One organisation working in Battambang Province in Cambodia aims to change the landscape of English language learning in government schools through an impressive collaboration of communities, education institutes, and NGOs. The Cambodian Community Dream Organisation (CCDO) leads its bespoke English Literacy Training Programme (ELTP) for trainee teachers that will enable the graduates to effectively educate thousands of young learners as well as future generations of teachers.

The programme was implemented by CCDO in response to the Ministry of Education’s inclusion of English in the national curriculum for primary school grades 4 through 6 in 2017. Having noticed that the national curriculum shows shortcomings, such as out-of-date teaching methods, and a lack of quality control, and that a lot of the teachers are unqualified, CCDO introduced the ELTP and now directly coaches more than 300 trainee teachers per year.

Working with a local teacher training college, future generations of teachers are mentored during the well-rounded training programme. It includes language proficiency testing, a nine-month training on 21st-century teaching methods, workshops, student feedback, networking, and peer support.

A key feature of CCDO is a “hand up, but not a handout” approach; a nod to its commitment to sustainability. Once the trainees qualify and commence work in the classroom, they still have access to appropriate materials as well as a network of other qualified English teachers.

We are proud to partner with CCDO as it takes a proactive approach in addressing persisting needs in Cambodian schools. By supporting an annual cohort of teachers to become confident and engaging leaders, we envisage hundreds of classrooms where the children will have their hands up for English education!