The Ifl Prospect Vol2 Issue1 Oct 2009-Jan 2010

7/31/2019 The Ifl Prospect Vol2 Issue1 Oct 2009-Jan 2010

1/8

Our Khmer culture is too pre-cious to be lost, insisted Ma-dam Meas Vanna, the Director

of the Institute of Foreign Lan-

guages (IFL).

As she sits down and talks

with us for this article, Madam

Meas Vanna has more thanmuch to inspire students for

generations to come.

Growing up in a French-

speaking environment, MadamMeas Vanna is as fluent in

French as she is in Khmer. Backin 1960s and early 1970s, she

was always a top student in

Ren Descartes, a renowned

French-only school then. I was

born with a great aptitude to

learn this language,she recallsher early childhood.

Unfortunately, like other

students at that time, Madam

Meass education was inter-rupted by civil wars so many

times that it was not until 1991that she managed to finish her

high school education. Upon

her graduation with a Bachelor

of Education in French from

Royal University of Phnom

Penh, she began her Frenchteaching career in 1993 and

later continued her education

R O Y A L U N I V E R S I T Y O F P H N O M P E N H

Workshop on Multi-lingualism and Success in Learning at University

English Departments NewsletterINSIDE THIS ISSUE

Workshop on Multi-

lingualism and Success

in Learning at University

1

Foreign Language,

Family and Khmer Cul-

ture

1

Procrastination: An

Overlooked Stumbling

Block

2

Education: How far shall

we go?

2

In Pursuit of Happiness 3

Did You Know? 3

The Triplets of Luck 4

Students Satisfaction

Towards SAC

5

Brain Teasers / Riddles 8

lecture and exchange of ideas,the workshop participants

came to a deeper realization ofthe roles Khmer language plays

in determining success inlearning English. At the same

time, rapport between lectur-

ers and students is consideredcrucial and should receive am-

ple attention.

Asked what he had learnt

from the workshop, Lecturer

Thlork Rumdoh replied in anenthusiastic manner, The

workshop was useful and bene-

ficial in language teaching and

At least twice every semester,

the English Department of In-stitute of Foreign Languages

(IFL) organizes workshops forlecturers and students to de-

velop the lecturers teaching

effectiveness and to foster thestudents learning.

On the morning of October

10, 2009, IFL organized a staff

development workshop for its

lecturers on the theme The

Role of Multi-lingualism inLanguage Teaching. Dr. Mada-

lena Cruz Ferreira, a PhD in

Linguistics and Phonetics fromthe University of Manchester

was the guest speaker. Thepurpose of this workshop was

to give the participants knowl-edge about multi-lingual teach-

ing and learning at the univer-

sity level.Divided into two parts

with a 25-minute break for

refreshments, the workshop

started with a brief introduc-

tion of Dr. Madalena and endedwith the participants discus-

sion on the topics raised during

the workshop. Through the

learning at the university level,

especially in bringing aware-

ness to both lecturers and stu-

dents that learning is a two-way

interaction and a shared re-sponsibility.

Born and grown up in

Cambodia speaking Khmer asthe native language, Khmer IFL

lecturers have the advantage of

sharing the first language with

IFL students the common

ground which enables the lec-

turers to adapt their lessons tomeet specific needs and wants

of the students. Meanwhile,

bringing up Khmer languagecases in an English class does

not deemphasize the goal of

learning English. Instead, itmay increase students enlight-enment of both languages.

As implied, your success in

learning at IFL largely lies in

your hands. Take more respon-

sibility in your learning and the

next time you hear an interest-ing phrase in English from your

lecturer, remember to compare

it to that in Khmer. You mayjust love both versions.

Foreign Language, Family and Khmer Culture


2/8


3/8

STUDY SKILLS

Bad Boys?Will Smith! Bad Boys

II? Will Smith! I, Robot? Will

Smith! Hancock? Oh come on!Will Smith again! How can this

guy always be a superhero with

happiness all around him? Wait

a minute. In Pursuit of Hap-

pyness, Will plays a differentcharactera poor guy who

struggles in pursuit of his own

happiness.

