Hour Vannak | BELTEI International University Cambodia (original) (raw)
Papers by Hour Vannak
BELTEI International University is one among many other prestigious private higher education inst... more BELTEI International University is one among many other prestigious private higher education institutions in Cambodia. There are six faculties operating under its management such as Faculty of Education, Arts, and Humanities; Faculty of Information Technology and Sciences; Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality; Faculty of Business Administration, and Faculty of Law and Social Sciences. There are fifty-six individual lecturers who serve the institution under different faculties, and among whom, thirty-two are part-time, and twenty-two are full-time lecturers. The aim of the study is to examine the level of job satisfaction among all lecturers. A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study, which has been proven reliable as a data-collection method, and which enabled the study to gather the necessary data efficiently and effectively at one point in time. The questionnaire method of data collection was used for this study. The questionnaire was structured into one part only, which include twenty-eight items. 5-point categorical Likert Scale was used to measure respondents’ opinions. Furthermore, twenty-six lecturers were selected to be the sample using a table random sampling technique in order to select appropriate proportions of the sample. The findings indicate that in most aspects, lecturers are quite satisfied with the job despite having shown some dissatisfactions on each of the four aspects ranging from roles of the university in developing their professionalism, their income in comparison to their ability, their working conditions, and how their superiors support them in their work.
Covid-19 as forced most teaching to go online on an unchartered and unprecedented scale. Students... more Covid-19 as forced most teaching to go online on an unchartered and unprecedented scale. Students’ learning and assessments are also shifted online, with a lot of trial and error and uncertainty for every stakeholder. Most importantly, these interruptions may stay around for long term, and produce undesired consequences for educational institution, and are likely to increase inequality. There is significant number of educational challenges caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These challenges are discussed in SWOT analysis below. SWOT is an acronym Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Completing a SWOT analysis help to provide insight into areas of focus during a strategic planning process.
Developing test paper can be challenging, and not all test contents meet their objectives. In thi... more Developing test paper can be challenging, and not all test contents meet their objectives. In this study, the researcher has developed a Multiple Choice Reading Comprehension Test for young learners with three main purposes: firstly, getting to know about the sample’s reading comprehension level by computing the mean, median and standard deviation, secondly analyzing the quality of each test item by computing the Difficulty Index and Discrimination Index for each item, and thirdly evaluating the effectiveness of each option or alternative. The findings show that only 20% of the students selected as the sample have performed better than the average and 17% below the average. Test items range from being too difficult to fairly easy with different levels of
the effectiveness of each alternative.
Self-learning is the only method used in Kumon centers. It is the ability to set goals and solve ... more Self-learning is the only method used in Kumon centers. It is the ability to set goals and solve unfamiliar and challenging tasks independently. With the Kumon Method, students progress on their own without being traditionally taught. Worksheets are always completed by students independently. While Kumon method receives widespread support, it also comes with many backstops.
Qualitative research is a design used to study a particular group of people in order to find out ... more Qualitative research is a design used to study a particular group of people in order to find out about their beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviours, perceptions, experiences, and how they make meanings in their lives. In short, it is used by the researcher to look deeply inside individuals, to observe the meaning of their lives, and to observe how they create those meanings. For this reason, qualitative research has become very popular among other research methods and it keeps gaining attention from researchers around world in many different fields. Educational organizations have widely employed qualitative research for different purposes.
Focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their pe... more Focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. There are more participants sitting in the same room in focus group while depth interview only involves one respondent at a time with the researcher.
Qualitative observation subjectively focuses on gathering information which emphasizes on differe... more Qualitative observation subjectively focuses on gathering information which emphasizes on differences in quality rather than quantity. The number of participants is small because the researcher focuses on digging out details from each participant. Therefore, qualitative observation can be done easily with fewer participants.
Issues of diversity play a role in how students and teachers view the importance of the classroom... more Issues of diversity play a role in how students and teachers view the importance of the classroom and what should happen there. This diversity comprises of different socioeconomic backgrounds, learning abilities, needs and perceptions. It is undeniable that in a student-centered learning environment, students are allowed to participate in choosing their favorite activities, which are built upon learning objectives, and contents from other sources outside the textbooks. This result attributes to the inquiry-based learning approach (used in student-centered approach) which encourages collaborative learning in which students (regardless their abilities) learn to work in group in order to find a solution to the assigned problem and take roles in presenting their finding information.
Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate information because critical thinkers ra... more Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate information because critical thinkers raise vital questions and problems, formulate them clearly, gather and assess relevant information, use abstract ideas, think open-mindedly, and communicate effectively with others. Critical thinking is a very important skill required by everyone in every setting. It helps them deal with all types of problems more effectively ranging from those inside to those outside the classroom.
