Palmera Projects
Volunteer Development Children’s Association 2009
Amount Donated: $15,000
Project commencement: April 2009
Partner Organisations: Australian Centre for Education (ACE)
Background
Poor English competency is a barrier to gaining employment in the hospitality industry in Siem Reap as well as seeking higher education. However, most school attending children, of those that can afford schooling, only have one class per week. This limits the level and progress of learning for the students.
Cambodia has struggled with sustainability in improving the level of English provided to vulnerable communities as little investment has been provided to local teachers servicing this community. There is a large reliance placed on visiting teachers however this also presents challenges due to short time frames, inconsistent teaching approaches and a lack of appreciation of ESL – teaching English as a second language.
Project Description
VDCA is an English school started 4 years ago by two monks. The focus of the school is free supplemental English teaching for any child irrespective of financial status. By giving these children 5 classes a week these children have much higher chances of being able to gain employment and even further education.
The objectives of the project were as follows:
- Formulate a two-year academic plan with costing for twenty students.
- Determine reachable ESL level to be reached in each 6-month period.
- Address issues of Khmer language deficiencies.
- Have all training to be done at VDCA.
- Approach VDCA in a culturally sensitive way.
- Create a sustainable solution by empowering local teachers.
- Identify high performing students so they can partake in the teacher training course which would lead them to become teachers.
Palmera Projects identified the following as success indicators of the project, which would ultimately be determined by the performances, and commitments of the students:
- Train 2 teachers to provide ongoing training to future new teachers.
- At least 50% of the teachers continue to work at VDCA or other schools in partnership with VDCA.
- At least 50% of the students continue to work at VDCA or other schools in partnership with VDCA.
Description of partners
ACE
IDP Education established ACE in February 1992 in response to early language training requirements identified by the United Nations Transitional Authority of Cambodia (UNTAC). Its mission is to provide quality English instruction to foster human resource development throughout Cambodia.
The school has since grown to become a major provider of English Language Training (ELT) for embassies and NGOs.
ACE as part of IDP Cambodia’s English language school has earned official accreditation with the National ELT Accreditation Scheme (NEAS), the official accrediting body for English Language Training (ELT) schools in Australia.
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Project monitoring
The funds were administered subject to quarterly monitoring which reviewed the English improvements of the participating teachers. In the first semester there were marked improvements in the English capability of the participants in both the written and spoken word. This was assessed through formal and informal assessments by ACE and all reports were provided to Palmera. The course also focused on teaching methods however this was not assessed as part of the review process.
From the second semester onwards improvements stagnated which led to a formal review of the programme at the end of the third semester.
The formal review involved a site visit to the project where a complete assessment of the project was administered.
The outcome of the formal assessment was to stop the programme after the 4th semester as it was determined that:
- A majority of the benefits of the programme had been extracted during the four semesters.
- Logistical challenges were experienced by some of the participating teachers in attending extra English classes.
- In some instances a cultural gap existed between the beneficiary (VDCA) and the local implementing partner (ACE).
- Teachers at VDCA where transitionary and in many instances, English teaching was being used to supplement income. Given this, it was difficult to determine the lifespan of the teachers at VDCA. VDCA also could not support an in house teaching programme to ensure the effective transition of learnings from experienced to newer inexperienced teachers due to significant resource constraints.
Palmera Projects will still maintain a close relationship with VDCA and provide ad-hoc teaching volunteers who are interviewed and deemed a good fit to teach the students in VDCA.
The remaining funds raised for this project will be directed towards the Fresh Eats project, that Palmera is currently undertaking in partnership with Homeland.