What is happiness? Where

is it? Is it a journey or a goal?

And what have you done to

achieve it? In this article, I willshare with you some important

experience in achieving aca-demic happiness, especially

that in Literature Studies.

Happiness in Literature

Studies, largely, comes withanswers to three questions: (1)

What is a literary text? (2) Why

do I read it? And (3) How do I

read it? Answers to these ques-

tions might vary, but they are

important considerations and

guidelines in learning Litera-ture Studies that can help an-

swer the questions.

With these questions, you

will be forced to think of what

you are reading and the bene-fits you can get from reading it.

Literary texts are beyond

words printed in books. Rob-

erts (2003) captures the es-

sence of literary texts by equat-

ing them to triggers whichstretch peoples mind and

imagination to shape their

goals and to recognize theirdreams in different places and

times. Similarly, Collie and Sla-

ter (1987) argue that benefits

of reading literary texts arenumerous, which include lan-

guage and cultural enrichment,

knowledge of a societys values,

and personal development. In

short, literature enables you to

see the words, the world and

beyond.It is really helpful to under-

stand the nature of questions

asked about literary texts. Makesure that you understand the

different types of questions and

the necessary coverage of your

responses to the questions. Toillustrate how to carry this out,

lets read the following excerpt

from the story The Hitchhiker

by Roald Dahl (1953) and the

questions that follow.

I was driving to London by

myself. It was a lovely June day.

They were haymaking in the

fields and there were buttercups

along both sides of the road. I

was whispering along at seventy

miles an hour, leaning back com-

fortably in my seat, with no

more than a couple of fingers

resting lightly on the wheel to

keep her steady. Ahead of me

was a man thumbing a lift. I

In Pursuit of Happiness

feeder of procrastination drags

us back and we procrastinate

again: Temptation. With thelatest technological advance-

ment, it is now easier than ever

to get tempted. TV, mobile

phone, video games, iPod, Inter-

net, and many more are justwithin the reach of our hands

and could be enjoyed with just

a click. These guilty pleasures

generate countless excuses for

us to procrastinate effortlessly.We know procrastination isbad, yet we are either too lazy

or too tempted to fight it.

However, when we suc-cumb to temptation and pro-

crastination, the loss can be

huge. It is now high time weacted before procrastination

gets the best of us.

Like other obstinate habits,

procrastination has been

proven hard to kick. Effort,

practice and perseverance andmore are needed. The followingare several strategies I have

been using to break this bad

habit.

First, a task can be dividedinto smaller doable subtasks.

For example, an assignment can

be done in stagesbrainstorming, outlining, writ-

ing a body paragraph, etc. Such

subtasks can be achieved on a

daily basis and they make an

assignment appear easier tocomplete. In addition to the

task division, notes of priori-

tized subtasks can be made as a

reminder. Just check the notes

frequently and cross out thesubtasks which have beendone. Doing subtasks gives us a

sense of achievement and, thus,

is motivating.The second strategy is to

reward ourselves after hard

work. Make an accomplishmentof a long-term goal a mission to

receive an affordable reward

we have wanted. The reward

does not have to be expensive

and could be as simple as tak-

ing a workfree break or treat-

ing ourselves to a nice meal.

Thethirdstrategy involvesa fight against our temptation.

A reasonably balanced schedule

may help us stay on target anddistract us from getting

tempted. Just get tough!

Fourth, experiment what

works and what does not. Try

out the above strategies one ata time and check what is effec-

tive. A combination of a few

strategies could help even more

as they reinforce one another

and strengthen our will.Fifth, stay motivated. Bad

habits are easy to gain but hard

to lose. Kicking them takes time

and setbacks may prevail. Justbe prepared. Do not surrender.

Keep the fighting spirit high.

Which strategies work?Remember I am still a good

procrastinator myself. Lets try

them together and save our-

selves the time, effort and

money procrastination costs.

ReferencesBorenstein, S. (2007). Putting off reading this until tax time. Retrieved December 15, 2007, from

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/01/11/put_off_reading_this_until_tax...Ellis, A. & Knaus, W. J. (1977). Overcoming procrastination. New York: The New American Library, Inc.

