@austintukwa01: 🇺🇸🇰🇭 Meet Erica, She grew up in Texas, USA, and first came to Cambodia in March 2010 to work with an NGO in Battambang. Back then there were hardly any foreigners there, and few people spoke fluent English, so she made a decision on day one: "If I want to make friends, if I want to work, if I want to get around… I really need to learn Khmer." 16 years later, she teaches at an international school in Phnom Penh, once co-founded a Khmer school for foreigners in Battambang with her best friend, and now runs "English for Khmer" teaching Cambodians English using Khmer. HOW SHE LEARNED KHMER She worked half-days and studied Khmer every afternoon, Monday to Friday. She learned to SPEAK first writing the words in her own English spelling, and only started the alphabet after 6 months. ⏱️ 3 months → basic conversations ⏱️ 6 months → speaking almost only Khmer ⏱️ Under a year → fluent Her secret? Every time she got something right, Cambodians cheered her on, "I would learn a bit more, they would encourage me, and I would push myself to learn more." WHY SHE SAYS KHMER MATTERS "We can't really understand a culture unless we understand the language." From calling people "bong" and "teacher" to show respect, to calling your cousin your brother or sister, she explains what Khmer taught her about Cambodian culture, family and friendship. Today, all of her closest friends are Khmer. And stay to the end for the jungle story, where she asked her friend if there were tigers… and her friend thought she wanted Tiger Beer 🍺😂 Watch the full interview here 👉https://youtu.be/aoRxJ4DqeVc?si=19RcLh7Fo-v4musn #Cambodia #LearnKhmer #KhmerLanguage #PhnomPenh #Battambang #ExpatInCambodia #EnglishForKhmer

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Tuesday 06 October 2026 11:43:10 GMT