Khmer Language Research Articles

Factors Associated with HPV Vaccination among Cambodian American Teenagers

Parents have general influence over their children's health and health behavior. However, given the dearth of specific literature regarding knowledge level and social and cultural factors influencing HPV vaccination behaviors among Cambodian American (CA) parent, it is difficult to develop an effective, evidence-based public health HPV vaccination program. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the HPV vaccine uptakes among CA teenagers and to examine factors influencing HPV vaccine uptakes. A descriptive, cross-sectional survey design and a combination of network and targeted sampling methods were used. CA mothers (n=130) completed a health survey through face-to-face interviews in either English or Khmer language. Girls vaccination rates were 29% while that of boys was 16%. Awareness and knowledge of HPV among CA mothers was very low, and many believed that their daughters, who speak English and were educated in the U.S., had more knowledge about health than they did. Logistic regression analysis showed that CA girls had significantly higher odds of vaccination when their mothers possessed a higher level of English reading ability and had greater awareness and knowledge of HPV. The strikingly low rates of HPV vaccination among CA girls and boys underscore the need to improve vaccination outreach, education, and uptake. The findings can be used to develop targeted public health HPV vaccination programs for CAs, which will reduce cervical cancer disparities.

Ternary Decomposition and Dictionary Extension for Khmer Word Segmentation

In this paper, we proposed a dictionary extension and a ternary decomposition technique to improve the effectiveness of Khmer word segmentation. Most word segmentation approaches depend on a dictionary. However, the dictionary being used is not fully reliable and cannot cover all the words of the Khmer language. This causes an issue of unknown words or out-of-vocabulary words. Our approach is to extend the original dictionary to be more reliable with new words. In addition, we use ternary decomposition for the segmentation process. In this research, we also introduced the invisible space of the Khmer Unicode (char​) in order to segment our training corpus. With our segmentation algorithm, based on ternary decomposition and invisible space, we can extract new words from our training text and then input the new words into the dictionary. We used an extended wordlist and a segmentation algorithm regardless of the invisible space to test an unannotated text. Our results remarkably outperformed other approaches. We have achieved 88.8%, 91.8% and 90.6% rates of precision, recall and F-measurement.

Diabetes Prevention through Village Health Support Guides in Cambodia: A Qualitative Investigation of Opportunities and Challenges

Objectives: Lifestyle modification can prevent type II diabetes. Rates of diabetes are high in Cambodia. The Cambodian genocide and its aftermath resulted in destruction of the healthcare system and a critical shortage in the Cambodian healthcare workforce. Cambodia has a well-established system of community health workers, or village health support guides (Guides). This study explored opportunities for and challenges to training Guides to deliver diabetes prevention interventions. Design: In depth interviews were conducted with 12 Guides in Khmer. Guides also completed a 22-item validated Khmer language quiz regarding their knowledge of diabetes. Results: Participants were 75% female, on average 52 years old, with 8 years of education and 9 years Guides experience. Guides were aware that diabetes is a problem for their communities and were eager to address it. However, they had very low diabetes knowledge (quiz mean=57% correct). Three themes emerged: dedication to being a Guide, current responsibilities and need for additional and high quality training, and striving to do a good job in the face of barriers and insufficient resources. Participants easily identified factors that would support their own training in diabetes, and factors that would promote their teaching diabetes prevention in their villages. Conclusions: Diabetes prevention is overdue in Cambodia. Guides are poised to be trained to deliver these programs. Such training should be responsive to their perceived needs. Political will must be cultivated to support appropriate resources.

What makes the difference? An analysis of a reading intervention programme implemented in rural schools in Cambodia

This article compares the existing single-strategy approach towards the teaching of early literacy in schools in rural Cambodia with a multiple-strategy approach introduced as part of a reading intervention programme. Classroom observations, questionnaires and in-depth interviews with teachers were used to explore teachers’ practices and attitudes. Research was also conducted into the nature of the Khmer language. These preparations informed the design of the programme implemented in 127 rural schools. The success of the intervention was evaluated through classroom observations and a survey of teachers. Pupils’ reading was assessed in a sample of the intervention schools and compared with a sample of pupils in schools without the intervention. Results showed that most teachers in Cambodia use a one-strategy approach to teaching reading but that reading competence remains poor. In comparison, the assessment of pupils following the training of teachers in a multiple-strategy approach showed a marked improvement in their reading.

