76-9952 COHEN, David Nathan, 1946- EFL INSTRUCTION AT THE LYCEE DE VIENTIANE, 1973-1974. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1975 Education, language and languages Xerox University Microfilms,Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 @ 1976 DAVID NATHAN COHEN ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. EFL INSTRUCTION AT THE LYCEE DE VIENTIANE, 1973-1974 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in Foreign Language Education The College of Education The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio by David Nathan Cohen, B.A., M.A * * * * * * The Ohio State University 1975 Approved by Reading Committee: Donald R. Bateman Franklin Buchanan Chairman, Dissertation Frederic Cadora Preparation/Presentation Committee ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The financial support that I received from the United States Government as a Fulbright Teacher of English as a Foreign Language at the Lycee de Vientiane in the Kingdom of Laos for the academic year 1973-1974 enabled me to research this dissertation. While recognizing the important contributions of many people in Laos who helped me to gather and to integrate information for this study, I note here the singular assistance of Mr. Norman Green, Chief of the Education Division of USAID/LAOS. He willingly opened USAID/EDUCATION materials to my review, answered many questions, and, through his com­ prehensive understanding of both past and present USAID/EDUCATION projects, brought me to a working level of well-informedness on the subject of education in Laos. Portions of this manuscript were read by many educators. I am especially appreciative of the revisions suggested by my colleagues in Laos who read Chapters 1-3: Mr. Harold Jones, Fulbright Teacher at the Lycee de Vientiane; Dr. Bounlieng Phommasouvanh of the Ecole Superieure de Pedagogie; Madame Pinhkham Simmalavong, Director of the English Sec­ tion at Dong Dok; Mr. Howard Pullan, VSO teacher at the Lycee de Vientiane; Mr. Philip Rudge, British Council Expert in the Education Department of the English Section at Dong Dok; and Mr. Alun Rees, also a British Council Expert at Dong Dok. This dissertation reflects not only their input but also that of many other Colombo Plan, Fulbright, ii IVS, and VSO teachers in Laos, as well as that of teachers in the United States who have also commented upon portions of the manuscript. In this latter group, I include particularly the members of my disserta­ tion committee, chaired by Professor Don Bateman, whose individual and collective constructive criticism has shaped this study from its in­ ception. However the valued assistance of others is apportioned, I alone must accept ultimate responsibility for both the arrangement and inter­ pretation of all data and for any faults or errors contained in the presentation. iii VITA December 16, 1946 .... Born - Columbus, Ohio 1968 ................... B.A. in Chinese, with Distinction in History The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1970 ................... M.A. in English, specializing in TESOL The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1970-1971 ............... Lecturer, Department of English The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1971-1972 ............... Instructor, Department of English & Speech Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois 1972-1973 ............... Instructor, Department of Communication Skills Columbus Technical Institute, Columbus, Ohio 1973-1974 ............... Professor of English Lycee de Vientiane, Vientiane, Laos 1974-1975 ............... Instructor in English Language House, International Esfahan, Iran FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Foreign Language Education Professor Frank Otto Minor Field: Linguistics Professor George Landon Minor Field: TESOL Pedagogy Professor George Landon iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin Cohen; my grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Cohen and Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Meizlish; and my godparents, Dr. and Mrs. A. S. Kohn; who have always encouraged me in my studies and who have provided unre­ mitting moral and financial support during the long period of my elementary and secondary schooling and undergraduate and graduate training. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii VITA iv DEDICATION v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS viii PREFACE x Chapter I. THE SETTING ...................................... 1 Laos Education in Laos Secondary Education The Lycee System II. THE LYCEE DE VIENTIANE .......................... 45 History Physical Description Organization Curricula Staff Profile Student Profile III. LANGUAGES AND THE LYCEE ....................... 