In the breathtaking temple complex of Angkor Wat, Cambodia boasts one of the world’s great historical monuments, so it’s unsurprising that the country features prominently on the itineraries of many visitors to the region.
Of course, in places commonly visited by tourists, you won’t be expected to speak a word of Khmer — as the language is also known. However, those who make the effort will greatly enrich their experience of traveling in Cambodia while gaining the respect of the friendly and welcoming locals.
This is not a language for which a wealth of study materials are available, making this free online Cambodian course an invaluable resource for anyone hoping to learn.
Course Details
What is the FSI Cambodian Basic course?
The FSI Cambodian course is a comprehensive collection of materials created for US diplomats preparing for postings in this Southeast Asian country. Written by Richard B. Noss and Im Proum in 1966, it covers both Standard Cambodian and the Phnom Penh dialect.
The course is organized into 45 units arranged in groups of five, with the first four units of each group based on dialogues and the fifth being a narration that reviews the preceding material. Units 1–20 use Standard Cambodian, while from Unit 21 onward the Phnom Penh dialect is introduced alongside the standard form.
How was FSI Cambodian Basic originally used?
This course was originally designed to be studied by US diplomatic staff in a near-perfect learning environment. The students would have around six hours of class time per day, supplemented by at least two hours of personal study. Even when they weren’t engaged in formal learning, the students were expected to speak Khmer among themselves.
How can you use FSI Cambodian Basic?
If you have another coursebook, you can use the dialogues and drills contained in FSI Cambodian to supplement your learning and improve your fluency and pronunciation skills. Alternatively, you could use FSI as your main coursebook, working through the dialogs, drills and exercises it contains. You should also try to supplement this with whatever other materials you can find.
Course Contents
Group 1 — Classroom Language (Units 1–5)
| Unit | Topic | Key Grammar |
|---|
| Unit 1 | Greetings and Classroom Phrases | Gender distinctions, personal pronouns, polite responses |
| Unit 2 | Comprehension and Repetition | Word order, dialogue for comprehension, final particles |
| Unit 3 | Numbers and Ordinals | Cardinal numbers 1–10, ordinal numbers, head-modifier constructions |
| Unit 4 | Classroom Commands and Books | Yes-no questions, demonstratives, fluency drills |
| Unit 5 | Narration: Classroom Review | Equivalence drills, negative commands review |
Group 2 — Language Learning (Units 6–10)
| Unit | Topic | Key Grammar |
|---|
| Unit 6 | Translation and Comprehension | Translating Khmer–English, sentence-final particles |
| Unit 7 | Vocabulary and Negative Statements | Negative constructions (min…tee), vocabulary building |
| Unit 8 | Positive Commands and /viñ/ | Commands with soum, cam, khom; the particle /viñ/ |
| Unit 9 | Reading and Writing | Writing vocabulary, negative questions, adjective predicates |
| Unit 10 | Narration: Verb Modification Review | Verb modifiers, noun modifiers review |
Group 3 — Objects and Descriptions (Units 11–15)
| Unit | Topic | Key Grammar |
|---|
| Unit 11 | Classroom Objects and Colors | Color vocabulary, possessive constructions, location words |
| Unit 12 | Demonstratives and Descriptions | Demonstrative pronouns, descriptive adjectives, noun phrases |
| Unit 13 | Making Comparisons | Comparative constructions (ciag), expressing degree |
| Unit 14 | Superlatives and Quantity | Superlative constructions, counting with classifiers |
| Unit 15 | Narration: Maps and Charts | Visual description, spatial expressions review |
Group 4 — Study and Daily Life (Units 16–20)
| Unit | Topic | Key Grammar |
|---|
| Unit 16 | Time Expressions and Daily Schedule | Telling time, daily schedule vocabulary, habitual actions |
| Unit 17 | Days and Weeks | Days of the week, temporal adverbs, planning expressions |
| Unit 18 | School and Studying | School vocabulary, ability and progress expressions |
| Unit 19 | Books and Reading Practice | Reading verbs, comprehension questions, modifier review |
| Unit 20 | Narration: Learning Cambodian | Sequential narration, restrictive constructions |
Group 5 — People and Places (Units 21–25)
| Unit | Topic | Key Grammar |
|---|
| Unit 21 | Meeting New People | Introduction patterns, Phnom Penh dialect, social register |
| Unit 22 | Nationalities and Countries | Country names, nationality adjectives, tag questions |
| Unit 23 | Languages and Communication | Language names, proficiency descriptions |
| Unit 24 | Cities and Locations | City names, location prepositions, distance expressions |
| Unit 25 | Narration: People and Places Review | Standard vs. Phnom Penh dialect, transformation drills |
Group 6 — Social Life (Units 26–30)
| Unit | Topic | Key Grammar |
|---|
| Unit 26 | Visiting Friends | Social visit vocabulary, invitation expressions |
| Unit 27 | Family Members | Kinship terms, age expressions, possessives with family |
| Unit 28 | Invitations and Social Calls | Formal invitations, accepting/declining, social obligation |
| Unit 29 | Travel Plans and Schedules | Transportation vocabulary, arrival/departure expressions |
| Unit 30 | Narration: Social Life Review | Social interaction patterns, compound verbs |
Group 7 — Holidays and Travel (Units 31–35)
| Unit | Topic | Key Grammar |
|---|
| Unit 31 | Cambodian Holidays and Festivals | Festival vocabulary, cultural events, date expressions |
| Unit 32 | Making Plans | Future plans with douc coŋ, destination vocabulary |
| Unit 33 | Celebrations and Customs | Celebration vocabulary, custom descriptions |
| Unit 34 | Sightseeing and Tourism | Tourist vocabulary, historical references |
| Unit 35 | Narration: Holidays Review | Extended discourse, cultural vocabulary review |
Group 8 — Transportation (Units 36–40)
| Unit | Topic | Key Grammar |
|---|
| Unit 36 | Getting Around Town | Direction vocabulary, route descriptions |
| Unit 37 | Documents and Identification | Document vocabulary, ID numbers, official register |
| Unit 38 | Buying Train Tickets | Ticket purchasing, train vocabulary, price negotiations |
| Unit 39 | Travel by Train | Railway vocabulary, schedule expressions |
| Unit 40 | Narration: Transportation Review | Complex travel narratives review |
Group 9 — Home and Possessions (Units 41–45)
| Unit | Topic | Key Grammar |
|---|
| Unit 41 | Comparing Possessions | Comparative degree with min-ce, contrastive expressions |
| Unit 42 | Describing Your Home | House vocabulary, location within buildings |
| Unit 43 | Shopping and Prices | Market vocabulary, bargaining expressions |
| Unit 44 | Family and Daily Life | Extended family vocabulary, daily routine descriptions |
| Unit 45 | Narration: Course Review | Full vocabulary review, standard/dialect comparison |
Course Materials
PDFs
Audio Files
Volume 01
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