Operational challenges in the Cambodian mHealth revolution

The use of mobile phones to deliver health programs (mHealth) has great potential in developing countries and mHealth initiatives such as the NightWatch malaria prevention program are becoming increasingly popular. However even when an mHealth intervention is known to be effective the structure of the telecommunications industry combined with user behaviours can make it extremely difficult to implement in some countries. This article describes the case of Cambodia where more than 90% of the population have access to a mobile phone due to limited accessibility of landlines but operational challenges plague even the simplest mobile interventions. The impact of this is already apparent with commercial mobile banking services. In Kenya the M-Pesa mobile banking system grew to around nine million users (21% of the population) within three years of launch. Despite Cambodians having a similar need for financial services an equivalent mobile banking product (Wing) has only reached around 250000 Cambodian users (2% of the population) in its first three years. Four significant operational challenges facing mHealth programs in Cambodia have been identified through the author’s own experiences implementing mHealth initiatives with the Cambodian Health Education Media Service (CHEMS). These challenges are potentially relevant to other countries with similar telecommunication markets: Switching Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards; Lack of functionality and Khmer language capability; Sharing mobiles; Competition with commercial spam.

Using a Mobile Photo Booth and Facebook to Promote Positive Health Messages Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Cambodia

The article reports on a partnership which was created in 2011 between the Cambodia Health Education Media Service and the company FHI 360. The partnership was created in an effort to implement a road show in six provincial cities under the popular MSM brand “MStyle.” designed to promote positive health messages among men who have sex with men in Cambodia and featured mobile photo booths which were set up in which participants could be photographed with their favorite MStyle health message in the Khmer language.

Mapping the linguistic landscape of a commercial neighbourhood in Central Phnom Penh

This article examines the distributional pattern of signs in the linguistic landscape of a neighbourhood in the commercial district of Phonm Penh, Cambodia. Informed by the frameworks of ethnolinguistic vitality and ethnocultural stereotypes, it discusses the developing multilingualism from socio-economic and historical perspectives. An analysis of the language distribution shows that Khmer, the national and official language of Cambodia is, unsurprisingly, numerically the most prominent language in the linguistic landscape, followed by English. The high visibility of English is remarkable given that it is a newcomer in a former Francophone space that subsequently experienced decades of a nationalistic language policy. Sometimes, the policy was marked by a strict prohibition of the teaching and use of foreign languages. The ascendancy of English has resulted in the gradual displacement of French in the past decade, although it is too early to write off the latter. Assistance leverage, globalisation, gentrification, a generational change in attitudes toward languages, the new language policy-in-education and the complex history of modern Cambodia explain the rapid ‘multilingualisation’ and the rise of English in the graphic environment and in the socio-economic activities.

Khmer as a Heritage Language in the United States: Historical Sketch, Current Realities, and Future Prospects

Cambodian Americans are a fairly recent language minority group in the United States; most families arrived in the United States as refugees during the 1980s. Over the past 30 years, there has been great concern in the community regarding the maintenance loss of their native Khmer language. This article provides an historical and contemporary sketch of the Khmer language in the United States, and discusses implications for its future survival. Data are drawn and analyzed from the U.S. Census, the 2007 American Community Survey, and other statistical sources, in addition to research conducted in Cambodian American communities, and the author’s experiences and observations as a (non-native) Khmer speaker. The findings indicate that the Khmer language is alive and well in the United States, and most school-age youth continue to speak Khmer, although few speak it with high levels of proficiency and few have literacy skills in the language given the lack of opportunities for Khmer HL education. Nonetheless, there are some positive factors that Khmer communities and educational institutions can draw on to ensure the future of Khmer as a HL in the United States. In the early 1990s, I attended a forum held at California State University, Long Beach sponsored by the United Cambodian Students of America. The distinguished guest speaker was Mr. Neou Kassie, a well-known Cambodian American and an outspoken human rights advocate. Mr. Neou began speaking elegantly and powerfully in Khmer, describing his advocacy work in Cambodia. A few minutes into his animated speech, one of the young college student leaders, with an embarrassed look on her face, interrupted him: “Excuse me Mr. Neou, can you please switch to English? Most of us are having a very hard time understanding you in Khmer.” Cambodian Americans are a fairly recent language minority group in the United States; most families have been in this country for less than 30 years. However, as the vignette above illustrates, issues have already emerged related to the maintenance or loss of Khmer as a heritage language in the United States. Even within the first ten years of refugee resettlement, Cambodian parents and community leaders expressed concern at what they perceived as rapid Khmer language loss among their youth (Smith-Hefner, 1990). Nonetheless, Khmer continues to be widely used in Cambodian American families and communities across the United States, and there are some efforts to provide opportunities for the next generations of Cambodian Americans to develop and maintain their native Khmer language. The purpose of this article is to provide a historical and contemporary sketch of the Khmer language in the United States, and to discuss implications for its future survival. Data for this article are drawn from the United States Census, the American Community Survey, and other statistical sources, in addition to research conducted in Cambodian American communities, and my own experiences and observations as a (non-native) Khmer speaker. It is my hope that these analyses will be useful to policy makers, educators, and researchers, and also to Cambodian American community leaders, educators, and others who are actively working to preserve the Khmer language in the United States. In this article, we first will look briefly at the history of Cambodian American immigration to the United States, including the tragic events in Cambodia leading to the large exodus of political refugees. Next, we will explore demographic information related to Cambodian Americans and the Khmer language in the United States, followed by a discussion of Cambodian Americans’ relationship with Cambodia. We then consider issues related to Khmer language maintenance and loss in the United States, including community and institutional efforts that provide opportunities for the learning and use of Khmer. The article concludes with a discussion of the future of Khmer as a Heritage Language in the United States.

