Filipino Education Professionals in Cambodia Continue to Enhance English Language Teaching Skills
Ambassador to Cambodia Christopher B. Montero (left photo) delivers his inspirational remarks to Filipino English teachers. (Phnom Penh PE photo)
PHNOM PENH 24 December 2018 — With a vision to empower and raise the profile of Filipino education professionals in Cambodia, the Teachers’ Learning Action Guild in Cambodia (TLAGC), in partnership with the Samahan ng mga Pilipino sa Cambodia (SAMAPI), successfully concluded the conduct of the 2nd Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and Camp for Filipino English teachers in an elaborate completion ceremony held at the Royal University of Phnom Penh on 09 December 2018.
At the 2nd Celebration of Learning with the theme “Promoting quality teacher education: key to a resilient and sustainable teaching,” 232 graduates in Cambodia and 11 graduates in Thailand received their course completion certificates. Of these, 136 graduates in Cambodia finished the course with distinction.
The completion ceremony was attended by Ambassador to Cambodia Christopher B. Montero, Consul General Myca M. Fischer, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia Sundee Viñas, as well as SAMAPI Chairman Manuel Alipio and SAMAPI President Joel Dionco.
Gracing the occasion as guest of honor and speaker was Dr. Maria Catbagan-Aplaten who served as a professor and consultant in Cambodia from 2004 to 2016.
In his inspirational remarks, Ambassador Montero shared the life story of Documentation Center of Cambodia Executive Director Youk Chhang, who recently received a Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize, for his work on justice and healing.
"Mr. Chhang spent his teenage years as a Cambodian refugee at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Morong, Bataan, in the early 1980s where he was taught the English language by Filipino teachers. After receiving his award in Manila last August, Mr. Chhang returned to the site of the former refugee center and reconnected with his Filipino teachers.
On numerous occasions, Mr. Chhang had expressed profound gratitude to his Filipino teachers and friends, who he said not only taught him how to speak English, but also gave him back his humanity after suffering unspeakable horrors in the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
“I share with you this story to highlight the big impact that you as a Filipino teacher have on the life of young Cambodians. Who knows, one of your students could become a very high official, or perhaps a future Prime Minister of Cambodia someday?,” Ambassador Montero enthused.
Ambassador Montero likewise encouraged the TLAGC to transform itself not only as a platform for Filipino educators to support each other, but also to cultivate a brand that is distinctly Filipino.
The MOOC Course on Professional Development for Teacher Trainers, which aims to equip participants to create, present, and evaluate effective and engaging teacher trainings, was a five-week open online learning course and included five consecutive meet-ups in six different locations.
The course kicked-off in October 2018 and consisted of online lessons, quizzes and assignments, as well as weekly face-to-face meet-ups or “camp.” As a way of giving back, each sub-camp organized a charity outreach event.
The camp was participated in by elementary, secondary, and tertiary teachers, school heads, college students, teacher applicants, and non-teaching personnel from public and private schools in the Kingdom.
The Cambodia Camp garnered 83.09 percent completion rate, adding to the 1,211 graduates of Department of Education’s Division of Davao del Norte’s main MOOC Camp.
The sub-camp leaders were Mr. Jay Ian Capungan for Phnom Penh, Ms. Zenaida Contante for Sihanoukville, and Ms. Maria Teresa Enriquez for Siem Reap. The Cambodia Camp falls under the main camp in Davao del Norte, which is technically supported and facilitated by DepEd Division of Davao del Norte Education Program Supervisor Rebecca Casas Sagot
The program is a fully-funded open online course offered by the U.S. Department of State through the Regional English Language Office of the U.S. Embassy in Manila. The MOOC was facilitated by Arizona State University, in partnership with Canvas, the online platform for the course. END
For more information, visit www.phnompenhpe.dfa.gov.ph or @PhilippineIn on Twitter
Ambassador Christopher B. Montero with the officers of the Samahan ng mga Pilipino sa Cambodia (SAMAPI) at the 2nd Celebration of Learning held at Angkor-Kizuna Hall, Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center, Phnom Penh City. (Phnom Penh PE photo)
All smiles. The graduates of Phnom Penh City sub-camp, the biggest sub-camp in Cambodia during the 2nd Celebration of Learning last 9th December 2018 at Angkor-Kizuna Hall, CJCC-IFL, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
(Phnom Penh PE photo)
Dr. Rebecca C. Sagot, Education Program Supervisor 1 and main MOOC Camp Facilitator of DepEd Division of Davao del Norte confirms via recorded video a total of 232 graduates from Cambodia and 11 graduates from Thailand. (Phnom Penh PE photo)
Graduates of the 2nd MOOC Camp for OFWs in Cambodia take their pledges as teachers as a renewal of their commitment to strengthen and fully implement the MOOC learnings in their respective schools. (Phnom Penh PE photo)