This paper discusses two pairs of approaches used in teaching literature in the ESL classroom: Re... more This paper discusses two pairs of approaches used in teaching literature in the ESL classroom: Reader-centered Approach versus Language-based Approach and Thematic Approach versus Cultural Model Approach. There are similarities between the role of the teacher in reader-centred approach and that of the teacher in language-based approach.Thematic approach appears to be more effective used in teaching literature. Unlike cultural model approach which is teacher-centred, thematic approach is student-centred by which all students are required to involve in the teaching and learning process directly.
Literature should be an important component in the Cambodian ESL classroom. Literature is a term ... more Literature should be an important component in the Cambodian ESL classroom. Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. Since literature has covered a wide range of components regarding English language, I believe it is very important to be implemented in the Cambodian ESL classroom. Before we discuss further why we should include literature in the ESL classroom, we should look into the current problems and practice of teaching and learning English in Cambodian schools.
Problems arising in the English classroom are common especially among young learners. They have p... more Problems arising in the English classroom are common especially among young learners. They have prevailed in ESL classrooms, Self-learning centers, and many other learning institutions across the globe. Therefore, teachers need not only be equipped with knowledge, skills, and experience in imparting knowledge to their students but also classroom management skills to maintain order during teaching and learning process.
To become fluent readers, ESL students must know that, besides communicating, they need to do a l... more To become fluent readers, ESL students must know that, besides communicating, they need to do a lot of reading. For the students to achieve their reading fluency, ESL teachers must help them by teaching them a range of reading comprehension strategies and be encouraged to reflect on their own understanding and learning. This is crucial because these reading strategies, once acquired, the students will be able to read English texts beyond their literal interpretation and are able to reflect on complex meanings of the text whether by the implicating and/or deducting process.
Natural-Based Approach and Communicative Language Teaching Approach share certain similarities. ... more Natural-Based Approach and Communicative Language Teaching Approach share certain similarities. Both approaches share the same goal, which focuses on teaching speaking competence. To be competent in a language, the child must go through three main stages namely Comprehension, Early Production, and Emergent Language. Besides, referring to Irvine Valley College (2013), the Natural-Based Approach is designed to develop communication skills while Richards (2006) stated that Communicative Language Teaching Approach aims at teaching communicative competence, and which includes the following aspects of language knowledge:
Grammar is very important because it is the system that guides us to using correct sentence struc... more Grammar is very important because it is the system that guides us to using correct sentence structures so as to make our meanings through words understandable. I strongly agree that grammar should be taught in the ESL classroom. Why is grammar so important? Looking back into my English language teaching experiences, I’ve never seen any of my ESL students, especially for those English is not their first language, could speak proper English without learning grammar rules.
The application of Behaviourism in the classroom aims to increase student performance, motivation... more The application of Behaviourism in the classroom aims to increase student performance, motivation and learning. Knowing students' behaviours, teachers, lecturers or trainers will find it easier to teach as they know how to tackle students to engage in a more meaningful, interesting and motivating work.
The application of learning theories in the classroom aims to increase student performance, motiv... more The application of learning theories in the classroom aims to increase student performance, motivation and learning. Using appropriate learning theories; teachers, lecturers or trainers will find it easier to teach, as students are engaged in more meaningful, interesting and motivating work. Constructivism Approach can be a very useful tool if properly implemented in the classroom.
Education is a life-long process of learning. Its aim is to develop a particular country as a who... more Education is a life-long process of learning. Its aim is to develop a particular country as a whole by imparting knowledge, skills, and values to its citizens using the world latest technology. Education is meant to produce individuals who are competent, diligent, creative, patriotic, responsible, righteous and virtuous and who will transform the country into one of the best developed, peaceful, and harmonious places in the world.
Many English learners are not confident and competent in speaking English language. To find out m... more Many English learners are not confident and competent in speaking English language. To find out more about the problem and solution, the researcher has employed a role-play training programme to see its effects. The programme conducted in this study was analyzed from social constructivist perspectives. The conceptual framework was used to examine learners’ perception as well as to measure the impact of role-play training programme on learners’ speaking fluency. The study found that role-play training programme in a conversational course showed a positive result using both quantitative and qualitative instruments such as pre-post tests, questionnaire and reflection journals for students. The overall findings proved that all participants strongly agreed role-playing helped them improve their speaking fluency. Role-play training programme has brought a positive impact on learners’ speaking fluency because of its flexibility, design (mainly for peer learning and collaboration) and suitability to learners’ needs and levels.
