. Looks like I need to come up with some very helpful things for the student teachers to do during the class so that they too are actively participating . . . Any ideas from the vast peanut gallery spread literally around the world?”
And with that, I’ll sign-off.
For those of you who read this far, mahalo.

-sj

*Realizing now that I should have been asking, “What’s this?” rather than “What IS this?”

**funeral – for t h r e e days there was non-stop music, chanting, drumming from an adjacent property . . . it dominated the air waves for t h r e e days.

***I first learned about the “L” trick and holding up your left arm and making an “L” with your hand in highschool. The joke running around at the time was that the football coach had to do this exact same exercise with the players to make sure they knew the difference between left and right.

**** Nuon Phaly, family name first, her given name is pronounced Polly.