NP at Cambodia!: February 2006

Day9 : The Lesson

This morning's lesson focussed on the English used in phone conversation. The main lessons were from EnglishClub.com again. The lessons included the introduction of common phrases. For their practices, the students were given three telephone scripts with parts left blank for them to fill in. After they had completed this revision, they used the completed scripts to practice mock telephone conversations with each other.

In the afternoon, listened to the Rob and Bob ESL podcast. In this episode, Rob and Bob discussed the use of gerunds and the infinitive. They also describe what a Japanese wedding is like. Again, to revisit the objective of the Rob and Bob show: it was basically used to familiarise the students with the American and British accents as well as key points of English grammar. In the second half of the afternoon session, we worked on In Company Chapter 7. This lesson focussed on the use of "can" and "can't".

Interesting cultural insight: In Phnom Penh, people double park on the road all the time. Usually, the traffic cops don't care too much (as in ignore!) about such traffic transgression. However.... and this is the fun part... If there happens to be a national assembly sitting, then the cops will be extra vigilant. You see, they have to make a big show to the law-makers and VIPs that the drivers are law-abiding.

So the whole morning, I have students running in and out of the classroom to shift their vehicles from the right side to the left side of the road. The instructions changes every ten minutes. It was a riot! The students are remarkably good natured about it. Everyone is laughing about having to shift their cars. It is rather farcical ... to make things worse, apparently Indonesian President Susilo Bambamg Yudhoyono decides to visit in the afternoon. So the wheel turns once more... it is quite an interesting cultural induction! Here's a picture of the Billboard announcing the visit of the Indonesian President:

Work Done:
Telephone English, http://www.englishclub.com/speaking/telephone.htm
Rob and Bob ESL Podcast, Episode 22, Japanese Weddings, Gerunds and Infinitive
In Company, Chapter 7

Day8 : The Lesson

Monday again and back to class! In the morning, we touched on the topic of small talk and the role it occupied in English communication. The students did a couple of exercises on Small Talks that I downloaded from the website English Club. The students also discussed the difference in the dos and don'ts of small talks in Cambodia and other countries like Singapore, US and the UK.

In the afternoon, we listened to another episode of the Rob and Bob ESL Show. This episode's main focus was sports and it's a nice follow-up from the "Bend it like Beckham" movie on Friday. After that, we completed Chapter 6 of the In Company book.

Work Done:
In Company - Chapter 6
EnglishClub.com - Speaking - Small Talk module (http://www.englishclub.com/speaking/small-talk.htm)

Day7 : Three Markets and a Billion Things....

Sunday and no class. In the morning I trawl the web for some ESL activities for next week's lessons. Went out to explore the various markets in Phnom Penh with Radiah the trainer for the IT course that is going on concurrently with the language course. Radiah is a Singapore trainer from ITE. She has been training for MFA over the last year or so in countries such as Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Anyways, we went to the Russian Market or Phsar (pronounced Pasar!), the Central Market, and Phsar Olympic. Each is unique.

The Russian market is an amazing hub of activities. It's like the old Tiong Bahru crossed with Chatuchak market. You can get factory seconds and oodles of souvenirs and kelong dvds etc... The Central Market sells mostly jewellry, watches and clothings. It is situated within this amazing art-deco structure that was built in the 30s. Absolutely gorgeous despite it looking rather rundown. This mart is more oriented to tourists and this is visible through the larger number of beggars. Felt very bad ignoring them but what could you do? To give one would have opened the floodgates. The Olympic Market is kind of like the old People's Park. It caters purely to a Cambodian clientele. You can buy local fashion, food, and household utensils here.

That's all for today. Will go prepare for tomorrow's class.

cheers
cl

Day6 : Rest Day and Sightseeing Day!

The students were half and hour late! It was so funny because one of them actually gave me an order to be on time! It really cracks me up because I am usually the person who is late for everything in Singapore but I actually came down from my room 5 minutes before 9am the appointed time.

Anyways, Chivy, Mariny and Phany finally showed up at around 0930hrs which was cool because I'd actually thought that they weren't going to show or that I made the silly mistake of thinking it was 9am when they meant 9pm. But anyways, it was really nice that they took the time out to show me around.

