Teaching English in Cambodia

Yesterday, I taught my first English class... entirely by myself. I must say that when we first arrived and it was mentioned that I might wind up teaching English while we were here, the thought completely overwhelmed/terrified me. I felt completely unqualified and unprepared to do so. However, over the last month or so, I have been sitting in on two different English classes, taught by Donna Knowles, every Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Donna works for PCL and is heavily involved in the Learning Center here in Siem Reap. She is a great teacher, and I've learned a lot from sitting in on and helping with her classes. Donna and her husband, Justin, also went to Lee, so it's been great for Morgan and I to be able to have that connection with them. Morgan and Justin have done a lot of work together on the Integrated Farm. Both Donna and Justin have been very good friends to us since we have arrived; we are very thankful for their presence here!

But back to English class... it's a small class (only 7 students), so that really helps. The level of the course is Intermediate 3. The students in my class are all very quiet, so I'm going to have to get creative in order to get them to talk. I told them yesterday that if they don't speak up, I won't know whether they are really understanding anything I am saying! Now I understand why my professors at Lee were so adamant about getting students to talk in class. To me, blank stares= "Teacher, I have no idea what you are saying."

This course will be finished on December 3rd, so I only have 4 weeks left with this class. Donna taught it through the mid-term, so I really took over half-way through the course (typical courses run for 10 weeks). I will most likely teach a full 10 week course from start to finish starting in January.

In addition to this class, I am helping out with the Language Arts class for the kids from the Children's Home every Monday and Wednesday afternoon. The past couple of weeks I have been helping a few of the kids learn their ABC's. It's been a lot of fun. :) I'm also tutoring Caleb Martinez, Julie Martinez's son, in English every day. So as you can see, I spend a lot of time teaching English throughout the week on many different levels. It's challenging, but I really am starting to enjoy it. Who knows, by the end of these 6 months, it may become a new passion of mine!

These are the students from the Children's Home who I have been helping with their ABC's.

This is Donna, English-teacher extraordinaire.

Morgan and Justin... trying to decide who will carry these bamboo stalks...

Justin was very adamant about capitalizing on this photo op, so Morgan graciously let him...

After some time, Morgan decided he needed to cash in on this photo op as well. Who can blame him? Justin looked so cool doing it...