Questions for anyone:
Why did you move to Cambodia? When?
- Now in my 4th year, fell in love with the people and the culture here

Do you know Khmer or do you primarily communicate with Cambodians using English or another language?
- I knew a lot of words and common phrases that id picked up over the years and had done a lot of self studying, i can understand more than i can speak, but i now go to school here and have a private tutor who has really helped me advance and gain confidence with my speaking of the khmer language, pronunciation, grammar etc. all my khmer friends have really been impressed with how much more khmer i can speak now and its much easier for us to communicate, im far from fluent but i find it much easier speaking to the locals in khmer than speaking in english, unless they are fluent in english of coarse

How common is it to find English speakers?
i find theres a lot of khmers that dont speak english or its very limited, just on a day to day basis, i find that when i communicate with the locals i have to speak khmer, but on the other hand in the more touristy areas you come across locals that speak very good english and are completely fluent,
i have friends that dont speak english or its very very limited, and then i have some friends that actually prefer speaking english,
i tend to try avoid touristy areas and prefer hanging around with the locals so being able to communicate in khmer really is a must, im not fluent yet as im still learning but i know enough to get by, i have a couple of expat friends who speak a lot more than me and its great watching them communicate, it really is a key to having a better experience here, unless you prefer sticking to touristy areas i guess


When you tell people you are an expat, how do they treat you? Are expats generally respected and treated well in Cambodia?
i think they treat you different if youre an expat that takes an interest in the country, its people and the culture, an expat that can speak khmer definitely gets treated/repected better than one that cant, i find they are always interested in knowing how long youve lived here and are always impressed when you know how to speak some khmer, they seem to be more relaxed and open and treat you like one of their own, and are always thankful for loving their country,
i think the language barrier is something here that can really effect your experience, usually with the older crowd, if youre not in one of the tourist zones and the khmer person you are trying to speak to doesnt speak any english, it can sometimes be a very awkward and sometimes wont communicate at all, i do think the younger generation are far more advanced with their english compared to the older generation, far more can speak english and speak english well

FYI, i am neither English teacher nor expat here.

Questions for English Teachers:

Why did you decide to teach English in Cambodia? What is the nature of the TESL program you are involved in?

In my opinion, most English teachers decided to teach English in Cambodia, because it is so easy to get teaching job in Cambodia. Moreover, Cambodia might be the only country in the region where many language schools don't require much. Most native speakers who don't have teaching degree still can get teaching job in Cambodia. Talking about TESL program, it is really hard to give you the nature of them i would say. As in Cambodia different schools have different programs. Some schools use UK, US, Singapore, Australian curriculum. Most schools in Cambodia don't really have their own English language curriculum.

-When and where are you teaching in Cambodia? Who are your students?

N/A. I think most foreigners are teaching in major cities of Cambodia such as Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Kampot, Kampong Cham and Battambang. I would say those from middle class families while many from poor family couldn't afford the school fee. However there is an alternative way where those poor kids can study English. They can go to school run or support by local or international organisation that offer lessons for free of charge.

What are some pros and cons of teaching English in Cambodia? (I’ve heard that it can be extremely easy to get employed, but that you may end up working for a program that is disorganized, how accurate is this?)

It is easy to get teaching job in Cambodia, however you might get less salary but you have to work more hours. Not to mention, you have to listen to school director even though you don't agree on some points. Many people ended up quitting their job for this reason.

What do your students (and/or your Cambodian friends) believe they will gain from learning English?

Most of Cambodian believe that if they could speak and write English, they will be able to get job easily and chance are that they would get good job with higher salary. However, there are some Cambodians study English with of hope of getting oversea scholarships and some other people study English for communication and social reason.

For me, i study English, because i want to understand Donald Trump's speeches.

Do your students or friends speak English outside of classes? In what contexts?

Cambodian students do speak English with each other outside of the classroom while they are hanging out together as at school teacher always encourage them to speak together in English as a way to improve their speaking skill. Some Cambodians like to practice their speaking skill with native speakers or foreigners.

Do you believe that Cambodia has its own unique form of English, i.e. as Singapore and India do?

I do believe that Cambodia has it won unique form of English.

If you believe there is such a thing as Cambodian English, what are its features?

So, some Cambodians would speak English by putting each English word together following how they speak Khmer or Cambodian. It is like actual translation. For instance, for native speaker you would say DON'T HAVE but Cambodian might say NO HAVE.

Questions for anyone:

Why did you move to Cambodia? When?

