Category: Literacy

Communication is an essential skill that everyone in this globe is using to deliver their message and interact with each other. Without expressing our gestures, we won’t be able to receive a clear information from the other person and it is significantly valuable to be able to have this skill and keep it with us everywhere we go and every time we are doing anything. 

During our second unit of literacy, we went over different types of communication skill that requires us to use in our life. The four types of communication skills that we went over in class were body language, active listening, writing a formal email and lastly video conferencing. Our goal at the end of this unit was to organize a workshop that teaches our juniors’ cohort about the four kinds of skills. 

I wanted to highlight one of the skills that I was very interested and enjoy learning the most and that was active listening.

Active listening is a skill that everyone living on this planet should have and should practice. Without understanding what others are talking about, the world won’t be able to have peace. – The plan won’t be able to implement if nobody listens to the planner. – Design won’t be able to present if nobody gives value and listen to the designer. Listen to take in rather than listen to speak. Make sure you give them value to what they are speaking because this is their turn to speak and then it’ll be you.

During our workshop, I was the facilitator of the active listening session. Personally, I love having this kind of discussion because it helps everyone to learn and gain different ideas from different people. People’s voice is so important in a way that they can help everyone grow. 

We did a few activities including telephone game, the example of mentally active listener vs the physically active listener. I really like these activities, I felt I receive so much experience or ideas from both seniors and juniors. 

Through this experience, both activities in class and during workshop have helped me as a person in school and in society to listen carefully from others and to become a more respectful person. Last thing to remember, everyone has a voice when he or she are speaking listening to understand and take it not to criticize or speak. 

As a final assessment for my literacy class this term, I wrote a poem about the American history through different articles that I read in class. I hope you enjoy reading it 🙂

It started off with one rhythm

Americans Citizens

They experienced love, scarcity, depression, success

They tried to fight for their liberty or else for death

“Give me liberty or Give me death”

Patrick Henry a man with kindness

His rousing speech resolved huge stress

Persuaded his country to battle for what is best

It took a while to escape this mess

Strictly bound under pressure from the British

That’s why they asked for either freedom or death

A year later, they received liberty and began their life with faith.

 

1781 the story of Native Americans

The story of unfairness has yet to end

Thomas Jefferson a cunning man

His four letters were all intense

He wanted the Indian to give up his land

Like getting rid of the dirty shirt that stuck with stain

His tone started off nice but blaming at the end

He used rhetorical devices to convince Ben

He was acting very gentle but he actually pretend

However assimilation did not happen

And all Indians keep fighting till the end.

 

Here comes the Civil War, 1861

Split Southerner and Northerner bond

The South needed slaves to work upon

Such growing crops like wheat and corns

The North was anti-slavery and they held on

“Climate was the roots” that split the one

Laws have been made and spread beyond

This whole nation and its phenomenon

Black Africans became the target that the US want

They became property to sell and were put-on

The auction block to be bought

And shipped them out, to the place they did not belong

Fiercely manipulate the Black Africans upon.

 

Then the immigration was discussed

The U.S. worked to exclude certain immigrants in the past

They need to be physically strong, healthy and fast

The U.S. immigration laws were strict and was difficult to pass

29 probing questions is a difficult task

It’s not like when students playing bluff

And those immigrants have to determine that they can climb up this massive mast

If they make it, their life will be better compare to their past.

 

And this is just a small part of America’s history, that I learned in class

United States has changed so fast!

 

AMERICA a country of GROWTH and CHANGE!

Part of my literacy strategy in learning the hard vocabulary is to learn it then take notes into a document which titled as: Word of the Day. These is one of the efficient way to helps me learn and it is an easy way to look back at the word that I studied and check for its definition. 

This is a sample of the word in my word of the day:

BESIEGE 

Part of speech: Verb

Definition: Surround a place with armed forces in order to capture

Synonyms: surround, blockade, encircle, bombard

Sentence: On my holiday, I went for fishing with my friends, we then lift our fishing rod into the pond, suddenly there were multitude of fish besiege the fishing rod, because of the smell of the food attract them to come for the food.

Khmer Vocabulary: ឡោមព័ទ្ធជុំវិញ

In Cambodia, we don’t have a Halloween day as our holiday or a celebration. However, as part of literacy class activity we did an exercise called Scary Starters Story Expansion. This exercise was very fun and everyone in the class was giggling and laughing with each others story since this activity require us to pass our story next to the one that sit next to us and they will continue on writing our story. 

This is one small part from my story:

“Right at the moment, I saw a microphone next to the TV, so I ran straight with my pajamas on, but something was holding me back and I can’t even move but I can feel the texture of my life ending during the time when I saw the creeper with a knife in his hand. It’s was 12 o’clock  when this situation was happened. But I just realized that, it just a dream inside my dream that scared me for a lost of time. The time when past and I realized it was 3:15 am. And the clock stop. I checked my mom’s watch and the whole house, it all has stopped at 3:15 am.”

Name: Sovannou
Group: A
Date: 04.09.2015
English Writing

I go to an unusual school. This school is called The Liger Learning Center (LLC). Liger is located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in Southeast Asia. Liger is a non-profit school. Liger has a different style of learning model. Mostly the government schools in Cambodia don’t try to make change agents of the students. Liger, the learning model is different from the government schools and there are 11 different change agents characteristics. Liger uses change agent characteristic to help students to think about themself and changing themself to have a brighter future and become professional person. Liger provides one laptop for each student. This year Liger has essential classes which include literacy, STEM and math. There are expertise classes and many types of big projects. There are many topics that Liger students have been doing in school to help change Cambodia. The main idea of what Liger students are doing right now is called Exploration. This means the project that we are doing has a main idea of learning for seven weeks. In exploration we do some research, experiments and explore the real world outside of the compos. This will help the students benefits from outside experience and to learn about their topic. When we finish an exploration (project) we have a sharation, which means to make a celebration of sharing information of what we have studying in class. The reason that Liger had this type of learning policy is because of Liger wants to help the potential of a kid and the ability of the kid to be a stronger and better person, which is very unusual for a school.

