Learn4Life, Siem Reap, Cambodia (Intensive English Language Training)

Name: Learn4Life, Siem Reap, Cambodia (Intensive English Language Training)
Brand: Learn4Life Cambodia
SKU: 49786
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

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Location

Cambodia
- Siem Reap

Project Types

Community Development Teaching

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Program Details

Language

English

Housing

Guesthouse Host Family

Pricing

Price Details

Learn4life offers its teachers accommodation, own room & bathroom (aircon is available but is not included in the package), breakfast and lunch on teaching days,...

Last Updated: May 10, 2017

Last Reviewed: Jul 15, 2014

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About Program

Learn4Life teaching staff are fully trained and qualified native English speakers coming from all around the world. They are from varying backgrounds and ages and bring with them considerable life skills to supplement their English teachings. Some are fresh university graduates taking a break from studies, others are older professionals, all eager to pass on their experience and knowledge to the next generation of young Cambodians looking for better employment prospects.

Learn4Life follows the British based English Language curriculum and textbooks. All lessons include a balance of language learning and language usage. This incorporates vocabulary development, grammar, listening, writing and spoken English. We employ a wide range of communicative language techniques in our programs so that students have the opportunity to develop a range of communicative skills.

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The first thing that struck me about Learn4Life was that it was a proper, organised private language centre. It had a structured curriculum, timetable, term dates, exam and enrollment dates, mark schemes, attendance sheets, teaching resources, the works. For volunteers, it had fully-furnished private bedrooms with attached bathrooms and hot showers, air-con if you wanted to use it (but you'd have to pay for the electricity if you used it - I paid nothing and managed with the ceiling fan and regular showers), even a fridge. We had a cook that provided lunch five days a week, eggs and bread in the kitchen if you got hungry in the middle of the night, a cleaner (for common areas), free wi-fi(!), bicycles we could use, even a school cat. By Cambodian standards, we had excellent living standards. My classroom was two steps from my bedroom door. That's the closest I've ever lived from my workplace.

Mind you, it was no backpacker, gap-year guesthouse with a program. The volunteers were all professionals in their late twenties, up to retired professionals in their sixties (average forties). It was an organisation that had been there and done that - and had more or less perfected a system that worked like clockwork. It also felt like a real job. We had meetings to discuss student performance and needs, extra-curricular activities (bicycle ride, a clean-up, visit to a poor village school), a staff barbecue, dinner and drinks with colleagues for birthdays.

The students were mostly serious, results-focused adults as this was an intensive English program taught by foreign teachers - a luxury for the local students who recognize the value of the program for the fee they were paying (minimal fees to keep the program sustainable). The youngest students were in secondary school but most were working adults. I even had Cambodian English teachers in my class, so that kept me on my toes. Expectations are high and colleagues, though volunteers, were serious about teaching and helping students learn English well.

I had really fantastic, smart, professional, caring colleagues the term I was there. Great discussions and smiles to last a lifetime. A no-nonsense volunteer program. www.learn4lifecambodia.org

What would you improve about this program?

Learn4Life is really good as it stands and because it is in Siem Reap, the students we reach are more or less doing decently well by their society's standards. Learn4Life could use a little more outreach/publicity/funding to continue to attract a) professionals and trained teachers who can deliver quality teaching to the students, and b) to reach out to more students from poorer backgrounds.

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Questions & Answers

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you decide to enroll with Learn4Life Cambodia?

I had visited Cambodia several times in the past as a tourist and been moved by its history and present development and social challenges.

I wanted to give something back that I knew would be valuable to the Khmer people.

As an experienced ESL teacher familiar with the format of a private language center, it was a good fit for me professionally and personally.

I was also taking a break from work and looking for a drastic change in lifestyle and environment.

Do you feel like you made a significant impact on the local community? Why or why not?

I believe that the best improvements are consistent and incremental, the kind of positive change that happens without you noticing and without there being any shocks to current systems.

As such, I cannot claim to have made any radical impact but I can confidently say that I was part of a long-term effort of community education, focusing on talented people who have the power and ability to be the real game-changers in their society. I feel happy that in the final exams, my students had made progress and that it was reflected in their results.

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What did you wish you knew before going to Cambodia?

That I would not have needed to bring so much stuff with me. Siem Reap had most everything I needed and more.

Learn4Life's principal, David Scotcher had told me to just show up. He wasn't kidding. When I think about it, I really could have hopped on a plane with whatever I was wearing, my passport, boarding pass, some money and shown up.

Everything from clothes, groceries to toiletries were accessible within 5 minutes' walking distance from the learning centre, cheap and cheerful.

Tell me about one person you met.

Kimthet was in my Elementary 2 class. When Learn4Life organized a cycling outing to visit a village school to distribute donations of stationery and uniforms, we had stopped for lunch by the French Bridge in Siem Reap.

We found the place littered with a lot of rubbish. Kimthet had been a volunteer teacher himself in the past at another school but was now preparing to become a tour guide and was learning French and English.

He came up to me towards the end of the lunch break and said: "Teacher, there are about 30 people here. If we each spent five minutes picking up some rubbish and collecting it in a heap, we can leave this place better than when we got here."

The group got together and five minutes turned into a satisfying, volunteered 20-minute clean-up. Here was yet another example of the power of one.

How has this experience impacted your future?

Professionally, I now have experience in teaching in Cambodia, which enriches my teaching and volunteer experience.

Personally, I have been inspired by the people I met while volunteering at Learn4Life - individuals who make the most of what they have to achieve their goals, who initiate simple change, who encourage and help each other with patience, and who share what little they have with generosity, show kindness and love to visitors, and who value and enjoy the company of friends and coworkers.

About Learn4Life Cambodia

Learn4Life is dedicated to providing high quality English language training to help prepare Cambodians in the Siem Reap area for advancement and new career opportunities in the years ahead. We do this by providing structured English language programs, run by dedicated, qualified, native English speaking teachers, for up to 500 students. We charge a...