Activity 5: Cambodian Culture

Directions: Try to respond to these statements on your own. Then work with a partner to refine your responses.

Part One: Look at the attached map of Southeast Asia. Label these:

Cambodia	Ho Chi Minh City	Mekong River
Laos	Phnom Penh	Gulf of Thailand
Viet Nam	Vientiane	South China Sea
Thailand	Hanoi	Bangkok

Part Two: Agree or disagree with the following statements.

1. Khmer is another name for the language of Cambodia. _____

2. Khmer and Vietnamese are related languages; if you speak one, you can understand the other. _____

3. Most people in Cambodia were educated in French._____

4. The belief that spirits exists alongside Buddhism throughout Cambodia. _____

5. Cambodia has gone from being a flourishing, expanive empire, to a rice-exporting nation, to a conflicted country that no longer feeds itself. _____

6. In rural Cambodia, parents expect the school to assume full responsibility for the children's education. _____

7. Maintaining face is such a powerful social force in Khmer culture that parents may disown children who shame them. _____

8. Khmer parents would be happy to learn that their children are actively participating in class discussiosn and that they initiate interactions with the teacher. _____

9. Most of the Cambodian children in our schools feel more connected to their native culture than to U.S. culture. _____

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