Found out more about the students. Chivy is very young but has already been to like all the SEA coutnries because she was on the Ship for SEA programme. She was in Singapore in 2000. Mariny comes from an upper-crust family and owns luxurious homes and a number of cars! Phany is a Chinese Cambodian who's grandpa doesn't speak anything except for Teochiew! He is a revelation because he is very quiet in class but today he really opened up and showed his true self! He is really funny and very game in trying to communicate in English. I learnt so much more about three of them. Here's the tour route!

The first stop was the Royal Palace. That was very nice.

I like it much better than the Royal Palace in Bangkok. he amazing thing is that the King actually lived in a closed off compound within the areas that are open to the public.

NOTE: Eve, do wear a shirty/blouse with sleeves or you have to rent a T-shirt! That's what happened to poor Mariny! She had to rent a crappy t-shirt for 1000 reil or US$0.25! :c)

The next stop was the National Museum. It is a fantastic place as the religious artefacts are absolutely amazing because they date all the way back to the 6th century. I have totally forgotten my DGE Hall History of SEA! I found out that the Khmer empire once stretched all the way to Perak! Absolutely mind boggling! I guess that's why the culture resembled the Thai culture so much. The empire owned Thailand for awhile. Ab fab!

Chivy, Mariny and Phany treated me to a sumptious lunch at a Cambodian restaurant. The food is interesting. It draws influences from Vietnamese, French and Thai cuisines. Tasted gorgeous!

After lunch is more sombre. They took me to the Toul Sleng Museum. It is horrific what humans can do to their fellow humans. It is sad. Mariny told me that she lost her grandma to Khmer Rouge. Luckily though, all three of them were born in the 80s and didn't have to witness the horrors of the killing fields.

Puts things in perspective. The Cambodians that I have met so far has been nothing but amazing. So full of warmth and happiness. It boggles my mind that the beastly Pol Pot came out of this country.

Mariny's child called at around 4pm so we had to finish off the sightseeing. Mariny and Chivy dropped me off at the hotel. A nice day!

Pictures of the Imperial Garden Hotel

Hi Eve,

I will tell Jackie about you wish to switch to the Imperial Garden Hotel next week. Anyways, the place is very nice and clean. The room is way smaller but nice and cosy. The nice thing is the ethernet link broadband. The view is also way better than at the Himawari. Here are some of the pictures.

These are the pictures from the Imperial Garden's website:

http://www.imperialgarden-hotel.com/

The two front and riverside view of the Imperial Gardens. The front view:

The poolside:

Below are the shots I'd taken of my room:

And here is the view from the balcony:

A very good deal compared to the Himawari!

Day5 : The Lesson

Today went alright again. And so the pendulum swings. The morning session was lively because they really liked the exercises in In Company. The In Company chapter today touched on business lunches and etiquette. I also gave themn a chance to ask me about the way things are done in Singapore and how it compared to Cambodia. We also listened the podcast series, Rob and Bob ESL Show. Today the class and I listened to Rob and Bob talk about Tag Questions and how they are used.

The afternoon session today is a light affair. I deliberately planned it to be light on Friday as most are on weekend TGIF mood. We watched Bend it Like Beckham dvd. The class watched it with subtitles on. The objectives of watching the dvd are as follow:

Familiarised the students with the various accents of spoken English which in the case of this movie are the British, Irish and Indian accents.
Watching the movie with subtitles helped the students to match the words to what they hear. This also train their reading skills.
After the movie, the students were given a homework to write about how they will feel if their daughters decide to make a living being a professional footballer (this was the theme of Bend It Like Beckham). So the movie also allows the students a chance to practice their writing.

End of the week. Next week is the start of my second and last week here.

Work Done:
In Company, Chapter5
Internet Resources used: Podcast-Rob and Bob Learning English Show.

Day4 : The Lesson

The morning lesson featuring the podcast programme of The Rob and Bob Show didn't manage to get as much of the students' attention as I'd hoped. Some of them provided feedback that they have difficulty catching the accents and the pace of speech of the two ESL teachers (one British and the other an American) in the podcast. However, the students did enjoyed hearing the different English accents and learning about the differences between American and British English. So there are some bright spots even though I felt the session can be considered a minor failure. Have to try another approach.

