Two-language program for Cambodia's ethnic children

Photo: CARE's bilingual language program is heavily focused on educating girls in the local villages. (CARE: Laura Hill)

 

Updated 22 February 2013, 

Radio Australia

 

An international aid agency is using a bilingual teaching program to help children in Cambodia's ethnic minorities become proficient in the national tongue.

Children from ethnic minority communities in Cambodia are getting help to polish their skills in the national language, Khmer - using their ethnic mother tongue to do so.

Jan Noorlander, of agency CARE International, told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific program: "In the north-east of Cambodia, many children belong to an ethnic minority group, and they don't speak the national language of Cambodia, Khmer.

"So when they go to a state school, they will meet a state school teacher who only speaks Khmer.

"And when they go into a class room and the teacher starts teaching in Khmer, these children have no idea what the teacher's talking about."

In CARE Cambodia's bilingual model, "we start with the mother tongue of the children - so they go to school in their own village, and they're met by a teacher from the village, from their own ethnic group," Mr Noorlander said.

Introducing Khmer

"For example, a Tampuen child will go to grade one, and in grade one, when it starts, the teacher is a Tampuen teacher.

"At the end of grade one, we start introducing the Khmer language, the national language.

"And in grade two, we increase the level of instruction in Khmer, and we decrease the mother tongue in the curriculum."

Mr Noorlander, CARE's Cambodia program coordinator, was speaking on International Mother Language Day. The language program is under way in Ratanakiri province.

Mr Noorlander said the program is also heavily focused on educating girls in villages.

"Research shows that girls benefit a lot from bilingual education, because girls more than boys are restricted more to staying at home, so they're less in contact with other people who speak other languages," he said.

He said the program is equipping girls to be good role models in their community, with some going on to take up teaching roles or positions in local government.

"Recently, we had the first female commune police officer, who has gone through this program and who is now working in her own commune as a police officer."

CARE International has been running the program since 2002 with some Cambodian government support.

Mr Noorlander said indigenous elders are helping build the schools, advise on textbooks and select teachers.

"The program works very closely with the indigenous elders," he said.

"The schools are owned by the community and they have been playing a very important role in these schools."