Want us to hear your voice?Send us an article,

comments, suggestions,photos, and more

to

Volume 2, Issue 1 (October 2009 - January 2010)

Procrastination ...


4/8

STUDY SKILLS

Triplets of Luck

The sky is the limit in Crea-

tive Writing. With entertaining

twists and turns, Creative Writ-

ing can take us out of the world

to a place beyond imagination.

Instructed to include the charac-

ter, place, setting and situation

given by his lecturer, NguonChhayleang, a year three stu-

dent in the morning shift, crea-

tively penned the story below.

A few droplets of water left

from the last night rain sleeping

on tree branches were rolling

down gracefully to the red fer-tile ground and were absorbed

abruptly and thirstily as the

rainy night was turning into

another hot day. The sun was

starting to give off light again. Acovey of birds were flying here

and there across the about-to-

turn-green landscape, while the

little ants were scuttling around

under the mango tree lookingfor a place to store their sum-

mer supplies. Behind themango tree stood an old,

gloomy and lonely house of the

talented herbalist Pitou, a man

who had left his laboratory inPhnom Penh to find herbs inthe big forest of Mondulkiri

province.Inside the house, a woman

lying on the aged mat was

moaning with excruciating

pain. Her eyes opened widewith a few drops of tears rolling

down her pale cheeks. Her

hands were gripping a piece of

old cloth hung from the central

pillar of the house. The droplets

of her sweat, as big as corn

seeds, were running profuselyoff her forehead. Crouching

beside was an over-fifty mid-

wife.

Push harder, my daugh-

ter, the midwife cried.Im afraid I cant, Pisey

replied in a tremulous voice.

Yes, you can. Its almost

over. PUSH, MY DAUGHTER.

PUSH. assured the midwife,

reaching to caress her.

Searching endlessly forherbs in the forest, Pitou didnot know that his wife was giv-

ing an abnormal birth. Pisey

was supposed to be due at the

end of the month. Luckily, the

midwife was coming across his

house while Pisey was cryingfor help.

After several hours, Pitou

had collected many types ofleaves, dead twigs, grass weeds,

spices and plants. Among these

herbs was a violet plant Pitous

grandfather had shown him inhis childhood. Contented with

his hard work, Pitou was walk-

ing home wearing a basket of

herbs on his back and a broad

smile on his lips.

Approaching his house,

Pitou was greeted with astrange sound. Upon reaching

the middle of his house, in be-

wilderment, Pitou found Pisey

resting on a mat with three

little babies lying in a row be-

side her. The three mouthswere wide open, letting out

deafening cries. Pitou was

stunned like he was hit by a

stone.

Are you okay, darling?

muttered Pitou finally, feelingguilty about his absence duringPiseys birth-giving.

Im okay now that you are

my 32 years studying up to this

time. I settled down and startedto work conscientiously to real-ize my dreams and to meet the

expectations of my family, the

institute, and the country.

Yet studying is more addic-

tive than I thought. I soon be-

gan to see that I can contributeeven more if I get a PhD. I

started applying for a scholar-

ship and just recently I won

one. I will be leaving Cambodia

soon. I will be facing many

more challenges in both my

academic and personal endeav-

ors, but I am hopeful.Again, looking back at

where I came from, I could

hardly believe myself that I

have come this far. So what is it

that drives me this far?First, it is friends. Make

friends with the right people

and you will be a better person.

I owe my success in life to many

good friends who influence mein many positive ways. Second,

it is family. Not that I have asupportive family or a cozy one,

but it is the lack of such things

that urges me to find comfort in

education. I find peace in books

when there are rows or hostil-ity in my family. I am who I am

today because of education.

Third, it is the belief that I can

do better. I am never satisfied

with what I do or achieve. I look

for ways to improve myself,and improve myself I do. Fi-

nally, it is the fear of failing and

the hard work to make it nothappen that makes me come

this far. I know there are many

of you whose life story is not sodifferent from mine. You mightbe frustrated at times, but I

hope you will never give up. I

hope you turn your problems

into your objectives or goals

and before long, as long as you

keep trying and are hopeful,success will be yours. Never let

anything obstruct you in your

quest for success and YOU

WILL BE THERE.

