Background on the Advanced Study of Khmer Program

The Advanced Study of Khmer (ASK) program is an intensive six-week advanced Khmer language-training program held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  It aims to meet a need in the academic community by providing advanced third year study, with an opportunity to acquire the linguistic foundation necessary to engage in academic research, professional discourse, and cultural interaction with all segments of Cambodian society.  The principle investigator and project director for this program is Dr. Chhany Sak-Humphry.  She has taught classes in Khmer language at the University of Hawaii for eighteen years and has developed extensive teaching materials for these classes. 

When an opportunity presented itself, Dr. Sak-Humpry returned to her homeland (for the first time after a thirty-year absence) and took with her some students who wanted to learn Khmer and do research on other aspects of Khmer studies.  She strongly believes that providing a total immersion Khmer language program is the best way that she can help students to learn and grow, to enjoy, and understand the Khmer language, culture and people.  Since then, every summer, one or two of her students have gone to Cambodia to study Khmer under her supervision and arrangements.  In the summer of 2002, Sak-Humphry decided to officially institutionalize, and officially organize and formalize the ASK program with full collaboration from the Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL) at the Royal University of Phnom-Penh (RUPP).  That summer, the University of Hawaii (UH) provided seed money to its three student participants. 

In the summer of 2003, UH continued providing seed money for five scholarships and opened up the application process to other institutions.  Seventeen applicants competed for five scholarships (UH received two, UC Berkeley two, and the University of Washington one).  Due to the SARS epidemic in Southeast Asia, the program was canceled.  Dr. David Hiple (Director of UH’s NFLRC) nonetheless conducted a site-visit and held a workshop at RUPP in late summer of 2003. 

In the summer of 2004 (seed money was received from UH and several SEASSI consortium members).  Eighteen applications were received.  Five full scholarships were awarded (one to UH, one to UC Berkeley, and one to the University of Washington, one to the University of Arizona, and one to California State, Los Angeles).  In addition, five partial scholarships were awarded (one to Phnom-Penh, one to Rice University, one to UH, one to UC Berkeley, and one to the Long Beach Unified School District). 

Starting in the summer of 2005 through 2008 (three-year cycle), ASK received full funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Fulbright-Hays, Group Projects, Summer Abroad Program.  This funding covers the overseas administrative expenses and provides full scholarship to U.S. participants (eight for the summer of 2005, nine for the summer of 2006, and ten for the summer of 2007). From June 18^th-July 29^th, 2005 ASK Fulbright-Hays participants studied Khmer in Phnom Penh (four weeks) and in Siem Reap (one week).

Sak-Humphry coordinates this work from the University of Hawaii and undertakes any preparations for ASK in collaboration with the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at UH and with the Institute of Foreign Languages at the Royal University of Phnom-Penh.  She designed the content of the program and helped develop the curriculum in partnership with the two local Khmer teachers.  In addition, she coordinates and assists in the on-site training of teachers in conjunction with an expert methodologist from the United States.  In Cambodia, the field coordinator and the master teacher run the daily project.  The six-week language course is confined to small, individualized groups taught by two Khmer local instructors who have extensive experience in teaching Khmer as a foreign language to non-native speakers. 

Operational Plan: 

1. Sponsorships  This program is sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) at the Uuniversity of Hawaii and the Institute of Foreign Languages at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

2.  Preparation/Announcement of Program and Applications.  ASK has set up the preliminary announcements; the processing of applications, visa preparations, and e-applications will be handled by CSEAS. (See link): http://www.Hawai’i.edu/cseas/academic/khmer.html
 

3.  Screening and Fellowship Committee (SFC) and Advisory Committee (AC)  The (SFC) assists the PD in evaluating and selecting top-quality candidates for student fellowships, the Field Coordinator position and the Khmer teaching positions.  The (AC) provides resource information and advises the PD on various aspects of Khmer issues relating to the operation of ASK. 