The second half of the morning lesson for the students was working on Worksheet 2 on Kampong Days. That went alright. But the students are finding it tough-going in Kampong Days. They find the vocabulary in the book too difficult. But they appear to be able to get the answers right.

In the afternoon we did Chapter 4 of the In Company book. Some of them finished very fast while others are struggling. One student also asked me if I can shift the reading to the morning. Turns out that while they enjoyed the reading activity, they find it a tad too dreary in the afternoon.

So it appeared that I had been rather off when I thought they liked the activity. So embarassing. So a switcheroo it'll be. I must also go google for more interactive ESL class activities for the afternoons for next week. More research and web-hunting tonight....

Work Done:
In Company, Chapter4
Kampong Days, Chapter 3, Worksheet 2
Internet Resources used: Podcast-Rob and Bob Learning English Show.

Day3 : The Lesson

Looks like the lessons each day are now settled into a nice pattern. I will use internet resources for the morning lessons and use the In Company and Kampong Days books for the afternoon session. This morning I used the 5 Minute English Lesson website to teach the class about the use of intonation. It looks like most if not all of the students are more interested in spoken, conversational English so they feel particularly energised when they are doing reading and listening to pronunciation lessons. So Eve, stick to getting them to read properly and speak confidently would win you many friends! I finished off the morning by getting them to do Worksheet 1 of Kampong Days that Michael so kindly provided us with!

In the afternoon, we did Chapter 3 of InCompany and then finished off by getting the students to take turns to read Kampong Days chapter 3.

Work Done:
In Company, Chapter 3.
Kampong Days, Chapter 2 + Worksheet 1

Day2 : The Lesson

With the computer sound problem resolved, I introduced the students to one of the more interesting interactive websites for learner of English:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/

We spent the morning going through the pronunciation section of the BBC website. There is a good flash-based phonetic chart that you can refer to in the BBC site.
I got the students to listen to the various sounds of the phonetic alphabet and got them to practice along. This got their attention and they seem to enjoy this quite a bit. Here is the website’s url:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/multimedia/pron/chart/chart.shtml

You may want to google for a bunch of multimedia ESL sites so that you can use them for Cambodia. Let me know if you are doing this because I can leave behind the cables for your use. But please make sure you collect them back for me as they cost me a bundle when I had them made.

I can even train one of the students to get them to set up for you! :c) I think they are definitely warming up to me now! So let me know if you will be using the computer!

After the break, I introduced the students to

because many of them complained that they do not have anyone to practice their English. So I showed them how Skype can open up a whole world of English speakers to them free of charge is they ever wanted anyone to speak to in English. All they need is a set of headphones with microphone. A number of them are actually quite excited and said that they will try this weekend. Told them to Skype me and have a cyber conversation!

The afternoon session went as well as the morning session as well. We went through Chapter 2 of the In Company book. So Eve, we are on track at one chapter per day.

After the afternoon break, I got the students to read the first chapter of Michael's Kampong Days book. That seemed to be a roaring success. I got the whole class to read out loud and I helped to correct their mis-pronunciation as they go along. They rather enjoyed that!

Hey thanx Shawna and KeeN for leaving the comments! It's really nice to hear from you guys! Shawna, how's the EFNAK thing going? Sorry I'm not there to help.

Day2 : Technical Problem Resolved!

Problem

One of the major problems when I got to the centre was the prospect of not being able to use my laptop for any multimedia presentations such as using interactive websites set up for the teaching of English as a foreign language. In the playing of any DVDs, the laptop is a better option than the TV because the projector has a larger image than the centre’s 29” television set.

However, the CSTC isn’t equipped like our classroom in NP. It doesn’t have an integrated sound system for us to plug in our computers. This means that the laptop won’t be an effective tool since the students can’t hear the sound output from its little speakers.

Solution:

The short answer is that I found a way to output the sound to the CSTC’s 29” stereo TV from my laptop’s headphone jack. This way, the TV set becomes a giant speaker for my computer! :c) (back in showbiz!)