Education ...

IFL PROSPECT


5/8

STUDENT CORNER

In the second semester of the2008-2009 academic year,

IFLs English Department organ-

ized a competition for research

projects by its third-year stu-

dents. Five research reports

were selected by the committee

as the winners in the competi-

tion. The following is the sum-

mary of a winning report.

Many students can enhancetheir knowledge by going to a

library which houses many

useful resources and different

kinds of materials that help

them in their learning. The IFL

library, more commonly knownas Self-Access Center (SAC), is

of no exception. With many

benefits it can offer, SAC at-

tracts many students every day.

At the same time, SAC allegedly

fails to meet some of the stu-dents needs.

To obtain evidence for the

effectiveness of SAC, a study

has been conducted to clarify

four important aspects about

SAC: Frequency of visiting SAC,SAC policies, Students satisfac-

tion toward SAC and Possible

improvement of SAC.

With questionnaires as its

main instrument, this research

is mainly quantitative in nature.The data was collected from a

sample of 160 IFL English-

major students equally selectedfrom all shifts and year levels.

The questionnaire has 5 sec-

tions and 36 questions, the lastof which is for the respondents

to share their comments freely

about SAC. It took around 10

minutes to complete a ques-

tionnaire. To analyze the data,

we used two applications: Sta-

tistical Package for the SocialSciences (SPSS) Version 12 and

Microsoft Excel 2007. Fre-

quency count, descriptive sta-

tistics, cross tabulation, andmultiple response analysis

were done in SPSS, while

graphs were created in Micro-soft Excel.

For frequency of visiting

SAC and related issues, it wasfound that the third- and fourth

-year students reportedly visit

SAC the most. Saturday is the

favorite day for most of thestudents, and they usually come

between 8:30 and 11 am. For

book borrowing, it is surprising

that 90.6% of the respondents

like reading books, but only

2.5% borrow SAC books. One of

the reasons many participantsstated was that many books

they want to borrow are NOT

FOR LOAN. SAC should make

copies of such books and make

them available FOR LOAN.

Meanwhile, as expected, thefindings showed that self-study

is an influential factor. This

means that most IFL students

visit SAC out of their willing-

ness, rather than being pres-

sured by their peers and lectur-ers. Besides self-study, comfort-able study conditions and rich

resources also inspire students

to come to SAC.

As for the second purpose,

the findings indicate a little

difference between satisfactionand dissatisfaction (50.6% the

former and 49.4% the latter)

among students towards SAC

working hours, which areweekdays and Saturday morn-

ings with an exception of public

holidays. Those who were dis-

satisfied complained that they

do not have time to visit SACsince they study at two univer-sities. The only time that they

can come is during the lunchbreak and Saturday. Most of the

respondents requested that

SAC also open between 11 am

to 1 pm and on Saturday after-noons. Regarding the policy of

borrowing books, the dissatis-

faction of students rises to

70%. 73.2% of them suggest

that book borrowing duration

should be extended to 2 weeks.

For the third objective,space is the problem SAC

should be concerned about the

most. During its peak time,

some of the respondents re-

ported that they have to leave

SAC because there is no avail-able seat. Rated lower than

space, borrowing procedures

were thought to be slow and

complicated because students

have to fill in their names, ID

number, title of the book, andauthors name in the librarycard. With regard to searching

for books through the computer

system in SAC, most of the re-

spondents claimed that search-

ing is not effective and they

cannot locate the needed mate-rials. Some entries list basic

book information such as title,

ISBN, and year of publication

but many do not. Despite thedissatisfaction with the above

aspects, most students were in

Students Satisfaction towards SAC


A Lecture

A Math Professor

To keep the body in good healthis a duty otherwise we shall notbe able to keep the mind strong

and clear.The Buddha

The true art of memory is the art

of attention.Samuel Johnson

You don't have to burn books todestroy a culture. Just get people

to stop reading them.Ray

Bradbury

The person who seeks an educa-tion must involve himself in dis-covering the meaning of his ownlife and the relation between whohe is and what he might become.

