6355 Crooked Oak Lane, Falls Church, VA 22042

Buasawan Simmala

RESUME

BUASAWAN SIMMALA

Lao Native Speaker

Cell: 262-327-0928

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Ph.D., Urban Education (ADB since May 2007) Expected Spring Semester, 2009

Focus:Adult Education & Continuing Education Leadership

Minor:Second Language Acquisitions

University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI

Dissertation: Cross-cultural Adjustment in the Educational Process of Lao and Vietnamese International Graduate

Students in the United States

M.A., International Commerce and Public Policy August, 2002

GeorgeMasonUniversity, School Of Public Policy Arlington, VA

B.A., International Trade June, 1987

Foreign TradeUniversity Hanoi, Vietnam

High school June, 1981

VientianeHigh School (Lycee Vientiane) Vientiane, Laos

WORKING EXPERIENCE

PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH-LAO LANGUAGE TRANSLATOR AND INTERPRETATOR, AND LAO INSTRUCTOR IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE

Voicing Lao Language,Transcribing, Translating and Interpreting from English to Lao

Freelance Translator, Interpreter, and Voice Recorderof Lao language, 2001-Present

Translates from English/original materials to Lao and record voicesfor American actors who work for King of the Hill of the Twenty First Century Fox Film Corporation in CA.

Produced, voiced/readLao for Beginnersbook for recording in CDs, which are used to supplement to the book for sale in international market in 2003.

Editstranslation document from English documents.

Translates, edits and proof reads translation of English documents into Lao in different fields, such as educational laws, housing and urban development policies, health insurance, work compensation agreements, news and letters into Lao language for Lao immigrants in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany.

Served as the Lao interpreter and translator from English to Lao and vice versafor Lao and American high ranking officials who met in WashingtonD.C.(45 hours per week for two weeks in Summer 2002).

Interprets English-Lao-English for businesses, welfare offices, clinics, and immigration custody units or prisons in the United States,which are conducted both in person and via telephone-conference.

Language Instruction

Lao Literacy Instructor and Curriculum Developer Summer 2003 and 2004, Fall 2005-Spring 2006

Department of Foreign Language and Linguistics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI

Taught Lao beginning and intermediate levels to first generation Lao and Hmong American students

Developed curriculum and testing materials for both beginning and intermediate levels

Lao as a Foreign Language Instructor (intensive courses) Summer 2001

Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI

Instructed and designed curriculum mainly based on communicative teaching approach to help

students at both beginning and intermediate level to acquire high levels of proficiency in Lao in 8 weeks

Developed testing materials and tailored curriculum for teaching all four skill areas of language (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) to foreign students at both beginner and intermediate levels to four students (three European and one Korean American student)

Serves as a Lao private tutor for an American student at University of Wisconsin-Madison who is interested in learning Lao language and culture via Webcam/video conference (1 hour per week since January 2, 2008).

PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATER AND INTERPRETATER IN LAOS

Translated news, diplomatic official letters, agreements and U.S.trading regulations from English to Lao and interpreting for official meetings

Freelance Research Winter 2005

Interviewed Lao government related officials, local community in different provinces, Hmong students to examine the impact of the economic regional integration impact on people life, culture and education in Laos

Commercial Assistant February, 05, 1995-March, 2000

Embassy of the United States of America Vientiane, Laos

Worked with U.S. diplomats and other government visitors to Laos(approx. 4hours per week for five years)

Acted as an interpreter and facilitator for all negotiations of different agreements related totrade and economics, and for the visits of American Ambassadors to Lao high ranking officials, such as ministers and her/his attendance in important ceremonies, such as trade show opening ceremonies and launching a mining project in Laos (approx.5 hours per week for four years)

Translated documents and letters made by American officialsto submit to Lao officials in different ministries (approx. 10 hours per week for five years)

Translated news or broadcasting materials related to economics policy, laws and regulations, procedures and events from English to Lao and Lao to English for the Embassy (approx. 10 hours per week for five years.

Provided bilateral trade-related information for both U.S. and Lao businesses, which were interested in importing-exporting goods from both countries (approximately 5 hours per week for five years)

Conducted in-depth analysis of economic sectors (e.g. textiles, telecommunications, and tourism)

for U.S. Department of State and the Department of Commerce (approx. 5 hours per week for five years)

Translating reports, and action plans in educational, gender and rural development projects from English to Lao

Education and Women’s Development Program Officer July,1993-November, 1994

Consortium for World Learning, World Education, and U.S. Save the Children Vientiane, Laos

Translated reports and action plans in English, which were made by the American officers into Lao to submit to Lao related government officials in ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labor and Social Welfare, Public Health, and Education

Reported activities related to educational and women’s development projects in Lao and English for American officers and related international staff who worked in the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) program

Trained adult literacy teachers for Lao and Hmong refugees returning from refugee camps in Thailand to resettle down in Luangprabang and Sayabouly provinces

Assisted local government in developing budget proposals for health, education, and women’s development of repatriate Lao and Hmong villages in Northern Laos for UNHCR

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

International Trade Relations,Business Administration/Public Relations

Office Manager June, 1992-June, 1993

Lalitha Clothing Company (French Garment Manufacturing and Exporting Company) Vientiane, Laos

Facilitated government relations to ensure smooth business operations and expansion

Supervised import-export staff in inventory clearance and in expeditious preparation of documents for

imports of materials for garment production.

