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Speak Out
April 2016
Speech Pathology Australia
BRANCH news
victoria
Student Community
Engagement in Cambodia
In February this year,
14 speech pathology students
from Australian Catholic University (ACU) travelled to
Battambung in north-western Cambodia for a two-week
community engagement opportunity with The Future
Sense Foundation. This foundation collaborates with local
communities and non-profit organisations in developing
countries to improve education, child welfare, and economic
outcomes. The opportunity to visit Battambung is part of
an ACU initiative that sees students complete community
engagement experiences locally or abroad during their
undergraduate degree.
Upon arrival we received an orientation to Cambodia including
a briefing about the tragedies of the Khmer Rouge regime
and the importance of education to build opportunities for
young Cambodians. The teaching of the English language is
viewed as being particularly important as a tool of international
communication, enabling Cambodians to participate in
international development opportunities.
Separate programs were developed for students at two schools
(one primary and one high school). Part of the high school
program concentrated on fun, age appropriate ways to teach
the sounds ‘ch’, ‘sh’, and ‘th’.The Future Sense Foundation
identified these sounds as stumbling blocks for Cambodian
students, as these sounds don’t exist within the Khmer
language. We also spent time teaching plurals, the simple
past tense ‘ed’, and the present progressive tense ‘ing’. In the
primary school setting, we focused on play-based lessons to
raise students’ awareness of English letter-sound knowledge,
use of family titles (e.g. mother, father, etc.) and production
of sound blends. We were fortunate to work with excellent
interpreters, who helped us build rapport and exposed us to
the practicalities of translation. In addition to our face-to-face
work with students, we recorded the curriculum and lesson
plans that we created for our classes to ensure that future
volunteers could expand upon these resources, thus ensuring
sustainability.
While we were kept busy lesson planning and teaching daily,
we were eager to explore the Cambodian lifestyle. We were
fortunate to be provided with good quality bikes, enabling us
to experience Battambung like true locals. We visited markets
and eateries, took hikes, visited temples, and paid our respects
at sites affected by the Khmer Rouge. However the highlight
was a weekend away to Siem Reap, where we explored the
incredible Angkor Wat. We were in awe of this incredible,
intricate temple complex built thousands of years ago.
Our experience in Cambodia will stay with us for a lifetime and
we feel extremely lucky that ACU promotes this opportunity for
students to enhance the abilities and wellbeing of people and
communities globally. We’ve gained useful skills and confidence
that has contributed to our personal and professional
development. I would also like to thank the staff of Challenges
Abroad (who facilitated our stay), and the students and staff of
Kdol Teav High School, and Doun Teav Primary School for their
discipline, enthusiasm and warmth.
By Lisette Ogg
ACU Speech Pathology Student
Speech Pathology
students on a tour to
Cambodia include Lisette
Ogg, Claire Jarvis, Greta
Ruaro, Sarah Biscaro,
Emma Jordan, and Craig
Willis.