Problemy definicyjne w nauczaniu i badaniu khmerskiej grzeczności językowej

The author of this article refers to a set of vital definitions one has to take into consideration in teaching and reserarching language politeness. Etnolinguistic analyze of language savoir vivre is impossible vithout reference to key anthrolological notions such as culture, cultural pattern, education. The basis used in this article to reconcile various antrophological schools is the theory of Geert Hofstede who proposes wide and simple definition of culture, treated as a “‘collectively programmed mind” that differs one group or category of people from other. Being a Khmer naturalized in Polad, the author is fucused on pupularization of Khmer language and culture in her second motherland. Having a sense of mission to provide Polish users of Khmer language with cultural competence that will anable them to be seen in Cambodia as polite people, the author compares Polish and Khmer colloquial understanding of politeness. She also refers to Polish linguistic works on language politeness, looking for definitional solutions that will help teach and analyze language savoir vivre of the Khmers

Khmer Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Khmer L1 Interference

Language learners who share a mother tongue (L1) typically face many similar challenges in learning the target language. Khmer speakers learning English are a case in point. Swan and Smith’s (1987, 2001) classic work on “learner English” documents approximately 20 language case studies, each describing a different language and how it contrasts with English. For English teachers unfamiliar with the particular language showcased, this resource is enormously helpful. Unfortunately, Khmer is not covered in Swan and Smith’s volume. The only publication directly approaching the topic of Khmer learner English is Huffman and Proum’s (1983) which, though a comprehensive guide to Khmer speakers learning English, is pedagogically dated and too voluminous for a “quick guide.” The present paper aims to fill the gap in the literature with an accurate, accessible overview of features of English that typically present difficulties for Khmer language speakers. It focuses on phonology, grammar, and orthography.

Remarks on Sanskrit and Pali Loanwords in Khmer

The complicated orthography of Sanskrit and Pali loanwords in Khmer language poses a significant didactical obstacle, as the standard rules of Khmer orthography are irrelevant to those words. After a brief historical introduction, the relations between Sanskrit and Sanskrit > Khmer loanwords’ orthography are explained. Further on, a preliminary classification of Indic loanwords is provided, based on their morphological status and patterns of usage. The most important inference is that a relatively small number of immutable borrowings occurs in most frequently used compounds of Sanskrit and Pali origins. This approach yields two potential solutions to the aforementioned problem. Firstly, a learner of Khmer should study the basics of Sanskrit and Pali orthography and phonology, as they have a tremendous impact on the way borrowings are spelled. Secondly, the learner should note that many Indic loanwords in Khmer are in fact compounds, and observe the distribution patterns of their individual constituents.

