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Cambodian – also known as Khmer – is the language of Cambodia and the modern version of the language spoken by the ancient Khmer, the builders of the temple complex of Angkor Wat.
The language is thought to have around 16 million speakers, mostly located in Cambodia itself but also found in neighboring areas. It has its own unique script (from which the Thai and Lao alphabets are derived), which adds an extra challenge for learners.
Unlike most of the other regional tongues, it is not tonal, making it easier for speakers of English or other European languages to master.
Cambodian is not commonly studied by English speakers, so materials for learning it are limited. For this reason, this excellent free online contemporary Cambodian course will prove an invaluable resource for anyone hoping to study it.
Course Details
What is the Contemporary Cambodian course?
This contemporary Cambodian course was the result of a collaboration between the Foreign Service Institute and the Defense Language Institute and was created to meet the need for supplementary resources for Cambodian language instruction.
It was first published in 1972 and consists of several components. The main part of the course is the Basic module, 60 units intended for beginners just starting the language. Each unit consists of a dialog that is used to present new language, as well as drills designed to help students master the vocabulary and structures.
It also includes Cambodian text along with a transcription, and there are also optional Cambodian reading exercises for those who wish to learn to read and write Cambodian too.
The Basic module is accompanied by recordings for all the dialogs, drills and reading exercises.
You will also find a comprehensive “Grammar Sketch”, a reference section dealing with all the main aspects of Cambodian grammar, and a glossary of all the words from the course.
When the course was created, the Basic module was supposed to be accompanied by an Intermediate module that would allow students to deepen their knowledge of Cambodian. However, this is currently unavailable, and it is unclear whether it was ever completed. If it becomes available, I will upload it at a later date.
There are also several modules dealing with aspects of the culture of the country. These are currently not hosted on this site – I have provided links to another site that was hosting them, but at present, these no longer appear to work.
It is possible that these cultural modules are, in fact, the missing intermediate modules – but at the moment it is impossible to check.
How was Contemporary Cambodian originally used?
The Basic module of this FSI Contemporary Cambodian course was designed to be studied intensively for six hours each day. For students concentrating only on speaking, this means it would have been completed in around 15 weeks. For those learning to read and write at the same time, it would have taken slightly longer, around 18-20 weeks.
Students would also have been expected to put in personal study time outside of class, and during lessons, they were supposed to speak only Cambodian. This way, after even just 15 weeks of lessons, they would have been able to achieve a very respectable level of Cambodian.
How can you use this Contemporary Cambodian course?
Although this course was designed to be used in an intensive classroom setting with a teacher, it is also well-suited to self-study study. A pro-active autonomous student will be able to work through the dialogues and drills, enlarging their vocabulary, learning useful stock phrases and understand the basics of Cambodian grammar.
You could use this as your primary coursebook, but if you have other (perhaps slightly more modern) resources for learning Cambodian, this course will still be a useful supplement.
Furthermore, although this course doesn’t teach you how to read Cambodian script, if you can learn how to read and write from another book, this course gives you plenty of additional materials for further practice.
If you have a private tutor, the materials found in this free contemporary Cambodian course are also suitable for use as a coursebook to guide your learning.
Taking it further
Although this comprehensive contemporary Cambodian course provides an excellent introduction to the language, you won’t be able to master Cambodian without practicing it in real life.
This means as soon as possible, you should take your new Cambodian skills out into the real world and put them to use.
Try to find Cambodian native speakers to converse with, and above all, do what you can to make using Cambodian a part of your daily life. Because when you do this, you will find you begin making surprising progress in this fascinating and rewarding language.
Introduction
Student Text
Grammatical Sketch
Glossary
| Unit | Audio |
|---|---|
| Lesson 01 | Tape |
| Lesson 02 | Tape |
| Lesson 03 | Tape |
| Lesson 04 | Tape |
| Lesson 05 | Tape |
| Lesson 06 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 07 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 08 | Tape |
| Lesson 09 | Tape |
| Lesson 10 | Tape |
| Lesson 11 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 12 | Tape |
| Lesson 13 | Tape |
| Lesson 14 | Tape |
| Lesson 15 | Tape |
| Lesson 16 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 17 | Tape |
| Lesson 18 | Tape |
| Lesson 19 | Tape |
| Lesson 20 | Tape |
| Lesson 21 | Tape |
| Lesson 22 | Tape |
| Lesson 23 | Tape |
| Lesson 24 | Tape |
| Lesson 25 | Tape |
| Lesson 26 | Tape |
| Lesson 27 | Tape |
| Lesson 28 | Tape |
| Lesson 29 | Tape |
| Lesson 30 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 31 | Tape |
| Lesson 32 | Tape |
| Lesson 33 | Tape |
| Lesson 34 | Tape |
| Lesson 35 | Tape |
| Lesson 36 | Tape |
| Lesson 37 | Tape |
| Lesson 38 | Tape |
| Lesson 39 | Tape |
| Lesson 40 | Tape |
| Lesson 41 | Tape |
| Lesson 42 | Tape |
| Lesson 43 | Tape |
| Lesson 44 | Tape |
| Lesson 45 | Tape |
| Lesson 46 | Tape |
| Lesson 47 | Tape |
| Lesson 48 | Tape |
| Lesson 49 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 50 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 51 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 52 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 53 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 54 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 55 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 56 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 57 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 58 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 59 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |
| Lesson 60 | Tape 1 · Tape 2 |