Lead Author: Jeff DeGuia, Los Angeles Regional Advocate, AJSOCAL
This is the final installment of a four-part blog series covering families’ perspectives on supporting Multilingual Learners and Dual Language programs. This piece was written by Jeff DeGuia, Los Angeles Regional Advocate, AJSOCAL.
Long Beach, California is one of the most diverse cities in Southern California with a deep history of being home to many communities. The city is home to the most Cambodians outside of Cambodia, with the eastside of the city getting the official moniker of Little Cambodia. Long Beach, specifically Little Cambodia, is where many Cambodians were settled as they arrived in the United States as refugees in the 1970s as they escaped the Khmer Rouge. Over the last several decades and generations, the Cambodian community has proven to be resilient, connected, proud, and hopeful.
In May of 2024, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) (in partnership with the Dual Language Learner (DLL) Master Plan Advocates and support from lead organization, Catalyst California) hosted a Khmer language parent listening session. In this group were 10 parents to young students, the majority of whom were enrolled in Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) schools and others enrolled in both formal and informal child care and learning centers.
All of our listening group participants expressed a desire to continue either speaking Khmer at home or finding ways to keep the Khmer language and Cambodian culture alive in their student’s daily life – ranging from watching films dubbed or with subtitles in Khmer, computer keyboards that have Khmer language capabilities and various children’s books from Cambodia.
Participants saw the value in being multilingual and agreed it was beneficial as their students progressed through their lives, education, and careers. A few participants shared that their students are currently enrolled in a dual immersion program which is in Mandarin and English but would really love the opportunity for them to be in a dual immersion program that is Khmer. One parent shared that when they enrolled their students at Long Beach school, they were hopeful to find a teacher that speaks Khmer, and though it was initially difficult to find they eventually found a teacher assistant that did.
The history of the Cambodian community in the United States includes significant systemic barriers, including limited access to quality education and overcriminalization. The community also experienced linguistic isolation, with children of refugee parents often serving as translators and helping their families navigate life in the United States. Today, an additional barrier to establishing a Khmer dual immersion program is the shifting landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
A multigenerational group of Cambodian community partners in Long Beach has long recognized the value of representation and cultural preservation. These partners have advocated for a Khmer dual language immersion program for more than 30 years, grounded in a shared vision for the future of the Cambodian community.
As advocates, investing in and advocating for the Cambodian community is how we meet this moment. By doing this we can allow for the community to continue to create a different and new path in education that allows for the community to thrive and that centers culture and the Khmer language.