Anger, PTSD, and the nuclear family: A study of Cambodian refugees

This study profiles the family-directed anger of traumatized Cambodian refugees, all survivors of the Pol Pot genocide (1975-1979), who were patients at a psychiatric clinic in Lowell, MA, USA. We focus on the nuclear family (NF) unit, the NF unit defined as the patient's (i.e. spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend) and children. Survey data were collected from a convenience sample of 143 Cambodian refugee patients from October 2006 to August 2007. The study revealed that 48% (68/143) of the patients had anger directed toward a NF member in the last month, with anger directed toward children being particularly common (64 of the 143 patients, or 49% [64/131] of the patients with children). NF-type anger was severe, for example, almost always resulting in somatic arousal (e.g., causing palpitations in 91% [62/68] of the anger episodes) and often in trauma recall and fears of bodily dysfunction. Responses to open-ended questions revealed the causes of anger toward a significant other and children, the content of anger-associated trauma recall, and what patients did to gain relief from anger. A type of cultural gap, namely, a linguistic gap (i.e., the parent's lack of English language skills and the child's lack of Khmer language skills), seemingly played a role in generating conflict and anger. NF-type anger was associated with PTSD presence. The effect of anger on PTSD severity resulted in part from anger-associated trauma recall and fears of bodily dysfunction, with 54% of the variance in PTSD severity explained by that regression model. The study: 1) suggests that among traumatized refugees, family-related anger is a major clinical concern; 2) illustrates how family-related anger may be profiled and investigated in trauma-exposed populations; and 3) gives insights into how family-related anger is generated in such populations.

Anger, PTSD, and the nuclear family: A study of Cambodian refugees

This study profiles the family-directed anger of traumatized Cambodian refugees, all survivors of the Pol Pot genocide (1975-1979), who were patients at a psychiatric clinic in Lowell, MA, USA. We focus on the nuclear family (NF) unit, the NF unit defined as the patient's "significant other" (i.e. spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend) and children. Survey data were collected from a convenience sample of 143 Cambodian refugee patients from October 2006 to August 2007. The study revealed that 48% (68/143) of the patients had anger directed toward a NF member in the last month, with anger directed toward children being particularly common (64 of the 143 patients, or 49% [64/131] of the patients with children). NF-type anger was severe, for example, almost always resulting in somatic arousal (e.g., causing palpitations in 91% [62/68] of the anger episodes) and often in trauma recall and fears of bodily dysfunction. Responses to open-ended questions revealed the causes of anger toward a significant other and children, the content of anger-associated trauma recall, and what patients did to gain relief from anger. A type of cultural gap, namely, a linguistic gap (i.e., the parent's lack of English language skills and the child's lack of Khmer language skills), seemingly played a role in generating conflict and anger. NF-type anger was associated with PTSD presence. The effect of anger on PTSD severity resulted in part from anger-associated trauma recall and fears of bodily dysfunction, with 54% of the variance in PTSD severity explained by that regression model. The study: 1) suggests that among traumatized refugees, family-related anger is a major clinical concern; 2) illustrates how family-related anger may be profiled and investigated in trauma-exposed populations; and 3) gives insights into how family-related anger is generated in such populations.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mutations in Mon and Burmese of southern Myanmar

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is highly prevalent in Southeast Asians. G6PD mutations are associated with specific ethnic groups in Southeast Asia. Mon is a minority ethnic group in Myanmar, which speaks Monic, a distinct language of Mon-Khmer classification. We studied G6PD mutations in Mon and Burmese males of southern Myanmar who migrated to Thailand in Samutsakhon province. G6PD deficiency was identified in 19 (12%) of 162 Mon males and 17 (10%) of 178 Burmese males, and then assayed for G6PD mutations. Among 19 G6PD-deficient Mons, 12 were G6PD Mahidol; one case each was G6PD Jammu (871G > A; nt 1311C), G6PD Kaiping (1388G > A), G6PD Mediterranean (563C > T), a novel mutation 94(C > G); and three remain unidentified. Among 17 G6PD-deficient Burmese, 12 were G6PD Mahidol; one each was G6PD Coimbra (592C > T), G6PD Kerala-Kalyan (949G > A), and G6PD Valladolid (406C > T); and two remain unidentified. G6PD Mahidol (487G > A) is the most common mutation among Mons and Burmese. All G6PD deficient Mon and Burmese, except for a person with G6PD Valladolid, shared the same haplotype nt93T, nt1311C. Despite a similar language root with Cambodian's Khmer language, our study suggests that Mon people share a common ancestry with Burmese rather than Cambodians.