66 The Politics of the English Language in Laos The English Language Program Evolution Formulation, 1973-1974 History vi IV. THE CLASSES Premiere Premiere A (First Language) Premiere B, Sections 1 & 2 (Second Language) Premiere D, Section 4 (First Language) Recommendations Terminale Terminale A (First Language) Terminale B (Second Language) Terminale D, Section 4 (First Language) Recommendations V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ....................... At the Lycee de Vientiane Beyond the Lycee de Vientiane Recommendations to the MOE Recommendations to the Administration of the Lycee de Vientiane BIBLIOGRAPHY I ........................................ Selected Readings on Laos BIBLIOGRAPHY II ........................................ Readings and Documents on Education in Laos LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AACTE American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education AID Agency for International Development ENI Ecole Normale d'Instituteurs ENV Ecole Normale de Vientiane * ESP Ecole Superieure de Pedagogie IRDA Institut Royal de Droits et d'Administration IVS International Voluntary Services LAA Lao-American Association MOE Ministry of Education PL Pathet Lao RELC Regional English Language Centre RLG Royal Lao Government SEAMEO South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization SEAREP South East Asian Regional English Project TEFL Teaching English as a Foreign Language UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization USAID United States Agency for International Development ** * The ENV is sometimes designated as the ENVT. ** USAID has come to stand for all the bureaucracy which generates and executes the aid programs of the United States Government's Mission to Laos. viii USIS United States Information Service USOM United States Operations Mission *** VSO Voluntary Service Overseas ***** *** USOM was the title of the U.S. Mission to Laos from at least 1951 (****) through the beginning of the Kennedy administration. Although superseded by USAID in Laos, USOM continues under that title in neighboring Thailand. **** Ras Oliver Johnson. "A Study of Education in Laos." p. 62. ***** Formerly, British Volunteers were subcategorized as either Gradu­ ate Volunteers (GVSO's) or Regular Volunteers (VSO's). This distinction is no longer maintained. All Volunteers are designated as VSO's. ix PREFACE This dissertation was initially prepared with data gathered from mid-September, 1973, through mid-July, 1974. A five-day "flying visit" to Vientiane in late March, 1975, enabled me to secure some additional data and, more importantly, to submit this manuscript to Lao and Western colleagues, whose revisions have been included herein. I have presented the most reliable data available to me. Realiz­ ing, however, that some of the information may even yet be inaccurate, I welcome the opportunity to amend this dissertation by incorporating corrections submitted by any Reader with access to such verifiable counter-information. David Nathan Cohen Columbus, Ohio November, 1975 x CHAPTER I THE SETTING LAOS The kingdom of Laos is a former French colony which formed part of French Indochina. After being given nominal independence by France on March 11, 1949, and full independence after the signing of the Geneva Accords in 1954,^ the country was intermittently ravaged by third- country-supported internecine full-scale and guerrilla warfare for almost o twenty years. The resolution of that conflict has recently resulted in a coalition government formed of representatives of the United States- o 4 backed Royal Lao GovernmentJ and the North Vietnamese-backed Pathet Lao. The more than 3,000,000 people^ of this landlocked developing country are spread over 91,000 square miles,® with an average of thirty-three persons per square mile, rising to an average of 180 persons per square mile in the Mekong River plains along the Thai border.^ O "Following centuries-old patterns, the vast majority of the people of Laos are subsistence wet-rice farmers living in tiny villages along the Mekong and its tributaries or, in the case of the hilltribes, dry-rice farmers leading a semi-nomadic life based on slash-and-burn cultivation in the highlands."^ The median age of the population is around twenty with a life expectancy of thirty to thirty-five.Half of the population is Lao, the descendants of those ancestors who fled from China and established the Kingdom of Lan Xang in 1 3 5 3 . The main 1 2 19 18 14“15 groups are the Hmoung, Black Thai, Lu, Yao, and Kha. In addi­ tion, 30-50,000 Chinese, 1-2,000 Indians,^ many Francophilic Vietnamese, and a number of foreigners of European origin monopolize the commercial sector by default since, until the present time, the Lao have not sought out the laying-up-of-worldly-goods through long-term commerical ventures designed to substantially enhance one's material well-being and social prominence.1^ 18 With a 2-2.5% population growth per year and an average