English Language Ministry at Tulsa Bible Church

Tulsa Bible Church hosted an English Language workshop in October.

 

On October 20th, 21st and 22nd we held a 10-hour “tutor-training workshop” at Tulsa Bible Church. Georg & Martha Ort and I worked together to train 11 people in the use of Passport to the World of English and Using Everyday English. These two curriculua, developed by Literacy & Evangelism International, are invaluable tools in teaching English to speakers of other languages. Both can be taught after learning eight simple steps used for each lesson.

Georg, Martha and I teamed up to lead a workshop on teaching English to speakers of other languages.

 

Tulsa Bible Church is launching a ministry to reach out to the Spanish-speaking population of the city. According to the Tulsa World approximately 12% of Tulsa is Hispanic. In addition, Hispanic students outnumber other races and ethnicities in Tulsa Public Schools. Most of these students are English Language Learners (ELL).

Merle Ediger from the church is heading up this outreach to the growing Hispanic population. He and Pastor of Shepherding, Phil Martin, were present for the training.  Merle has a lot of cross-cultural experience: he was raised in Ethiopia, served in Kenya (where he met his wife Carol) and also worked in Ecuador.  Merle knows that teaching conversational English is a great way to become acquainted with people, minister to their need and build relationships.

 

Merle and his wife Carol discuss one of the steps – Activities – which teaches reading/writing.

 

Each of the three sessions in our workshop was introduced with a relevant Scripture followed by prayer. We then demonstrated each of the steps needed to teach a lesson. After modeling, the participants practiced the step with a partner or in a small group. In this manner we taught all eight steps: Theme Picture, Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Clap the Stress,  Conversations, Activity, Things to Think About and Assignment.

 

We read a Scripture from Deut. 24:17-22 about God’s concern for the foreigner, fatherless and widows.

Georg uses a power point to introduce the objectives of the workshop.

Gestures are used to indicate “please listen” , “please repeat” and “please read.”

 

A familiar pattern of “model” then “repeat” then “solo” is used to teach most of the steps. Once mastered, it is relatively easy to work through any of the 15 lessons used in Book 1 of Passport to the World of English.  In addition, these same eight steps can be used to “create a lesson.” If students need help with buying groceries, for example, you can develop your own lesson around that theme. In this way, you can supplement the curriculum with lessons which meet the individual needs of your learners.

 

Martha assists groups on Saturday morning to create their own lessons.

Reviewing the steps to teach a lesson in Passport and also to “create your own lesson.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 people completed the training and are ready to use LEI materials to teach English.

At the conclusion of the 10-hour workshop, we were delighted to present certificates to our 11 participants. All of them attended each of the three sessions and fully participated in the training. We praise the Lord for this opportunity to equip believers with tools to show the love of Christ through teaching English. May all of our trainees use these new skills to teach and reach the immigrants, refugees, foreigners and sojourners living in Tulsa.

“Assemble the people – men, women and children and the aliens living in your towns – so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law.” Deut. 31:12