Kenny's Lao journey
In the heart of every Lao learner is a story. A story of connection, heritage, and the joy of rediscovering one's roots. Today, we're shining a spotlight on one of our cherished students, Kenny, and the incredible journey he’s embarked on to embrace his cultural identity and preserve his Lao heritage to uphold the legacy of his grandmother.
How did you learn Lao before Lao English School?
I didn’t use any resources to help myself learn Lao prior to Lao English School. From my experience, it was difficult to find resources both online and in-person because there wasn’t much out there to begin with. The only method I ever used was just listening and repeating what I heard from my family/relatives (Which I didn’t do much 555).
What inspired you to learn Lao?
I decided to learn Lao because I want to be more in touch with my cultural identity! Growing up, my grandma was a huge influence on me when it came to all things Lao, like the food, music, traditions and language. However, after my grandma passed away, I felt like I became distant from all those things.
I’ve realized with being a first-generation Lao American, I feel the personal responsibility to keep my Lao roots alive. Like my grandma, I want to continue planting the seeds and passing down all the knowledge I know about my culture to my future kids/generation. If I don’t, then our Lao roots will eventually fade away.
Learning the language is the foundation I want to begin with on this journey of strengthening my cultural identity. Not only will my Lao roots be kept alive, but my grandma's legacy will too.
How did Lao English School support you?
Before Lao English School, I understood most things said in Lao when being spoken to; but when it came to speaking Lao, I would struggle and go blank when trying to come up with words to say in my head. Especially when elders spoke, I could only respond back with one or two worded answers.
Things changed after I completed both level 1 and level 2 group classes though. I learned to have both longer and meaningful conversations with others in Lao. I became comfortable with ordering my food in Lao whenever I ate at Lao restaurants and am proud to say, I can finally hold conversations with the elders in my family too! Asking them things like how they’re feeling, what they did during the week and stories of their time back home in Laos.
I truly couldn’t have made this progress without the help of Ginie and Lao English School. Ginie has taught me the fundamentals of Lao and the technical things I probably wouldn’t have learned on my own, such as sentence structures and the different tones a single word can be pronounced in. I appreciate the effort put into each class, as lessons were well planned, interactive and fun to be a part of along with fellow classmates from around the world. Ginie is supportive, patient and flexible in meeting the needs of her students and I’d highly recommend Lao English School to anyone interested in learning Lao!
Learning Lao makes me feel…
Empowered and confident in my identity!
Looking back, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to new Lao learners?
To not be intimidated or feel guilty because there are many other Lao people just like myself who want to learn the language and support others who want to as well. And you never know, you might run into one of them in real life, our community can be delightfully small. :)
Is there anything else you’d like to tell those reading your story?
A piece of advice I wish to have known is that when it comes to conversations, there is no right or wrong way to speak Lao. What’s truly important is that others understand what you’re saying and the message you’re trying to convey. There’s no such thing as sounding or speaking perfect!
Stories like Kenny's are what make our mission at Lao English School so rewarding. Khobjai der for sharing your story and allowing us to get to know you! We hope that Kenny’s story serves as an inspiration for you to start your Lao journey. You could be the next inspiring success story for other Lao learners.