Numbers and presentation quality surpassed goals, organisers say

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Khem Sovannara

Education Minister Im Sethy launched the 5th annual TESOL conference.

AN English-language teaching conference held in Phnom Penh last weekend was labelled a success by organisers after late registrations took the number of attendees past the 1,200 anticipated.

"I would say it was a resounding success in terms of the numbers that came as well as the quality of presentations," said James Pham, assistant director of studies at the Australian Centre for Education (ACE), one of the co-organisers.

He singled out the volunteers who made the fifth annual CamTESOL conference possible, most of whom worked as English teachers.

More than 300 people from 27 countries attended the conference, mixing with hundreds of local teachers, including many from provinces throughout the country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Education Minister Im Sethy said the presence of experts from offshore was a great opportunity for local teachers to exchange experiences and improve their teaching skills.

Im Sethy added that the number of teacher training institutes was growing throughout the country and would play a key role in improving English-standards across the Kingdom.

 "We have just started but we are developing fast," he said.

Im Koch, director of the National Institute of Education, where the conference was held, said the success of the conference was a remarkable achievement.

"Organising a conference this big in Cambodia is a huge task and would not have happened without the support of so many Cambodian and international English-language institutions, especially the support from the dedicated individuals from these institutions that served on the organizing committees," he said.