Language Centers in Flats nearby Bak Touk High School Still Popular

By Soy Sophea

Just about 50 meters from street 169, along the street next to the southern fence of the Bak Touk High School, many flats have the learning schedules for foreign languages pasted outside their doors. These flats have been leased to provide classes for foreign language study.

Leaning on a mirrored book closet in front of his English classroom, a middle aged man was chatting to his colleagues while he took a rest after teaching many hours of English.
Looking into his classroom, Lim Hong sighed and said that today not so many students came to study English in his class, but he said he always welcomes students from everywhere over the country.

Lim Hong is an English teacher who has leased a flat in the same location for over twenty years in which to teach English. Even though there are many English centers established near his classroom, he still has many students studying English in his class.

Hong, who specializes in English grammar and English newspaper texts said that students who came to study and practice English in his class were generally university students and employed people.

“Here students spend only 1,000 riel per hour for English study. It is cheaper compared to others,” he said. “They come to study English here in detail because their study at university does not go into the same depth.”

He boasted that, “Teachers at other English centers or universities are not as good as we are, because students pay a monthly fee. Teachers don’t care about the students after the money has been paid.” he added. “If we adopted the same attitude, we could not compete
with other English training centers.”

He said he was proud that he had taught thousands of students, some of them becoming English teachers. He added that students who studied English in his class would not get any recognized certificates, but they could speak, listen, read and write as well, if not better, than the ones who trained at other language centers recognized by the Ministry of Education, Youths and Sports.

However, he advised students that they had to study hard at home; otherwise their English would not improve even though they had learnt English in his class.

He said, “Here, they spend only one or two hours per day, which is insufficient if real improvement is to be made. Their time here must be augmented by study at home.”

Chuon Sopheak, 32, a student taking English classes nearby Bak Touk High School, said that he now spent his lunch break learning English. He pays 1,000 riel per hour for English classes translating newspapers from English to Khmer.

“I have studied here for nearly 10 years,” Sopheak said, “But I almost forgot it all because I work in a field which is not related to English language use and now I want to be reminded of it again.”

“It is a good place to study for me because teachers always take care of students and do explain in more detail,” he added.

Not only Sopheak, but also 16-year-old Seang Piseth a young man from Phnom Penh is interested in studying English over there. The thin, tall and pale student said that “Students studying here, study hard.” Pesith advised to his friends who attend other centers to study hard, otherwise their English would not improve. “It depends on students
themselves. If they do not study hard, they will achieve nothing.”

Besides English, Bak Touk also has other foreign language training centers dealing in Thai, Chinese, Japanese, French, Korean and many more. Its reputation as a language
training area began in 1992 during the UNTAC (United Nation Transitional Authority in Cambodia) period. So far, hundreds of thousands of students who are mostly poor and come from provinces have been trained in foreign languages there.

Thiv Nora, who used to study English from 1995 to 2000, said that it was a good place for either students or poorly paid working people to learn to improve their foreign languages. The 28-year-old working man realized that students who paid a lot of money
at expensive classes would achieve nothing if they didn’t study in their own time. He recommended patience and practice as a route to success.

Prak Soyean, who is a manager of the ASEAN Mixture School located near Bak Touk High School, also expressed positive thoughts about these schools and their ability to cater for a wide variety of learners and their needs.

Soyean, who monitors teachers at his schools, said that, “I cannot hope to challenge the other high visibility language centers, but I care about my students and always try to give them the best value for money.”