4.  Program of Study  The core intensive language program consists of 120 immersive, classroom-based contact hours per student in the course of a six-week session (4 morning hours per day x 5 days per week x 6 weeks), as well as 54 afternoon hours of informal applied practice.  In addition, two to three hours of volunteer work (NGO), as well as participation in cultural activities such as traditional Khmer dance/or Khmer crafts, will be undertaken for three hours per week.  The weekends will be reserved for interaction with local Khmer people in daily contexts.  In addition, ASK has one week long field trip to Siem Reap for participants to learn about heritage preservation and cultural studies.  A total of approximately 200 hours will be applied to Khmer language acquisition.

Details about the application process for the ASK program, as well as an application form, can be found at:  http://www.Hawai’i.edu/cseas/academic/khmer.html

2005 COTSEAL Conference Report

The theme for the 2005 COTSEAL Conference on Southeast Asian Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics was “Teaching Southeast Asian Languages across Campuses.”

The 15^th annual COTSEAL conference was held on July 8^th and 9th at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Friedrick Conference Center.  The two days were full of exciting presentations and presenters from across the United States.  There were a total of 15 presentations and a poetry reading in the evening.  The conference was well attended, with more than 40 participants.  Because COTSEAL was held during SEASSI, many SEASSI students attended to listen to their teachers’ and other presentations.

The COTSEAL conference topics and presenters this year were:

1.                  L2 Learners’ Selections of Vocabulary Glosses While Reading a Narrative Hypertext in Thai
Jenjit Gasigijtamrong, Payap University, Chiangmai, Thailand

2.                  Fun and Engaging Way to Teach Grammar to Introductory Intermediate and Advanced Learners Jiedson Domigpe,University of California, Los Angeles & SEASSI

3.                  The Politics of Language in Literature and Translation Pedagogy
Mariam B. Lam, University of California, Riverside

4.                  Analysis of the Use of Adapted Positive Slang Expressions in Indonesian Language Courses Taught across United States Campuses
Elgeritte Adidjaja, Claremont McKenna College

5.                  Learning to Translate Online Using Web-based Lessons and Online Translation Tools
Michelle Duffy & Rhodalyne Gallo-Crail, Northern Illinois University

6.                  The Use of Total Physical Response in Teaching Beginning Level Filipino
Leo Paz, City College of San Francisco

7.                  Teaching Poetry in Vietnamese Classes
Quyen Di Bui, University of California, Los Angeles

8.                  Using the Lexical Approach to teach Indonesian and Thai
Marit Vamarasi & Teddy Bofman, Northeastern Illinois University

9.                  Interactive Language and Culture Resources Online
Cynthia G. Paralejas, Northern Illinois University

10.              Teaching Khmer Grammar at SEASSI: Infixation
Phal Sok, SEASSI

11.              Enhancing Intermediate and Advanced Filipino through the Internet
Monita Manalo, University of Wisconsin-Madison

12.              Developing Translation Tools for Thai: Illustrations Using News Articles for Advanced Thai Reading
John Hartmann, Northern Illinois University

13.              Beginning Filipino at UCLA
Nenita Pambid Domingo, University of California, Los Angeles

14.              Beginners in Vietnamese: Some Hurdles to Overcome
Nguyen Minh Ha, Nguyen Linh Chi, & Ta Thi Phoung Quyen, SEASSI

15.       Forum on the Priority Needs for the Field of Southeast Asian Languages
Tom Gething, University of Washington, Seattle

The Southeast Asian Poetry Night was also well attended, with over 60 people present.  Many SEASSI students came to read poems they had written themselves or poems they admired from a different author.  The poems were read in the languages that they studied and were translated into English.  Many came to listen to their colleagues.  Some SEASSI teachers and COTSEAL presenters also read poems they enjoyed. 

I hope that the 16^th annual COTSEAL Conference will bring more exciting topics and even greater participation.

Lopao Vang
COTSEAL Conference Chair
lvang@madison.k12.wi.us