BELTEI International University is one among many other prestigious private higher education inst... more BELTEI International University is one among many other prestigious private higher education institutions in Cambodia. There are six faculties operating under its management such as Faculty of Education, Arts, and Humanities; Faculty of Information Technology and Sciences; Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality; Faculty of Business Administration, and Faculty of Law and Social Sciences. There are fifty-six individual lecturers who serve the institution under different faculties, and among whom, thirty-two are part-time, and twenty-two are full-time lecturers. The aim of the study is to examine the level of job satisfaction among all lecturers. A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study, which has been proven reliable as a data-collection method, and which enabled the study to gather the necessary data efficiently and effectively at one point in time. The questionnaire method of data collection was used for this study. The questionnaire was structured into one part only, which include twenty-eight items. 5-point categorical Likert Scale was used to measure respondents’ opinions. Furthermore, twenty-six lecturers were selected to be the sample using a table random sampling technique in order to select appropriate proportions of the sample. The findings indicate that in most aspects, lecturers are quite satisfied with the job despite having shown some dissatisfactions on each of the four aspects ranging from roles of the university in developing their professionalism, their income in comparison to their ability, their working conditions, and how their superiors support them in their work.
Covid-19 as forced most teaching to go online on an unchartered and unprecedented scale. Students... more Covid-19 as forced most teaching to go online on an unchartered and unprecedented scale. Students’ learning and assessments are also shifted online, with a lot of trial and error and uncertainty for every stakeholder. Most importantly, these interruptions may stay around for long term, and produce undesired consequences for educational institution, and are likely to increase inequality. There is significant number of educational challenges caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These challenges are discussed in SWOT analysis below. SWOT is an acronym Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Completing a SWOT analysis help to provide insight into areas of focus during a strategic planning process.
Developing test paper can be challenging, and not all test contents meet their objectives. In thi... more Developing test paper can be challenging, and not all test contents meet their objectives. In this study, the researcher has developed a Multiple Choice Reading Comprehension Test for young learners with three main purposes: firstly, getting to know about the sample’s reading comprehension level by computing the mean, median and standard deviation, secondly analyzing the quality of each test item by computing the Difficulty Index and Discrimination Index for each item, and thirdly evaluating the effectiveness of each option or alternative. The findings show that only 20% of the students selected as the sample have performed better than the average and 17% below the average. Test items range from being too difficult to fairly easy with different levels of
the effectiveness of each alternative.
Self-learning is the only method used in Kumon centers. It is the ability to set goals and solve ... more Self-learning is the only method used in Kumon centers. It is the ability to set goals and solve unfamiliar and challenging tasks independently. With the Kumon Method, students progress on their own without being traditionally taught. Worksheets are always completed by students independently. While Kumon method receives widespread support, it also comes with many backstops.
Qualitative research is a design used to study a particular group of people in order to find out ... more Qualitative research is a design used to study a particular group of people in order to find out about their beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviours, perceptions, experiences, and how they make meanings in their lives. In short, it is used by the researcher to look deeply inside individuals, to observe the meaning of their lives, and to observe how they create those meanings. For this reason, qualitative research has become very popular among other research methods and it keeps gaining attention from researchers around world in many different fields. Educational organizations have widely employed qualitative research for different purposes.
Focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their pe... more Focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. There are more participants sitting in the same room in focus group while depth interview only involves one respondent at a time with the researcher.
Qualitative observation subjectively focuses on gathering information which emphasizes on differe... more Qualitative observation subjectively focuses on gathering information which emphasizes on differences in quality rather than quantity. The number of participants is small because the researcher focuses on digging out details from each participant. Therefore, qualitative observation can be done easily with fewer participants.
Issues of diversity play a role in how students and teachers view the importance of the classroom... more Issues of diversity play a role in how students and teachers view the importance of the classroom and what should happen there. This diversity comprises of different socioeconomic backgrounds, learning abilities, needs and perceptions. It is undeniable that in a student-centered learning environment, students are allowed to participate in choosing their favorite activities, which are built upon learning objectives, and contents from other sources outside the textbooks. This result attributes to the inquiry-based learning approach (used in student-centered approach) which encourages collaborative learning in which students (regardless their abilities) learn to work in group in order to find a solution to the assigned problem and take roles in presenting their finding information.
Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate information because critical thinkers ra... more Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate information because critical thinkers raise vital questions and problems, formulate them clearly, gather and assess relevant information, use abstract ideas, think open-mindedly, and communicate effectively with others. Critical thinking is a very important skill required by everyone in every setting. It helps them deal with all types of problems more effectively ranging from those inside to those outside the classroom.
