Information About Vathanak - Camden teacher

Personal Description:

I am Khmer-Italian and teaching is always my passion and by teaching students from a wide range of backgrounds, levels, and learning styles, I have built and enhanced my communication, creativity, and motivational skills. I have completed teacher’s training program on teaching pedagogy. This enable me to create customized language lessons, plans, and program to facilitate a targeted, personalized approach to teaching while stimulating students’ enjoyment and appreciation for culture and language. I have attended many workshops to learn and utilize a wide variety of teaching techniques, such as concept checking techniques, developing speaking communication strategies, teaching functional language, creating and using role-plays, integrating Facebook and twitter in teaching, adapting authentic materials and more.

Teaching Experience:

I have been teaching Khmer language since 2012 and in 2016 I had an opportunity to teach a group of students at the University of London (School of Oriental and African Study) where I began my teaching career at academic level. I am currently working as a Khmer lead teacher at Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) language centre in London. My job is to delivery language courses to British diplomats and ambassadors who are moving to Cambodia.

Teaching Approach:

To teach a communicative lesson effectively, most of the time I use two main models of language teaching derived from communicative language teaching (CLT) approach, known as PPP (presenting, practice and production) and TBL (Task-based learning). I have also been applying this approaches using the great range of teaching and learning procedures, activities and exercises compatible with the communicative approach. In addition, I used textbooks, and authentic, real life materials that promote communicative language use as well as task-based materials such as role plays, games, group or pair work, task-work activities, and information-gap activities.

To support my teaching and the students’ learning I use a diverse range of material from textbooks, video, picture to internet. In additional, the materials I designed need to be contextualized because when I present the language with meaningful context, it makes my teaching more engaging and memorable. I always identify the material that focus on the need of individuals and of particular group. In this way I can select materials and activities at exactly the right level for particular learners. I also personalized the teaching materials by taking account of student’s interest and learning style because it helps increase motivation and engagement in learning.

Last but not least, to create an effective learning environment for the students, I need to establish classroom management in the way that works for me and my students and a student-centered environment is something that I always give priority to. Student-centered environment means in practicing language the students are the focus, not the teacher, so I encourage my students to do most of the talking and engaging, while I facilitate the way they are communicating. I also guide my students to correct language usage. Then provide them creative practices with opportunities to employ everyday usage, and participate in memorable activities.