Student Adam Leng tries to pronounce the vowels as Hin San guides him at the blackboard at the Oak Park apartments in Oakland. Photo by Judith Calson, special to the Chronicle 
Emily Sam, 4, Adam Leang, 9, Lisa Kong, 8, Jasmine Nhep, 10, and Alena Kim, 11 (from left), bow as the language class begins. Photo by Judith Calson, special to the Chronicle Monday, October 30, 2006
OAKLAND
THE MOTHER TONGUE
By Vanessa Hua, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle (California, USA)
Cambodian children in Oakland chanting the alphabet in the ancient language of their ancestors one recent afternoon were helping build their community -- and their own futures.
To preserve their culture and help children communicate with their families, Cambodian Community Development Inc., a nonprofit service provider, began offering a free Khmer language class this month to a dozen students, ages 4 to 13.
"Cambodian youth are already struggling to communicate with their parents," said director Ratha Chuon. "One of the ways to tackle this issue is for them to learn the language."
Chuon, 26, was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and grew up in the Tenderloin. As a child, she studied Khmer for two years before her San Francisco school closed. "It would help so much for kids of the next generation."
If the program takes off, she plans to offer classes for adults on reading and writing the language, spoken by up to 21 million people in Cambodia and communities abroad. From 1975 to 1979, during the reign of the Khmer Rouge -- the bloody government that killed an estimated 1.5 million people -- officials destroyed much of the Cambodian literary heritage, burning books and closing schools and libraries.
Alameda County is home to about 4,300 Cambodians, part of a larger Bay Area community of 13,098, according to a report by the Asian Pacific Legal Center in Los Angeles that analyzed U.S. census data from 2000.
Many Cambodians living here escaped the Khmer Rouge or left their homeland during the earlier years of the U.S. military intervention in Southeast Asia. More than a third of Bay Area Cambodians live in poverty, and most did not graduate from high school.
The class meets at Oak Park, an affordable housing development that houses many Cambodian families. Lemongrass and other Asian herbs and vegetables grow in the community garden.
When class began, the seven students stood with palms together, bowed their heads and gave Buddhist monk Him San, 27, the traditional greeting for elders.
The boys wore baggy jeans and oversize shirts and football jerseys, the girls wore pink jackets and dangly earrings, but for an hour, they were immersed in Cambodian education.
Clad in a saffron robe, the monk wrote the first few vowels, with swoops and feathers and curls, on the chalkboard and asked the class to copy and to repeat after him. The Khmer alphabet has 24 vowels and 32 consonants in total.
"That's good, you remembered," he said in Khmer to the class.
Him San pointed at his lip when he wanted them to enunciate each sound.
The class clapped when Brian Tan, 7, read the vowels confidently and then grinned.
The children read pages photocopied from a children's textbook Him San, a recent immigrant, brought from Cambodia. The young monk, ordained at 12, has a lot of teaching experience and was available to volunteer.
Three staff members moved among the students, making sure they understood.
When Alena Kim's turn came around, she buried her head in her arms, giggling.
"I don't get it. It's too hard," said Alena, 11, before she got through the vowels with the prompting of the monk.
Jasmine Nhep, 12, of Oakland said she likes everything about the class, from writing to speaking.
Kob Kong, 12, said he has learned more about Cambodia. Before, he imagined the houses were tiny, but he has learned that some are very large.
"I want my daughter to grow up and know her culture, instead of losing it," said Saroun Ek, 30, who enrolled her 4-year-old daughter, Emily. Ek does not know how to read or write the language herself. "I want my daughter to know it better than me."
E-mail Vanessa Hua at vahua@sfchronicle.com.
To preserve their culture and help children communicate with their families, Cambodian Community Development Inc., a nonprofit service provider, began offering a free Khmer language class this month to a dozen students, ages 4 to 13.
"Cambodian youth are already struggling to communicate with their parents," said director Ratha Chuon. "One of the ways to tackle this issue is for them to learn the language."
Chuon, 26, was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and grew up in the Tenderloin. As a child, she studied Khmer for two years before her San Francisco school closed. "It would help so much for kids of the next generation."
If the program takes off, she plans to offer classes for adults on reading and writing the language, spoken by up to 21 million people in Cambodia and communities abroad. From 1975 to 1979, during the reign of the Khmer Rouge -- the bloody government that killed an estimated 1.5 million people -- officials destroyed much of the Cambodian literary heritage, burning books and closing schools and libraries.
Alameda County is home to about 4,300 Cambodians, part of a larger Bay Area community of 13,098, according to a report by the Asian Pacific Legal Center in Los Angeles that analyzed U.S. census data from 2000.
Many Cambodians living here escaped the Khmer Rouge or left their homeland during the earlier years of the U.S. military intervention in Southeast Asia. More than a third of Bay Area Cambodians live in poverty, and most did not graduate from high school.
The class meets at Oak Park, an affordable housing development that houses many Cambodian families. Lemongrass and other Asian herbs and vegetables grow in the community garden.
When class began, the seven students stood with palms together, bowed their heads and gave Buddhist monk Him San, 27, the traditional greeting for elders.
The boys wore baggy jeans and oversize shirts and football jerseys, the girls wore pink jackets and dangly earrings, but for an hour, they were immersed in Cambodian education.
Clad in a saffron robe, the monk wrote the first few vowels, with swoops and feathers and curls, on the chalkboard and asked the class to copy and to repeat after him. The Khmer alphabet has 24 vowels and 32 consonants in total.
"That's good, you remembered," he said in Khmer to the class.
Him San pointed at his lip when he wanted them to enunciate each sound.
The class clapped when Brian Tan, 7, read the vowels confidently and then grinned.
The children read pages photocopied from a children's textbook Him San, a recent immigrant, brought from Cambodia. The young monk, ordained at 12, has a lot of teaching experience and was available to volunteer.
Three staff members moved among the students, making sure they understood.
When Alena Kim's turn came around, she buried her head in her arms, giggling.
"I don't get it. It's too hard," said Alena, 11, before she got through the vowels with the prompting of the monk.
Jasmine Nhep, 12, of Oakland said she likes everything about the class, from writing to speaking.
Kob Kong, 12, said he has learned more about Cambodia. Before, he imagined the houses were tiny, but he has learned that some are very large.
"I want my daughter to grow up and know her culture, instead of losing it," said Saroun Ek, 30, who enrolled her 4-year-old daughter, Emily. Ek does not know how to read or write the language herself. "I want my daughter to know it better than me."
E-mail Vanessa Hua at vahua@sfchronicle.com.
2 comments:
Excellent idea! Lucky you kids!
Does it happen in every City and State?
If not, this should be proposed to The US government as a large network of cultural education. So that every child can be benefits from it.
I also noticed that some of our kids born during the 80's and the early 90's may be out of a proposal ages for the programe, but they should also be allowed to participate and may be at a seperate class and time.
Very interesting article indeed.
I have learnt how to read in Cambodian fast with A Monk as my teacher. Sounds like fun already!
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