The Disney Pixar movie “Inside Out” offers viewers a feature-length glimpse inside the emotional life of an 11-year-old Midwestern girl named Riley. When her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco, Riley’s world is turned upside-down (and inside out). Her first day in her new school was memorable (and one she would love to forget). […]
Inside the Mind of an International Student Read More »
As classes start up again this fall, it’s a good time to look at classroom rules and the impact they have on student learning. Every “rule” should be necessary to move us toward our end goal and provide each student with a fun, supportive, healthy learning environment. Fortunately, for most adult ESL classes rules don’t need
When people find out that I teach ESL (English as a Second Language), they often ask me the same question: “How can you teach international students if you don’t know all those languages?” Actually, you don’t have to be able to speak the languages of your students to teach them English. They’re in the class
Learn My Language, Touch My Heart Read More »
From: July 20, 2023 Presenters: Amy Mitchell and Anna Hannum, Faith International English Classes in Indianapolis Amy Mitchell and Anna Hannum shared a wealth of practical information about working with volunteers that is relevant to any program or ministry. During the Q&A following the presentation, they answered questions that covered more than just the insights about...
Caring for Your Program by Caring for Your Volunteers Read More »
Allowing students to talk about their culture in the classroom is a great opportunity to for them to share a part of themselves with other students and their teachers. It also helps students recognize and respect differences and learn about their host culture. This great activity by Ann Flood in her book English Teacher Training
What if you don’t speak the language? You possibly will have noticed that the three examples of how my wife and I bridged the gap between an ESL/TESOL activity and sharing the gospel were with people whose language my wife and I already spoke. But what can be done if no one in your program speaks
Bridging the Gap – part 5 Read More »
“What’s with those girls?” Our student ministry building was just across the street from the Dental School of one of the largest universities in the world, and their volleyball team needed a place to practice. We had a basketball/volleyball court behind our building, so when the coach asked if they could practice on our court, my
Bridging the Gap – part 4 Read More »
Celebrating Important Milestones by Dr. Lloyd and Wilma Mann I met my wife, Wilma, in Costa Rica as a young, single missionary. Her university training was in teaching elementary students, but she has prepared herself extensively in teaching English as a second language. She taught ESL at the local community college for some eight years, until the
Bridging the Gap – part 3 Read More »
Friendship and an Invitation to Study the Bible When I met Alejandro[1], the first thing I did was get to know him on a purely social level, outside the religious context of the church. I could have chosen any number of activities from sports, cultural events, or inviting him to spend some time with my wife
Bridging the Gap – part 2 Read More »
Has your church/ministry decided to start an ESL ministry with the hope of opening doors to share the gospel with non-English-speaking people in the community? If so, the million-dollar question is: how to move from just teaching English to using the ESL ministry to open doors for sharing the gospel? When a church or ministry moves