This is my favourite school ! Even this school is an unusual school I still feel very happy to enjoy studying. Liger give me an education, best study theory and explore real life and this thing is never been my experience. Liger take me to be who I am today. I want to develop myself and my country. So even I walk slowly but I never walk backward.

Trip to Kampong Chhnang
   On 11th March 2015 I and my friends in Poverty group when to Kompong Chhnang
to study about the Poverty, to interview community people and to learn from the other expert about their project and some of the history about the stupa Bades. On the way to Kompong Chhnang everyone was excited and happy. They all are laughing ,singing in the bus and some are sleeping. Then when we arrive between Phnom Penh and Kandal province I, my friends and teacher stop the bus to buy some snack for our self. On the way there I saw lots of plants, lots of houses and  saw the people construct the road. At about 11:00 am we arrived at Kompong Chhnang then we went to one organization call CPR ( Cambodia Poverty Reduction). Then at about 12:00pm we ate lunch at CPR with yummy pork. After we finished eating our lunch we played some games like frisbee and football. Then at 1:30pm we met together with our team to discuss about what we’re going to do with group when we interview to the community people in the next half hour. Then after we meet together we went over the bus then  we left to the community people’s house to interview them about their livelihood and ask them about their family. Then after that we when to Stupa Bades at Krangloav village. When we arrived at there we learn about the stupa Pades from the village’s chief. He told us about all the history that happening at there and about Bades and the determan grandmother. Then at about 4:30 pm we leave that pagoda then we continue our ways to go to Visal house.When we arrive at Visal house we went to take a shower then we went to ate dinner at the restaurant near Pongro Market. After we ate dinner we went back to Visal house then we all was working on the reflection about the day then at about 9:00pm everyone go on the bed to slept. At the morning we all woke up fast then we take shower and prepare to go to York waterfall. After taking shower we went to ate breakfast at the same place as we ate at night. When finished our breakfast we went to York waterfall at between the border Pursat province and Kompong Chhnang province. Then after played at the waterfall about 3 hours we went back to Visal house then we went to CPR to interview them and got the presentation from them either. What I learned from CPR group is that CPR start in 2003. First they start only in Kompong Chang then they started to open in Banteay Meanchey. There group most focus on PLHIV. PLHIV is a type of a disease that bad for people. They making this program to helping communities people and helping the kids who live with the family member that have a PLHIV disease. In Kompong Chhnang there are 4 teams that do saiving groups. As they explain us they said that in Kompong Chhnang there were 586 people who have a PLHIV problem and there also about 1200 people who have a PLHIV problem in Banteay Meanchey as well. Also what I notice about CPR is that this project can work because they got the donate or fund from KHANA. Then after we interviewed we came to the river side to see Neang KongRey mountain. It was very fun to saw the environment at there. After we went to KongRey mountain we came back to Visal house then get changed to get to dinner. Then when we finished ate dinner we went back to Visal house after that we right our reflection about CPR presentation but at that time I was stomachache and I cannot stay still I need to move all the time because it really hard but then when I got the medicine from nurse I was better than what I have before. Then at about 9:00pm every went to bad and everyone was quiet and I see a really beautiful star in the sky when I looked out of the window then I felt slept. In the morning everyone was woke up and when I looked to all of them look like they are so tired but then everyone go to take shower. At about 6:40 am everyone was prepare their stuff to go back to Liger then everyone packed all of their bag and group stuff into the bus, then at 6:45am we said goodbye to Visal grandmother and grandfather. Then the bus wheel started to go then at 6: 50 am we arrived the restaurant . When we ate breakfast finished we went to CPR to get one woman that she work at CPR to take us to go to the saving group place. After 7:50 am we arrived at the saving group place. Then everyone just prepare their stuff for presentation and interviewed. At about 9:00am we have a interviewed with the saving group members to asked them about their saving group. Then after we interviewed the saving group people we called the saving group member to go and learned about first aid, we have prepare two lesson to teach them one is temperature and the second one is ankle sprain. After we taught the saving group people we all ate lunch at there and relaxed and some boys were playing football after they ate lunch. Then at 12:30 pm lots of kids from the community came to play games with our group, first we thought that their were only about 20 kids were come but it not it ways more than what we thinked after that we have fun with the kids and played a lot of fun games with them. At about 1:45 pm we clean up our place then say goodbye to the kids because we need to came back to Liger. When we ride on the bus about 45 minutes we were arrived at the border of Kompong Chhnang and Kompong Speu and everyone was go out of the bus to bought some snacks. At about two hours later we arrive Liger. I was really happy to go and studied at Kompong Chhnang and getting new experience also to visited knew place in Cambodia.

I
am
Sovannou.
I’m 13 years old.
I am from
Takeo province.
I am passionate
at writing stories.
I love to learn about business.
A lot of talking, dancing,
singing and playfulness
are part of my natural
personality.
Travel and Visiting
places are
my preference.
All I want is
friends and happiness.
I<3 my family.
I
am
Sovannou.