In my opinion, because it is so easy to get visit. Cambodia almost let everyone to enter the country. It is relatively cheap, maybe not anymore and it is very lawless.

Do you know Khmer or do you primarily communicate with Cambodians using English or another language?

Yes. I know little moon or Prahkeitouj via this forum. We communicate here by using English. Sometime i try to communicate with her using Khmer.

How common is it to find English speakers?

I think, not many Cambodian that speak or write good English. however many of them can get by with foreigners just fine. You might be able find more Cambodian-English speaker in major cities like Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh.

When you tell people you are an expat, how do they treat you? Are expats generally respected and treated well in Cambodia?

Cambodian in general is discriminated to black people. In Cambodia, skin is really matter. However, in general expats are respected and treated well in Cambodia. Good thing about Cambodia is that no matter how weird you are, it doesn't really bother local. Local seems to not be able to identify weird things you might have done in Cambodia are also considered strange back home. They think that because you are foreigner, so those weird things might be just normal in your country. You might have problem in Cambodia if you are an absolute methhead.

yeah i notice a lot of kids/teens speaking to each other in english, i guess it could be seen as a way of showing off that they can speak english for better social status, i also notice kids speaking english to each other because their mother/parents cant understand what they are saying becuase their parents dont speak english haha

yeah i agree with samouth on the fact about Cambodian-English and how they structure their sentences and choice of words, if im speaking english to a cambodian i have to speak in the cambodian style broken english so they understand, if i spoke my northern british english they wouldnt have a clue what im saying, tbh its often anyone thats not from the UK struggles

Samouth wrote: You might have problem in Cambodia if you are an absolute methhead and crazy cunt.

@Samouth: You know about levels of language since you are a translator. The c- word is not appropriate here. Too strong, too slang. You could have just written "...and/or crazy" to get the message across. Just my opinion. It's easy to say things that are a bit shocking in another language, so try not to exaggerate too much or you will find yourself saying what you don't mean.( The c-word is particularly rude when talking to someone you don't know.)

Right,just trying to be constructive . Remember that c--- is a 4 letter word that you don't use to everyone.

Anchor Moy wrote:

Samouth wrote: You might have problem in Cambodia if you are an absolute methhead and crazy cunt.

@Samouth: You know about levels of language since you are a translator. The c- word is not appropriate here. Too strong, too slang. You could have just written "...and/or crazy" to get the message across. Just my opinion. It's easy to say things that are a bit shocking in another language, so try not to exaggerate too much or you will find yourself saying what you don't mean.( The c-word is particularly rude when talking to someone you don't know.)

Right,just trying to be constructive . Remember that c--- is a 4 letter word that you don't use to everyone.

if you want to politely call someone a Cunt, you just say to them "See(C) You(U) Next(N) Tuesday(T)"

Anchor Moy wrote:

Samouth wrote: You might have problem in Cambodia if you are an absolute methhead and crazy cunt.

@Samouth: You know about levels of language since you are a translator. The c- word is not appropriate here. Too strong, too slang. You could have just written "...and/or crazy" to get the message across. Just my opinion. It's easy to say things that are a bit shocking in another language, so try not to exaggerate too much or you will find yourself saying what you don't mean.( The c-word is particularly rude when talking to someone you don't know.)

Right,just trying to be constructive . Remember that c--- is a 4 letter word that you don't use to everyone.

Sorry OP, i didn't call you that C, just to be clear.

Thanks Anchor Mouy.

Jamie_Lambo wrote:

Anchor Moy wrote:

Samouth wrote: You might have problem in Cambodia if you are an absolute methhead and crazy cunt.

@Samouth: You know about levels of language since you are a translator. The c- word is not appropriate here. Too strong, too slang. You could have just written "...and/or crazy" to get the message across. Just my opinion. It's easy to say things that are a bit shocking in another language, so try not to exaggerate too much or you will find yourself saying what you don't mean.( The c-word is particularly rude when talking to someone you don't know.)

Right,just trying to be constructive . Remember that c--- is a 4 letter word that you don't use to everyone.

if you want to politely call someone a Cunt, you just say to them "See(C) You(U) Next(N) Tuesday(T)"

Poetry in motion.

Hi Englishes, I'm not an English teacher here, but I speak Cambodian. To me the general level of English is low. I use Cambodian a lot because the average person I meet can't converse in English. Among well educated people English tends to be good. There doesn't seem to be the equivalent of Chinglish or Singlish here- that is, a form that's developed its own phrases and vocabulary. It seems that too few people use English for one to have developed. As Jamie noted, youngsters seem to use English with each other so maybe a khminglish will develop.