Today, commemorating the birth of William Shakespeare, the world celebrates English language day. Here in Cambodia, English is more important and ever. As it integrates into a global society, English is widely used as the language for business, education and development and is an official language of ASEAN. For many Cambodians, the ability to speak English represents hope for a better future and a way out of poverty.

ISF supports all our students with a comprehensive English language programme. We’ve recently restructured the teaching for our youngest students to make sure each of them gets taught at the correct level. Our older students, those who have graduated from our fast-track Catch-Up programme and integrated into State Schools, are already well used to studying English each day. Our English programme staff is making more and more use of inventive teaching techniques to keep these older students engaged. Here are some of their stories.

These three students have studied at ISF for many years and as a result, they can carry on English conversation fairly well with foreigners. Due to their desire to improve their English even further, the English teacher will have a daily 40 minutes session with these star students whereby we talk about a variety of topics that interest them, read interesting books they choose, or watch some fun movies in English. Learning English should be interesting and fun and we aim to achieve this in the process.

Students are most interested in learning or reading if they get to choose what to read or who to read with.  Here a group of students are engrossed in playing games XO tablets and they have to ask each other for help or trying to figure out how to use and play the game without the teacher’s assistance. The students are big fans: “we love to play games on XO tablets, sometimes we can take pictures with it too.”

Here again is a group of boys reading on their own without the teacher. The more proficient reader reads to the less proficient ones, and they enjoy doing this activity whenever they have a chance to do so.  Peer or group reading can be fun and effective learning at the same time. Raksmey, one of our State School students commented “I like it when another friend reads in my group and we all help each other. Sometimes I know that word that the other person doesn’t know even though he is in higher grade level.”