Hi, my khmer wife wants to improve her english so she can get a job when we move to NZ next year. She knows some basics but wants to improve so she can also have conversations with my family and friends when we get there.

Can anyone recommend a good tutor or school where she can learn english in Phnom Penh? I think she will slowly improve once she is immersed in life in NZ but she’s not working at the moment and wants to use this time to get a head start. I’m definitely not a teacher so happy she wants to get help from someone who knows what they are doing.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, especially if you have had personal experiences with the tutor/school, or know someone who has.

ACE is generally considered the top English language school in the country and isn't much pricier than the others. She'll need to do a placement test though. A tutor might provide more immediate results, but will cost a fair bit more and will really depend on his/her (the tutor's) skill level. Do a search on this forum. Newkidontheblock had a whole thread about his experience sending the wife to English schools.

Go to well established English school and stay away from the private expat tutors

Patcan wrote: ↑Mon Dec 28, 2020 6:33 pm

xX.TROPA.Xx wrote: ↑Mon Dec 28, 2020 6:16 pm Go to well established English school and stay away from the private expat tutors

Great advice cosidering most of the schools are closed if I am not mistaken.

I take it you are an "English teacher" in KOW?

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:ACE is generally considered the top English language school in the country and isn't much pricier than the others. She'll need to do a placement test though. A tutor might provide more immediate results, but will cost a fair bit more and will really depend on his/her (the tutor's) skill level. Do a search on this forum. Newkidontheblock had a whole thread about his experience sending the wife to English schools.

It’s really hit or miss. Depends on the teacher. She wouldn’t let me spend thousands a year sending her to a school that only has the professional teachers.

Now in the process of her ‘unlearning’ stuff. Football is played on a field, everyone get in a line, food is ‘to go’ or ‘take out’, and there is only math.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the replies. I did search both here and 440 but hadn’t seen anything that would help us but will definitely look out for the thread by Newkidontheblock now I know. (Update: Just found the ‘ACE craziness’ thread, thanks)

We lived in Aus/NZ for 6 months last year which helped her a lot but also made her realise that living there full time would mean learning more is worthwhile. She had a tutor before we went which helped but they are no longer available. I’ve checked out ACE but that looks a little formal for her needs (happy to be corrected if people think it’s worth it). She only really wants a couple of hours a day, 2 or 3 times a week. Nothing too serious but enough to make a difference.

She does watch a lot of english stuff on YouTube and funnily enough finds the children’s cartoons best for learning new words, I guess because she’s only at that level for now. Her level is very basic but we speak english to each other every day and I understand her fine but know that not everyone has the experience or patience we expats do to give them a break when they don’t speak perfectly. Her english is much better than my Khmer and anything she learns will help her once we move. We would be there already if it wasn’t for COVID so we’re now just waiting for the international borders to reopen without having to quarantine and then we’ll be on the move.