How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

This is where our community discusses almost anything! While we're mainly a Cambodia expat discussion forum and talk about expat life here, we debate about almost everything. Even if you're a tourist passing through Southeast Asia and want to connect with expatriates living and working in Cambodia, this is the first section of our site that you should check out. Our members start their own discussions or post links to other blogs and/or news articles they find interesting and want to chat about. So join in the fun and start new topics, or feel free to comment on anything our community members have already started! We also have some Khmer members here as well, but English is the main language used on CEO. You're welcome to have a look around, and if you decide you want to participate, you can become a part our international expat community by signing up for a free account.
jubo2
Expatriate
Posts: 162
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2019 11:02 am
Reputation: 38
Cambodia

Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

Post by jubo2 »

explorer wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2019 5:18 pm
jubo2 wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2019 4:49 pm I gave up ! so boring ! they never learn, it's hopeless.
They are all different individuals. Some do learn. Some are keen to learn.

The real questions are: What is the best approach to take, to be most effective? What will motivate them the most? What will result in them learning the most?

All different ? not my experience ! At the end the only thing that i hear is LAZY, BORING, DIFFICULT, etc...
These are the words that they know the best !
lipservice
Expatriate
Posts: 84
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:44 pm
Reputation: -8

Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

Post by lipservice »

If I was her then I'd run back to the Khmer hills and leave you to your expectations
explorer
Expatriate
Posts: 2417
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 9:37 pm
Reputation: 768
Australia

Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

Post by explorer »

There are hundreds of Cambodian girls who speak English well. What was the difference?
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
User avatar
John Bingham
Expatriate
Posts: 13674
Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:26 pm
Reputation: 8892
Cambodia

Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

Post by John Bingham »

Hundreds? I meet thousands through work every year, year on year, and I've been here a while. There is a whole big world out there yet some cannot see it.
Silence, exile, and cunning.
Anthony's Weiner
Expatriate
Posts: 1634
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2017 4:00 am
Reputation: 1076
United States of America

Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

Post by Anthony's Weiner »

John Bingham wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2019 7:29 pm Hundreds? I meet thousands through work every year, year on year, and I've been here a while. There is a whole big world out there yet some cannot see it.
It is best to meet English speaking girls in the village. For example, one day I was walking in the village and a Khmer came up to me and said "what a big smile you have!" and another day I was in Phnom Penh and walked around smiling all day and no one said anything to me.
hunter8
Expatriate
Posts: 689
Joined: Sun Oct 27, 2019 7:23 pm
Reputation: 232
Cambodia

Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

Post by hunter8 »

I am curious where these hundreds and thousands of good English speakers are hiding. I have a hard time understanding hotel or restaurant staff most of the time and they are supposed to be trained on that subject, and have a lot of experience dealing with tourists.

By far, the best speakers of English i have seen so far are bar girls but those who speak well are rare even among them. Not that i care much as i prefer to practice Khmer.
User avatar
armchairlawyer
Expatriate
Posts: 2489
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 1:43 pm
Reputation: 1503
Cambodia

Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

Post by armchairlawyer »

hunter8 wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2019 11:14 am The biggest problem Cambodians and other SEA nations have with English is not grammar but mispronouncing, especially when they completely omit consonant endings, sometimes half the word. You hear it all the time from waitresses “Sir, you fini?” Of course, from the context we understand they mean the word “finished”. In other cases there is no context or it’s unclear and I often have to ask them to say again. Which is a loss of face for many of them, that is why your girlfriend shuts down after you correct her. I am sure I sound as awful when I try to speak Khmer.
Agree hugely. And it is not only Asians. There are many people in the UK now to whom English is not a first language. But they have been there so long that their vocab and grammar is excellent and their fluency is superb. The problem is their thick accent. You can understand them when they speak slowly but as their fluency improves, they become incomprehensible. Latin and African first language speakers are the worst.
User avatar
John Bingham
Expatriate
Posts: 13674
Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:26 pm
Reputation: 8892
Cambodia

Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

Post by John Bingham »

hunter8 wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2019 8:02 pm I am curious where these hundreds and thousands of good English speakers are hiding. I have a hard time understanding hotel or restaurant staff most of the time and they are supposed to be trained on that subject, and have a lot of experience dealing with tourists.

By far, the best speakers of English i have seen so far are bar girls but those who speak well are rare even among them. Not that i care much as i prefer to practice Khmer.
Nobody said hundreds of thousands. They are hiding in plain sight in the better establishments and in professions outside of the tourist industry. Most visitors will never encounter them but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Similarly most visitors to London just go to a few sights and never get to see the bigger picture either.
Silence, exile, and cunning.
hunter8
Expatriate
Posts: 689
Joined: Sun Oct 27, 2019 7:23 pm
Reputation: 232
Cambodia

Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

Post by hunter8 »

Very intriguing.
User avatar
armchairlawyer
Expatriate
Posts: 2489
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 1:43 pm
Reputation: 1503
Cambodia

Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?

Post by armchairlawyer »

hunter8 wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2019 9:26 pm Very intriguing.
I think it's true that tourist jobs are generally not that well paid and only demand a certain level of English, even in the luxury hotels.
Levels of English can be a lot better in other professions, e.g. banking and international business. In my opinion, that level is still well below that of a well-educated Westerner, but that does not matter if the necessary level of communication can take place. On the other hand, in Hong Kong and Singapore you will notice quite a difference.
Another thing worth mentioning is the low level of international knowledge here. Spoken and written English may be good but literacy is rarely strong. People here do not have a culture of reading books and acquiring general knowledge for its own sake. That does not stop them being very well versed in whatever they need to function on their particular job. But if you are looking for social relationships, you are likely to notice a difference from people in similar jobs in the West. Again, in HK and SG it is different.
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazon [Bot], Google [Bot], Khmu Nation and 1269 guests