Khmer Skype Lessons – 2020
My online Khmer Skype lessons are about 50 – 60 minutes. I encourage new Khmer students to sign up for two lessons a week for six months straight, and the first class is always a FREE trial class. . But it is entirely up to the student. Some students study once every two weeks and do a lot of studying on their own. Some students study 5 times a week. I try to work with every budget, and really want the student to learn Khmer, just not make money.
With that said to get the most of the class, it is hoped that the student will study 2 hours for each Khmer Skype lesson. I know most people are busy and if the time is not there it is still okay, but the progressing will be a little slower.
Khmer Beginners:
This level starts out using transliteration. I have a book that we can go chapter by chapter or the student can pick a subject and we can use that as a “chapter.” The book is Cambodian for Beginners by Dan Gilbert. Here is a link to Amazon for sell: Cambodian beginners book via Amazon(I do get a small commission for this link). However if you are coming to Phnom Penh, I can supply a book for a small amount, a lot cheaper then amazon.
In the beginners class I also focus on sentence structure which is very simple in Khmer. During the Khmer Skype lessons I also stress the pronunciation of tones.
Yes Khmer does not have Thai tones, but it is still very important to get the ‘tones’ right in Khmer. Some students come to me as 100% beginners, while some students have previous knowledge of Khmer vocab, but their pronunciation is sometimes not right. It is very important to get the pronunciation right before moving along.
Intermediate Khmer Students:
This level is conducted using Khmer script only, with transliteration used when needed (which is usually a good amount of time). Students paste Khmer phrases about subjects they like into Skype and I correct their mistakes, explaining what is wrong if needed.
I also ask questions in Khmer and have them write back in Khmer. Conversations are usually practiced towards the end of the class, but if more conversation is what your are interested in when can continue to build vocabulary during the Khmer Skype lesson.
For homework, students will study any new vocab and phrases. They also will make sentences using Khmer script.
Advanced Cambodian Students:
We talk about current events pertaining to Cambodia and the world, all in Khmer. During the Skype lesson the emphasis will be on using the correct word every time. In Khmer some words have many meanings, but can only be used sometimes in that context.
When they master this, the student sounds like fluent then. We really practice making everything perfect as advanced students obviously have spent a lot of time practicing and are looking to be perfect during their Khmer Skype lessons.
For reading and writing we will read the Phnom Penh Post and also articles from Khmer child books that have some traditional Cambodian stories.
From 1st day to advanced I make exercises to strengthen reading and comprehension skills based on the students” lives (stories about their friends, themselves, and family). Also I add real life readings: like restaurant menus and street signs. A part of the khmer skype class is spent going over the reading materials. The advanced students will move on to the difficult Khmer newspapers, and tabloids directed solely towards native Khmer.
Lastly I would like to say that i like to save my students’ time. If there is anything you can do while not skyping with me I will suggest you do it offline. This can save a lot of money. I want to help reinforce the correct pronunciations and make sure the grammar being used it correct.
It is important that students get their goals accomplished and no longer need to use Khmer Skype lessons anymore. This is important for 2 reasons. First, the student now has accomplished his goal which is great. Secondly, I now have a great public marketer and if any of their friends need a tutor for Khmer Skype lessons I hope i would be recommended!
2020 Tuition fees for Skype Khmer
Paid through Pay Pal, Wing, Western Union, Money Gram
30 minute Trial lesson: Free (no commitment necessary)
10 lesson course: 150 USD
20 lesson course: 275 USD
30 lesson course: 400 USD
Notes:
A Skype Khmer lesson lasts 50 minutes, however it usually an hour or even longer. I used to say 60 minutes (one hour), however with some of my back to back classes, I need to set 50 minutes, and if I have the available time to extra the 10 minutes I will, however if the student is late by a couple of minutes, I will not miss my next class.
Payment: Paypal*****, Moneygram, western union, pipay, aba payment, wing, swift transfer (bank) or cash if you or someone is in Phnom Penh.
Sadly Paypal does not allow Cambodians to use Paypal. I have a friends account that the money can be transferred over, but then that money has to get transferred over again to Cambodia via his bank account uggggh.
So I get hit with a charge from Paypal to receive the money and then a percentage charge to send the money to myself. For this reason I really discourage the use of this method and would appreciate using moneygram or western union as a first source. I do understand some apprehension on sending money to Cambodia via western union and then the teacher stops lessons…That will not happen, never has and never will :). If in doubt I can give you references or just read their testimonials or my reviews on facebook.com/skypekhmer.
Cancellation policy: Please give 24 hour (or more!) notice of any cancellation, or postponement of a Skype Khmer lesson is required. Sometimes I have to cancel, I try to give 24 hour notice to but sometimes life happens. Just the earlier I can know you are not having the lesson, the easier I can change my schedule. Thanks!
If you have any questions please do not hesitate and email me at LearnKhmerNow@gmail.com
Even if you just have a generally question, I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge (language question, travel, cultural, something you saw, etc.)
Or just fill out the comment form below and I will get back to you!
or private message me @ facebook.com/skypekhmer
Skype name: chhunvanna
Location: Phnom Penh
Regards,
Vanna