I was lucky that I brought along the audio cables from my radio days. Here is the spool of extension cables (Cable 1) that are 10m long:

This is a mini-plug to RCA adapter wire (Cable 2). This is the cable that I use to connect to the TV’s stereo input.

Hi Eve, if you wish to use your computer, you will need to follow these steps:

Step1: Plug in the Cable 1 into the headphone jack of your laptop. The headphone jack is the one that is coded GREEN.

Step2: Connect Cable 2 to Cable 1.

Step3: Connect the other end of Cable 2 (the ones coded Red and White) to the Video2/3’s Audio Inputs (the Red and White ones) at the back of the TV.

Step4: Switch on both the TV and the DVD player.

Step5: Select the Video2 channel on the TV set. Leave the DVD player on and now the TV set becomes the world’s biggest computer speaker! :c)

Here's how you connect your PC to the projector. The connection is at the back of your laptop:

I had also briefed Jackie on how to connect the sound cable to your computer so he should be able to help you.

Day1 : The Lesson

Hi Eve,

The morning portion wasn't too bad as it was mostly activities and registration matters. I took pictures of them so that you will know what your future students look like. Their ages range from mid 20s to over-40. After the picture taking, their first exercise is to circulate the room and interview each other in English. They were given three guide questions:

What's your occupation?
What's your hobby?
Where's the farthest that you've ever travelled?

That takes us up to about 0930hrs. There is usually a break for tea at around 0930 or 1000hrs. Today the CSTC staff informed me that the tea-break is ready. But in the afternoon, they didn't inform me. So it looks like you will have to check the time and set your tea break. Just make sure you have a peep to see if the refreshment are there first.

Back from the break, I gave them a de-brief on the first activity. Got them to share on how they felt etc... Most said that they felt awkward and stifled but it seemed to get easier as they spoke to more classmates in English. Told them that's the essence of this course is to really force them to speak in English so they will get more used to it...

Next assignment was a written assignment where the students describe themselves on paper. That is something I have to go through tonight.

Afternoon didn't go as well. Used the Macmillan book and it seemed a bit too simple for some of the participants. In fact, I thought that I lost some of them. I will keep you posted on how this book perform. If it doesn't shape up to be challenging for them then maybe you might want to consider alternatives. Strange, most of them didn't do too well in the screening test but it seems that there are a few who are quite confident. There are those who couldn't do the book's exercises of course.

Anyways, that's all for today.

Day1 : The Classroom and Equipment

Hi Eve,

This is what the classroom looks like on the inside. It is a large space with chairs that you can easily moved around. Here are some shots of the classroom.

If you are using your laptop, Jackie can bring in a portable projector but the problem is that you have no sound. So if you intend to play anything with your laptop, do borrow a set of external speaker from someone or see if IS has a copy. Here is a shot of my laptop and the projector. The projector is a tiny thing that is partially hidden by the screen of the laptop.

You will need to play your CD. The trouble is, they do not have a CD player! So you will need to play your CD from the DVD player and have the sound of the CD come out through the TV. It is really cumbersome and hard to control the pauses etc. Here is a shot of the TV and the dvd player.

The player you see at the bottom of the rack is a cassette player. Of course when all things failed, there is always the trusty old whyteboard! :c) Just joking...

Day1: Direction to the Centre and Classroom

Work up at 6am. I got up earlier because I am nervous about the class. Bathed and this is how I looked prior to leaving the Himawari at around 0740hrs.

Eve, you can take a cab to work or you can walk. I chose to walk and it took me slightly more than 5 minutes to get to the Hong Kong Centre which incidentally look like this:

If you came by car, they will most likely drop you off at the front of the building (see pics). The Cambodian-Singapore Training Centre (CSTC) is on the 2nd floor which in Cambodian parlance meant the 3rd! First floor is called Ground Flr like the good old days in Singapore. Take the lift to the 2nd Flr and this is what you will see:

You head towards the spiral staircase and turn right and follow the sign:

This is the door to CSTC which incidentally is locked till about nearly 2pm because that is when the lunch time ends.

Go through this set of glass-door and our classroom is the first room on our left. It is also used as a function room when there is any talk organised by the embassy.

Here's what your hotel look like in the day time.