Without the vision of a personalfuture and a hard look at thereality of ones own situation, theultimate purpose of educationitselfthat is, to grow, to change,to liberate himselfis almost im-

possible to achieve.Harold

Taylor


6/8

touched the footbrake and

brought the car to a stop besidehim. I always stopped for hitch-

hikers. I knew just how it used to

feel to be standing on the side of

a country road watching the

cars go by. I hated the drivers

for pretending they didnt see

me, especially the ones in big

cars with three empty seats. The

large expensive cars seldom

stopped. It was always the

smaller ones that offered you a

lift, or the old rusty ones, or the

ones that were already

crammed full of children and the

driver would say, I think we can

squeeze in one more.

The hitchhiker poked his head

through the open window and

said, Going to London, guvnor?

Yes, I said. Jump in. He got in

and I drove on.

He was a small ratty-faced

man with grey teeth. His eyes

were dark and quick and clever,like a rats eyes, and his ears

were slightly pointed at the top.

He had a cloth cap on his head

and he was wearing a grayish-

colored jacket with enormous

pockets. The grey jacket, to-

gether with the quick eyes andthe pointed ears, made him look

more than anything like some

sort of huge human rat.

The questions are:Question 1: Where did the

driver go?

Question 2: Why do you

think the hitchhiker asked for a

lift?

Question 3: Describe thehitch-hiker appearance. Basedon your description, what can

you tell about the hitchhikerscharacter and job?

When responding to these

questions, you will find that

each question requires differ-ent levels of thinking and differ-

ent types of coverage. To an-

swer Question 1, only factual

information, which is obviously

stated in the text, is needed. For

Question 2, you need to com-bine your understanding of thetext with your world knowl-

edge of hitchhiking. For ques-tion 3, it is necessary to draw

on the clues provided in the

text in order to evaluate the

hitch-hikers character and job.

You need to read the descrip-

tions of the hitchhiker critically

and make comparisons where

needed. For instance, ask your-

self why the hitchhiker is com-

pared to a rat, why the author

chose the grey color to describehim, and what you can conclude

from these descriptions.

Not found your happiness

yet? Let go of your frustration.

We are just half way. More

guidelines are coming in thenext issue.

References

Collie, J. & Slater, S. (1999). Literature in

the language classroom: A resource book

of ideas and activities. Cambridge: Cam-

bridge University Press.

Roberts, E. V. (2003). Writing about

literature (10th ed.). New Jersey: Pear-

son Education.

STUDY SKILLS

The MA in TESOL (Master of Arts in Teach-

ing English to Speakers of Other Lan-guages) Program at the Institute of For-

eign Languages accepts applicationsevery June and December.

This program is designed for teachers,

curriculum developers and educationconsultants who wish to gain a higherdegree and professionalism in a range of

areas such as teaching English language,language program administration, bilin-

gual education and applied language

study. Some of the courses are taught byinternational experts and visiting pro-

fessors.

Contact us now at

Russian Federation Boulevard

Tel: (855-23) 885 419

IFL PROSPECT

In Pursuit ...

Semester II Calendar for

IFLs English Department

February 08, 2010: Start of Year 4 BEd program

(Morning & Afternoon)

February 22, 2010: Start of Years 2-3 & Year 4

(Evening) programs

February 22 - : Year 4 BEd High School

April 03, 2010 Practicum

March 01, 2010 : Start of MA Program

March 15, 2010 : Start of Year 1 program

April 19, 2010 : Start of BC Program

May 04 - : Year 4 BEd IFL Practicum

June 11, 2010

May 8, 2010 : Clean-up Day

May 22, 2010 : 7th Debate Forum

BAin

ISP

The International Studies Program at the

Institute of Foreign Languages is a prestig-

ious program designed for those who wish

to be equipped with theories, knowledge,

and skills to understand critical world

issues and development.