This paper discusses two pairs of approaches used in teaching literature in the ESL classroom: Re... more This paper discusses two pairs of approaches used in teaching literature in the ESL classroom: Reader-centered Approach versus Language-based Approach and Thematic Approach versus Cultural Model Approach. There are similarities between the role of the teacher in reader-centred approach and that of the teacher in language-based approach.Thematic approach appears to be more effective used in teaching literature. Unlike cultural model approach which is teacher-centred, thematic approach is student-centred by which all students are required to involve in the teaching and learning process directly.
Literature should be an important component in the Cambodian ESL classroom. Literature is a term ... more Literature should be an important component in the Cambodian ESL classroom. Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. Since literature has covered a wide range of components regarding English language, I believe it is very important to be implemented in the Cambodian ESL classroom. Before we discuss further why we should include literature in the ESL classroom, we should look into the current problems and practice of teaching and learning English in Cambodian schools.
Problems arising in the English classroom are common especially among young learners. They have p... more Problems arising in the English classroom are common especially among young learners. They have prevailed in ESL classrooms, Self-learning centers, and many other learning institutions across the globe. Therefore, teachers need not only be equipped with knowledge, skills, and experience in imparting knowledge to their students but also classroom management skills to maintain order during teaching and learning process.
To become fluent readers, ESL students must know that, besides communicating, they need to do a l... more To become fluent readers, ESL students must know that, besides communicating, they need to do a lot of reading. For the students to achieve their reading fluency, ESL teachers must help them by teaching them a range of reading comprehension strategies and be encouraged to reflect on their own understanding and learning. This is crucial because these reading strategies, once acquired, the students will be able to read English texts beyond their literal interpretation and are able to reflect on complex meanings of the text whether by the implicating and/or deducting process.
Natural-Based Approach and Communicative Language Teaching Approach share certain similarities. ... more Natural-Based Approach and Communicative Language Teaching Approach share certain similarities. Both approaches share the same goal, which focuses on teaching speaking competence. To be competent in a language, the child must go through three main stages namely Comprehension, Early Production, and Emergent Language. Besides, referring to Irvine Valley College (2013), the Natural-Based Approach is designed to develop communication skills while Richards (2006) stated that Communicative Language Teaching Approach aims at teaching communicative competence, and which includes the following aspects of language knowledge:
Grammar is very important because it is the system that guides us to using correct sentence struc... more Grammar is very important because it is the system that guides us to using correct sentence structures so as to make our meanings through words understandable. I strongly agree that grammar should be taught in the ESL classroom. Why is grammar so important? Looking back into my English language teaching experiences, I’ve never seen any of my ESL students, especially for those English is not their first language, could speak proper English without learning grammar rules.
The application of Behaviourism in the classroom aims to increase student performance, motivation... more The application of Behaviourism in the classroom aims to increase student performance, motivation and learning. Knowing students' behaviours, teachers, lecturers or trainers will find it easier to teach as they know how to tackle students to engage in a more meaningful, interesting and motivating work.
The application of learning theories in the classroom aims to increase student performance, motiv... more The application of learning theories in the classroom aims to increase student performance, motivation and learning. Using appropriate learning theories; teachers, lecturers or trainers will find it easier to teach, as students are engaged in more meaningful, interesting and motivating work. Constructivism Approach can be a very useful tool if properly implemented in the classroom.
Education is a life-long process of learning. Its aim is to develop a particular country as a who... more Education is a life-long process of learning. Its aim is to develop a particular country as a whole by imparting knowledge, skills, and values to its citizens using the world latest technology. Education is meant to produce individuals who are competent, diligent, creative, patriotic, responsible, righteous and virtuous and who will transform the country into one of the best developed, peaceful, and harmonious places in the world.
Many English learners are not confident and competent in speaking English language. To find out m... more Many English learners are not confident and competent in speaking English language. To find out more about the problem and solution, the researcher has employed a role-play training programme to see its effects. The programme conducted in this study was analyzed from social constructivist perspectives. The conceptual framework was used to examine learners’ perception as well as to measure the impact of role-play training programme on learners’ speaking fluency. The study found that role-play training programme in a conversational course showed a positive result using both quantitative and qualitative instruments such as pre-post tests, questionnaire and reflection journals for students. The overall findings proved that all participants strongly agreed role-playing helped them improve their speaking fluency. Role-play training programme has brought a positive impact on learners’ speaking fluency because of its flexibility, design (mainly for peer learning and collaboration) and suitability to learners’ needs and levels.