erictheking wrote:andyinasia wrote:.
Successful change won't come at that level. It will only begin to happen when the government wakes up to the fact that education (including English teaching/learning) is improving far more rapidly in neighbouring nations such as Vietnam and Malaysia, and when ASEAN/Asia opens its borders, beginning in 2015, this will prove a disaster to Cambodia with its undeveloped human resources. Either the government needs to bring in inspections and enforced standards (call it centralisation if you like; I'm no libertarian), or the market (i.e. those very same Cambodian students and parents) need to realise just how useless their Mickey Mouse qualifications are in the genuine 'international' sphere and demand better quality teaching.
Do you think they ever will though? My experience in Cambodia is limited when compared to most on here, but the impression I get is that they are similar to the Thais in that they are quite narrow minded and merely pay lip service to seriously embracing the English language (or education, for that matter).
I get the feeling that they see the rise of their Asian neighbour, the Chinese, and expect/hope that this will render the English language obsolete in world terms over the next 50 years.
Let's face it, cultural awareness and forward planning are hardly commendable attributes for your average Thai/Khmer. Most Thais I spoke to would happily tell me "no neeeeeeeeeeeed. Thailand have e-ve-ry-thing. Can do e-ve-ry-thing." See the shambles that was the construction of the Suvarnabhumi runways for evidence of that little faux pas.
No, this is where I see a sharp contrast between Thailand and Cambodia. To generalise, Thais are racially and culturally arrogant, traits that are unusual in most Cambodians. Most Cambodian students genuinely want to learn English - they just don't want to put in the required effort.
China? My experience is at grass-roots level. Teaching military cadets, I see China giving 300 scholarships to study in China every year. Most students take them up not because they are thrilled at the prospect of living and studying in China, or learning Chinese; they go because the English-speaking West offers about 2% of that amount. If they had the choice, they'd choose America or Australia, but only my very best students end up there. I strongly suspect the attitudes of my students is indicative of the nation as a whole.
Can the government and/or private business reform? It would be easy to look at the extent of corruption and self-serving attitudes and opt for a jaded attitude. All I can say is that I see just about enough evidence to carry a modicum of hope - enough to motivate me to work my ass off to be part of it.
The pessimist in me says, 'No chance!'; the optimist says, 'Open market imminent - it HAS to, and quickly!'. The realist in me says, 'It will take 20 years, but I can sow some seeds'. I fluctuate between the three about twenty times a day.