The Program (1) provides a wide range of

courses related to international relations,

politics, development, and economics; (2)

enhances students critical and analytical

thinking and independent learning; (3)guides students to understand how public

and private organizations work and func-

tion; and does much more.Be one of our students by submitting your

application and taking the entrance exam

in September 2010.

Contact us now at

(855-23) 885-419


7/8

STUDENT CORNER

here, murmured Pisey with

weariness, But I think afterthis I will not be okay unless we

move back to the city.

Alright, we will go back assoon as you recover, Pitou said

sympathetically, accepting

Piseys request.

After having a small talk

with his wife, Pitou turned back

to the midwife who had justsaved his wife, the triplets, and

perhaps himself from regret. He

thanked her for her service and

then gave her some money as aquid pro quo. The midwife ac-

cepted the money and warned

Pitou off being careless aboutthe danger of his wife.

One week later, Pisey recov-

ered well and regained her

strength. Pitou had not gone to

the forest to find more herbs

but had stayed at home fulfill-ing his husbandly duty, taking

care of his wife and children.

Honey, your stamina has

come back now. We can leave

for Phnom Penh tomorrow,

Pitou suggested to Pisey whowas gazing at their triplessleeping.

Yes, sweetheart. Ill go topack our belongings now, re-

plied Pisey walking towards the

big black leather luggage she

had put under her bed.The next morning, at dawn,

Pitou and his family took a 24-

seat van to Phnom Penh. Along

the way, Pitou never took his

eyes off of Pisey and his chil-

dren. At dusk, reaching the sta-

tion, Pitou and his family took acab to their residence located

just outside Phnom Penh.

Pitou, Pisey and their trip-

lets were warmly welcomed by

their relatives who had already

known about their arrivalthrough a call from Pitou. Back

at home, the triplets were well

taken care of by Pitous parents

and relatives.

Two days later Pitou feeling

that his family was secure nowtook the herbs he had collectedto his lab to do experiments.

In his lab, he took different

types of herbs out of his bag

and examined them one by onecarefully. Being implacable inhis search for a cure of a new

malady, Pitou first took outMullein, a tiny dried leaf known

to heal lung congestion and the

lemon balm for anti-viral treat-

ment. He then took the violetplant he had collected from the

forest the afternoon the triplets

were born. Next he added sev-

eral other herbs and mixed

them together. To his amaze-

ment, the mix was magic. Two

weeks later, in a paroxysm ofexcitement, Pitou received a

call from the lab that his experi-

ment made history. He had

found the treatment for AH1N1.

Pitous discovery made him

one of the richest men in theworld and allowed his family to

enjoy a completely different

lifestyle he had been longing

for. Pitou realizing that his

three children brought him no

burden but unbelievable luckfinally said There is no lucklike luck brought by triplets!

Triplets of luck ...


favor of the SAC environment,

which includes a good lighting

system, air conditioner, nu-merous tables and comfort-

able chairs. These conditions

make SAC a favorable place for

study. Additionally, librarians

are helpful and available

whenever students need their

help with finding resources.The last objective of this

research is to improve the

quality of SAC. To answer to

this objective, instead of pro-viding questions with fixed

answers, the questionnaireasks respondents to write

whatever aspect of SAC they

want to improve. There are

complaints about lack of

books and movies. They sug-

gest that SAC add more gen-eral knowledge books andmovies that are related to

their courses in order that

they can use those resources

to accelerate their study. In-

terestingly, while the respon-dents were full of requests,three fourths of them were

negative about the idea of a

higher membership fee. Over

half of them are willing to pay

only 4000 Riels and below,which is the current fee, for a

one-year membership.

Even with our greatesteffort, this research and its

findings are limited and far

from being perfect. Some ofthe difficulties we faced in-

cluded inaccessibility to the

sample, lost questionnaires,unwilling participants, and

software problems. At the

same time, the sample size is

too small in comparison tothousands of IFL students.

However, we hope that our

research has contributed some

knowledge to students, SAC,and IFL as a whole and paves

the way for further studies.

IFLs Recent ActivitiesAs Busy As Always

Students

Satisfaction ...


8/8

Documents

The Ifl Prospect Vol2 Issue1 Oct 2009-Jan 2010