English for the Stomach

Today the Phnom Penh Post is carrying a story on ‘The Importance of Speaking English,” for Cambodians.

Below are a few quotes from interviewees on how important English is to them. For the full story go here

“You learn English to survive, it’s a language you acquire for your stomach.”

“It’s more than just a bridge, you major in business, law or whatever field, without this language [English] to communicate, you won’t be on the stage to compete.”

“I can see the world in a bigger, clearer picture than I could have if I hadn’t learned English.”

“Speaking at least basically or intermediary [English] is necessary to be in the workforce, in the marketplace and to thrive in higher education in this modern society.”

Fluency in English is not easy- it requires ‘thousands of hours self-learning and participating in intensive courses to perfect the language,” writes the Phonm Penh Post.

Those intensive courses required to achieve English fluency don’t come cheap; they are in fact out of reach for most Cambodians.

That’s where we at Cambodian Beginnings come in. We’re making progress on the start of our first formal English classes for bright, motivated but poverty-stricken young Cambodians. It takes time to kick things off here. Cambodia can be frustrating. But we are moving ahead. It’s likely that we will have more to report in the next week or two.

We’ll keep you posted.