“What do kids know”: A survey of 420 Grade 5 students in Cambodia on their knowledge of burn prevention and first-aid treatment

Introduction Cambodia is a developing country of 13 million people where there are an estimated 20,000 burns and 2000 burn deaths annually. Two thirds of the burns occur to children under the age of 10 years. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge of burn prevention and first aid for burns in Grade 5 Cambodian school children, as baseline information to design a burn prevention campaign. Methods A 34-question survey regarding burn prevention and first-aid treatment for burn injuries was developed. Additional questions on TV watching habits were included to determine the feasibility of a targeted TV burn educational campaign. The survey was translated into Khmer language and tested on a trial class for accuracy and ease of administration. After obtaining the school director's permission and children's consent the survey was administered by Canadian medical students helped by trained translators and teachers to Grade 5 students from eight different elementary schools in the Kampot province. Results A total of 420 students were surveyed. Average age was 12.5 years (range 9–17 years) and 55% were females. Seventy-four percent routinely cared for other children. Only 52% had TV at home but still 78% managed to watch TV for an average 2 h per day. Even though 36% of students indicated they had received information about burn prevention and first aid, only 13% mentioned application of cool water as initial treatment, only 7% knew to roll on the ground if their clothes caught fire, and nearly 50% would pour water on a burning pot of oil. Half of students indicated that they would not believe a TV message promoting application of cold water on acute burns. Top reasons given were parental influence, belief in other treatments, and not trusting TV messages. Interestingly, 62% of these skeptics would change their mind if the TV message was endorsed by an authority figure such as a physician, teacher, parent, or the Ministry of Health. A set of five Public Service Announcements for Cambodian TV were developed and produced based on the results of this survey. Conclusions This survey identified significant inadequacies in Cambodian children's knowledge about burn prevention and first aid and suggested that a televised burn prevention campaign could be an effective method to improve their knowledge, especially if it was endorsed by an authority figure.

Can A Language of A Million Speakers Be Endangered? Language Shift and Apathy Among Northern Khmer Speakers in Thailand

AbstractNorthern Khmer is a variety of Khmer spoken in several provinces of northeastern Thailand. With over a million speakers, it is not normally regarded as an endangered language. However, the effectiveness of Thai state penetration into the countryside, Thai language policy, changing modes of production in rural villages, the rise of mass media, and increased social mobility are leading speakers to shift to the national language, Thai. This shift is exacerbated by an apathetic attitude towards Khmer identity, which arose in part as a cultural reaction to the troubled political history of neighboring Cambodia. Given current trends in Northern Khmer language use and broader sociocultural forces, it is argued that even a language with as many speakers as Northern Khmer may prove to be more endangered than generally assumed.

Mental Health of Cambodian Refugees 2 Decades After Resettlement in the United States

Little is known about the long-term mental health of trauma-exposed refugees years after permanent resettlement in host countries. To assess the prevalence, comorbidity, and correlates of psychiatric disorders in the US Cambodian refugee community. A cross-sectional, face-to-face interview conducted in Khmer language on a random sample of households from the Cambodian community in Long Beach, Calif, the largest such community in the United States, between October 2003 and February 2005. A total of 586 adults aged 35 to 75 years who lived in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge reign and immigrated to the United States prior to 1993 were selected. One eligible individual was randomly sampled from each household, with an overall response rate (eligibility screening and interview) of 87% (n = 490). Exposure to trauma and violence before and after immigration (using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and Survey of Exposure to Community Violence); weighted past-year prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression (using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview version 2.1); and alcohol use disorder (by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test). All participants had been exposed to trauma before immigration. Ninety-nine percent (n = 483) experienced near-death due to starvation and 90% (n = 437) had a family member or friend murdered. Seventy percent (n = 338) reported exposure to violence after settlement in the United States. High rates of PTSD (62%, weighted), major depression (51%, weighted), and low rates of alcohol use disorder were found (4%, weighted). PTSD and major depression were highly comorbid in this population (n = 209; 42%, weighted) and each showed a strong dose-response relationship with measures of traumatic exposure. In bivariate analyses, older age, having poor English-speaking proficiency, unemployment, being retired or disabled, and living in poverty were also associated with higher rates of PTSD and major depression. Following multivariate analyses, premigration trauma remained associated with PTSD (odds ratio [OR], 2.08; 95% CI, 1.37-3.16) and major depression (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.24-1.97); postmigration trauma with PTSD (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.21-2.26) and major depression (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.12-1.86); and older age with PTSD (OR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.46-2.13) and major depression (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.15-1.89). More than 2 decades have passed since the end of the Cambodian civil war and the subsequent resettlement of refugees in the United States; however, this population continues to have high rates of psychiatric disorders associated with trauma.

