English for Cambodians

Since arriving in Poipet I've been doing some English teaching. The text books we use are good for language learning... but sometimes I wonder about the value of teaching Cambodian students speaking skills through ordering hot dogs and fries or writing skills through answering comprehension questions about Mike's ski vacation. I was excited to find a series of small books called English for Cambodians in a local store. These are the books that students from Grade 7-12 study. Here are two of my favourite texts from Book One:

1. This is Mrs touch. She's got a nice family. It isn't too big and it isn't too small. She's got two sons and a daughter. Her daughter's got a baby. She's happy. Mr Touch's a grandmother, but she's only forty years old. She's lucky.

[So lucky! So Cambodian!]

2. Navy's got a lovely birthday present... a story book. The book is about two men in Australia, The first man is American. He wants to fly back to the U.S.A, but he can't. He hasn't got any money. He's looking for a job, but he can't one. He hates being poor. He wants to kill someone. The second man is an Australian policeman. He sees the American in the street with a gun. He runs after him. The American runs away, but he's slow. And he can't fly. Navy feels for him.