Lao for Beginners - Second Edition
Buasawan Simmala was born and grew up in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. In March, 2000 she received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the United States and subsequently received her Master's Degree in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University in Virginia. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in urban education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Buasawan also works part-time as a Lao language editor, interpreter and translator. She has a lot of private students and has taught Lao to foreigners from many parts of the world at the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute. Buasawan is proficient in Lao, Thai and Vietnamese.Benjawan Poomsan Becker was born in Bangkok and spent her childhood in Yasothon, a province in Northeast Thailand. Her family is ethnic Laotian, so she grew up speaking both Thai and Lao. She graduated from Khon Kaen University in Thailand in 1990, with a B.A. in English. Benjawan gained extensive experience teaching while studying for her M.A. in Japan with Berlitz Language Schools, and in the US with Thai temples, Stanford University and private students. Now she is residing in the San Francisco Bay Area where she continues to write and books on the Thai and Lao languages. Benjawan is a professional interpreter and translator in both languages. Her former Lao book includes "Lao-English English-Lao Dictionary for Non-Lao Speakers".