One of my goals here is to put together a decent and user friendly curriculum. This may take a while because I am working in two schools and on three different classes plus trying to learn Khmer. Can get a bit crazy at times and it just proves how much foreign teachers (or foreigners that are willing to teach English) are needed here to put together something workable and to train up locals in English and teaching, so that it can be handed over to the Cambodians.
Creativity is always a priority to keep the students engaged and help them to really learn English. I have found a few resources to help me, including tongue twisters, ESL flashcards, LEM and an amazing book by Ann Baker called “Ship or Sheep” (I want to eventually get some of her other books). Quality resources are so few and I contently have to wreak my brain to think of new ideas.
The other day I taught my best English lesson to my pronunciation class, I taught through song. The song was “Mighty to Save”. First I taught the vocabulary, one section at a time and then taught that part of the song. Cambodians love to sing, they love music, so why not teach English this way to make English engaging.
An English curriculum can’t be transported to another country and just work, it needs to be adapted to suit the culture, classroom environment, the students and the teachers. So there might be a long road of work ahead but to have something that is practical and appropriate to English learning here will be well worth it.