Import-Export RepresentativeJuly 1991-May 1992

Lalitha Clothing Company (French Garment Manufacturing and Exporting Company) Vientiane, Laos

Handled import procedures for national and international suppliers and shipment companies for

Import-Export RepresentativeDecember 1987-January 1991

International Construction Company (government enterprise)

Vientiane, Laos

Handled import procedures for national and international suppliers and shipment companies for

construction materials to be sold and used in the company’s construction projects.

SKILLS

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

Lao (native), fluent in speaking, writing, listening and reading

Thai (second language), fluent in speaking, listening and reading

Vietnamese (second language), fluent in writing, listening and reading and fair in speaking

French (limited in all four language skills, writing, speaking, listening and reading)

COMPUTER

MS Word, Excel, Microsoft Access, Power Point, Adobe PDF, Adobe Indesign and Recording voice using MP3 and Internet

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Publications (both in Lao and English)

Second Language Learning Related Publications

Simmala, B. & Becker, B. (2003). Learning Lao for Beginners. Bangkok, Thailand: Paiboon [AEB1]Publishing Co.

Economic integration and social development of ethnic minority communities in Laos Research and Publication (1)

Well-Deng, A. & Simmala, B. (2006). Economic Integration and Social Development of Ethnic

Minority Communities in Laos: Case Studies from Luang Namtha and SavannakhetProvinces, Lao PDR. Juth Pakai 6, (both in Lao and English Languages), the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) of UNDP–United Nations Development Programme, Vientiane, Laos. Available at

Research Method and Scholarly Analysis

Simmala, B. (2005). Review of the book: Doing qualitative research by David Silverman (2nd Ed.),

2005. New Horizons in Adult Education, Volume 9, Issue #2, pp. 56-58. Available at

International Higher Education and Cross-cultural Studies

[AEB2]

Simmala, B. (2008). Social and Cultural Adjustment of Asian International Graduate Students in the United States. Global Currents Volume 5, Issue 2, Spring 2008.
Simmala, B. (2008). Historical, Social and Cultural Factors Affecting Educational Achievement of Southeast Asian Americans: Analysis within Ogbu’s Cultural Model. Messenger of MoscowStateUniversity of Culture, Spring 2008 (both in English and Russian Languages).

Scholarly Presentations/Public Speaking Experiences (both in Lao and English)

The 49th Annual Adult Education Research Conference, The University of Missouri – St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri (Expected) June 5-7, 2008

Cross-cultural Adjustment of AsianInternational Graduate Students in the United States: Theorizing from the literature

Preobrazhesky’s Readings, International Conference(used a video CD to record and present the paper) May 2006

Racial and Ethnic Dimensions of Adjustment of Minority Students to College in the United States: Experiences of Lao, Hmong, Cambodian & Vietnamese Americans

Southeast Asian Celebration Event Lao Student Organization of University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison,

April 22, 2006

Learning Experiences of Lao, Hmong, Cambodian, and VietnameseAmericanCollege Students in Higher Education Institutions

First International Laos Studies, Northern IllinoisUniversity, De Kalb, IL May, 2005

US-Laos Relations: “Opportunities and Challenges” in Trade and Investments

Academic and Professional Awards and Honors

Grant Awards for Conducting Research in Lao and Asian Regional Economics and Politic

Co-awarded of $10,000 Collaborative Action Research Grant from the Social Science

Research Council to conduct a research in Laos on the State Capacity and Ethnic Relations in Laos: Integration Within and Without, Winter and Summer, 2005

Awards in American Foreign Relation Service Performances

Received Meritorious Honor Award from American Embassy, Vientiane, the U.S. Department

of State’s award for excellent performance 1998

Scholarships for Studying Globalization, International Trade Relations and Adult Education

Russell D. Robinson Adult Education Award, School of Education, University if Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2005-2006

Refugee Teacher Training Assistantship for pursuing Ph. D. education, Fall 2002-Summer 2005

Fulbright Scholarship for pursuing education in Master Degree Program Fall 2000-Summer 2002

COMMUNITY SERVICE AND VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

Vice President of Southeast Asian Network for Education & Research, Inc. December 2005-Present

National organizer committee of the First International Studies Conference May 20-22, 2005

Steering Committee Members of US-LAOS Normal Trade Relations National Coalition 2004

References

TLS Farm

41-500 Waikupanaha Street

Waimanalo, HI96795-1438

[AEB1]What is this space?

[AEB2]Why do you have numbers only for 2 parts? I would say leave them out or label all.