Model School Practicum and the End of PST

My fellow PST co-teacher, Brady, and I!

For the last two weeks, my fellow PST Brady and I taught English to a class full of 8th graders as part of our practicum experience, colloquially known as “model school.” Since we will be ETTT (English Teacher/Teacher Training) volunteers, this was an opportunity to practice our teaching skills in the Cambodian context. The first week Brady and I taught alone, but in the second week, we were joined by a Khmer teacher counterpart. I really enjoyed the opportunity to practice co-teaching with a Khmer teacher. It will also be helpful since we will be required to teach with a local counterpart once we get to our permanent sites. 

We have received a lot of training about the differences between the Cambodian and American education systems including the perception of teachers and common practices in schools. In order to provide more context to this and future posts, I wanted to highlight several features and practices of the educational system and schools in Cambodia: 

Our classroom

• Since the Khmer people place great importance on education, teachers are traditionally respected within a community and especially within the classroom. To reflect that, students stand when answering a question or talking to a teacher during class. 
• While teaching methodology is definitely changing throughout Cambodia, many schools and teachers ascribe to a top-down approach to education where the teacher has all information and knowledge and shares it with students. Often this results in teacher-centered lessons and activities with little to no interaction between students. One of our jobs as volunteers is to work with teachers in our schools to implement more student-centered activities where students are encouraged to talk to each other, use each other as resources, and experiment with the language. 
• Classes in Cambodia are often quite large, usually around 40-50 students. This is another reason teachers often use a teacher-centered approach. It is much easier to keep control of the class using these types of activities and lessons. 
• Students wear uniforms which usually consist of white shirts with blue or black pants or skirts. Cambodians take off their shoes when entering houses, temples, and some buildings; students in most schools take off their shoes when entering the classroom. 
• The English curriculum for the entire country is set by the Ministry of Education, and each grade has a book to reflect that curriculum. While recent reform has improved the curriculum making it more relevant and communicative, students often struggle to use English in real life situations. While students may be able to fill in a blank, pick the correct verb tense, or memorize a dialogue, they lack the opportunity to hear and use these things in spoken speech. As an education volunteer, one of my jobs is to give students the opportunity to practice speaking with a native English speaker. 

Our students!!

I hope this gives you some context and insight into the Cambodian education system; I will of course continue to elaborate on this subject throughout my service, but I wanted to get some of these down on paper. 

Finally, I have about two more weeks of PST before we move to our permanent sites. On Wednesday, we will receive our province placements and get a better idea of who will be near located near us. Because it is a small country, the vast majority of us will have someone within biking distance of our house. Some of us will also have situates (or other volunteers in our village). I am simultaneously nervous, scared, and excited about learning our placements!! 

Until next time, 

Carissa