AANCART best practices

Census data indicate that Cambodian Americans are economically disadvantaged and linguistically isolated. In addition, cancer registry data show that Southeast Asians experience several cancer-related health disparities (e.g., markedly elevated risks of cervical and liver cancer). The Seattle regional Asian American Network for Cancer, Awareness, Research, and Training (AANCART) site has implemented a community-based cancer awareness program for Cambodian immigrants in collaboration with a Cambodian community coalition. Our cancer awareness program has the following goals: to assist individuals and organizations in advocating for a healthy community, to provide information within a cultural context, and to deliver information in ways that are useful and meaningful to the community. The program was guided by a community assessment that included the use of published data as well as information from qualitative interviews, focus groups, and quantitative surveys. Examples of community awareness activities include group presentations at community-based organizations (e.g., during English as a second language classes), health fair participation (including at nontraditional venues such as a farmers' market serving Cambodians), and educational displays in neighborhood locations (e.g., at Cambodian video stores). In addition, the Seattle AANCART site has both inventoried and developed culturally appropriate Khmer language cancer education materials and disseminated materials through the ETHNO-MED website. Our approach recognizes that limited English language proficiency may preclude many Cambodians from understanding publicly disseminated information, and Cambodian immigrants are often isolated and tend to stay close to their own neighborhoods.

The Diabolic Sweetness of Pol Pot

At the time that Pol Pot was teaching me Verlaine, I had not yet learned to distrust sweet things. In 1957, he was my French teacher, though later he claimed to have been a history teacher, in order not to appear to have been an advocate of the colonialists' culture. We knew him by the name of Saloth Sar, and nothing he said to us betrayed his engagement in politicsuntil the day in 1962 when he left for the resistance. I need to revise my memory of that school year: Pol Pot was not just the disciple of Verlaine who, as a good philologue, knew how to win over his students with his explications de texte: "It rains in my heart as it rains on the city. From whence comes this languor thatpierces my heart... " The consequences of the phantasmagoric catastrophe of human judgment that was the Khmer Rouge regime are now widely known, and it is time to take a closer look at the means by which they established themselves. Clearly, there were political and economic causes, but a cultural factor also played an important role, and until now it has been rather neglected: the use of the Cambodian language for propaganda, lie, and illusion. The word, particularly the spoken word, assumes great importance and prestige in countries with an oral tradition. In Cambodia, broadcasts by radio thus dominated the long workday. Before Phnom Penh fell, the radio transmitted Prince Sihanouk's interminable harangues; once the regime was installed, it broadcast the orders of the new masters, descriptions of an ideal society, and edifying biographies of the heroes of the revolution. Paradoxically, these broadcasts also found an avid audience over the border, in Bangkok, for they constituted the most reliable source of information about a country otherwise completely cut off from the world. The method of the Khmer Rouge was to force together irreconcilable opposites. They presented rigidity as softness. They tangled sweetness and cruelty together until they could not be told apart. The verb to request, for example, became terrifying. You were never ordered, never forced to do

Legal Discourse and Decisions, Teacher Policymaking and the Multilingual Classroom: Constraining and Supporting Khmer/English Biliteracy in the United States

This paper looks at the ways US English-language policies at the micro and macro levels have influenced the development of Khmer biliteracy for children and adults. It shows the power of teacher policymaking and the role of the legal system in shaping what is possible in multilingual classrooms in the United States. By focusing on ESL teachers in four multilingual classrooms, the analysis shows that it is not just that legal decisions have shaped the realities of schools, but that the discourse of the legal system has become part of students' and teachers' perspectives on what is possible in the classroom and, further, reifies and legitimises commonplace assumptions about assimilation, subtractive bilingualism, and the relative value of some languages over others. Even so, the analysis of four teachers and four classrooms show the ways that teacher policies can contest these assumptions and provide support for Khmer language and culture in the classroom. The paper ends with a call for educators to engage not only in micro-level policymaking as teachers but also more in macro-level policymaking as voting and engaged citizens in order to create emancipatory multilingual classroom ecologies that support linguistic diversity.