ESL Tutor Training Workshop

20 highly motivated people came out for the first night of our ESL workshop.

Barbara Merrill did a great job publicizing our workshop. She greeted each participant and helped them register.

Our 10-hour ESL workshop began on Tuesday evening with 20 people present. Dr. Nancy Sue Laminack, Melody Selby and I comprised the training team. We were thrilled with the turnout despite temperatures in the teens!

Dr. Nancy Sue Laminack leads the workshop.

It was exciting to hear each person tell of their interest in teaching English. Krista, a missionary with One Hope, learned about the workshop when she sat next to Dr. Nancy Sue on the flight from Atlanta to Tulsa. Krista plans to work with children in Europe and sees ESL as a wonderful tool.  Jacque wants to begin a church-based ESL program to reach the parents of elementary school children in her community. Most of those parents do not speak English. DeMarco, Mary and Ronda are going to Africa on a short term mission trip and see a great demand for English. Karri lives in a large Spanish-speakng community and is in the process of organizing ESL classes for the residents. Mona taught ESL with the Enid Literacy Council until it closed. She plans to initiate an English  ministry through her local church. Ledy from Venezuela, teaches ESL but wants to learn how to use Passport to the World of English. These are only a few of our twenty participants.

Melody gave a convincing demonstration of how people can learn with the Passport  curriculum.  She taught a sample lesson entirely in Chinese. Yet, in only 15 minutes she helped the class master a dozen Chinese words using pictures, objects and gestures.

Melody using Chinese to model an ESL class.

I introduced the 8 steps necessary to teach each lesson in Passport. Once these are mastered, one can teach all the other lessons without further training.  The steps are: (Theme Picture, Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Clap the Stress, Conversation, Activities, Things to Think About and Assignments).  Melody demonstrated Theme Picture as a warm-up exercise to help the students transition to English. Nancy Sue modeled the way to teach Vocabulary using pictures and objects. I then taught Pronunciation which introduces the student to basic sounds in English.

A special treat was the opportunity to hear two songs in Portuguese. Our Dormitory Manager and his wife, Alex and Daniela, had family visiting from Brazil. Alex’ sister (Helena) and her husband (Joao) joined together to harmonize for us during the training. It was a special time to worship God through the gift of music. Here’s a sample:

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The highlight of the workshop was the opportunity to see our participants in action. After learning the “8 steps” on Tuesday and Thursday evening, the participants taught non-English speakers on Saturday. It was wonderful to see how well they learned to use the curriculum and could apply what they learned to a new lesson (4).

Linda demonstrates "pronunciation" during our workshop.

Ronda demos "clap the stress" to help learners put emphasis on the right syllable.

DeMarco teaches a reading/writing activity from Lesson 4.

Several Burmese men listened and learned as our participants led them through each step. We are so grateful to Pastor Sei for bringing folks from his congregation to be our students. The hour and a half lesson passed quickly.  Pastor Sei would like to train people in his own church to teach English using a Bible-content curriculum.

Pastor Sei (right) brought two men from his church who wish to learn English.

Our workshop leader led us in a time of debriefing to reflect upon the teaching experience. Everyone agreed it is easier to see how to teach than it is to get up front and teach. They also concurred that teaching ESL is a lot of fun and addictive.

Nancy Sue helps our participants reflect on their teaching experience.

At the conclusion, 2o people received certificates for their successful completion of the 10-hour training. Some will use their training on short-term mission trips during the year. Others will begin teaching classes around Tulsa. Still others will start an ESL program in their local church. We are excited to see how God is going to use these men and women to initiate an English Language Ministry.

Our workshop concluded with Scripture, hymn, prayer and certificates.

Nancy Sue, Bob and Melody are tired buy joyful at the end of the workshop.

Training for English As A Second Language

Odilia Pena teaching a delightful class of women from Burma.

An exciting area of ministry is English As A Second Language or “ESL” as it is widely known. This focuses on helping non-English speakers with the English language. For many years Literacy & Evangelism promoted ESL training and materials as part of our mission.

I first attended a major Literacy & Evangelism training event in 1990. During the nine-week Institute, we enjoyed two intensive weeks of ESL. The trainers worked with Southern Baptist churches in Northeast Oklahoma. The course  was an eye-opening experience as I learned that  many internationals living/studying in the U.S. need practical help with English. By teaching ESL, warm relationships are built and opportunities presented  to share the Good News.

For a number of years, Firm Foundations (our basic literacy curriculum) was used to help  ESL learners.  After many requests, a supplementary book was added called ESL/EFL Tutor’s Guide.

Passport to the World of English (PWE) is a four-volume, BIble-content curriculum for teaching English.

In 1995 a four volume curriculum called “Passport to the World of English” (PWE) was published by Literacy & Evangelism.  The author, Marti Lane,  incorporated the latest research on language development while at the same time gradually introducing biblical material. Since then PWE provided a foundation for many church-based ESL programs around the country.  Currently Rev. Don Edic, English Language Ministry Director for Literacy & Evangelism, is working on a lower level curriculum designed for people with no experience in English whatsoever.  His new series shows great promise, especially for learners overseas.

Dr. Nancy Sue Laminack teaches "theme picture" during a recent training workshop.

Literacy & Evangelism will host a training on January 11, 13 & 15 2011 to equip people to use PWE for teaching English. Dr. Nancy Sue Laminack will be coming from Georgia as the lead teacher. Nancy Sue joined  LEI in 2007 after retirement from education. She taught at all levels from elementary through college. The last years of her career as an educator were spent as a principal of a middle school. In her hometown she teaches weekly ESL classes to local immigrants . In addition to teaching, she enjoys training people in both ESL, basic literacy and spending time with her family.

Melody leads a simulation exercise using the Chinese language.

Melody Selby will assist Nancy Sue in the workshop. Melody spent much of her childhood in Asia where her family served as missionaries. After attending college in the U.S., she did graduate study in “Chinese Church History” in Hong Kong. She learned to speak and read Chinese.  Melody most recently taught ESL at Tulsa Community College until the birth of her son. She and her husband make their home in Sand Springs.