Starting and Growing a Church-Based ESL program: contexts and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Starting and Growing a Church-Based ESL program: contexts and principles

Michael Pasquale & Monica Pasquale Cornerstone University

Cornerstone University ESL Ministry Conference April 2, 2016

DEVELOPING A MINISTRY- FOCUSED ESL PROGRAM

Part One

#1 – Be Ethical

Two accusations against Christians in ESL: 1) Lack of preparation 2) Lack of transparency of motives in using ESL for evangelistic purposes

#2 – Be Hospitable

Hospitality – over-arching characteristic of hospitality is love, How to show hospitality, …

• Be sensitive to needs …
• Learn the language of your students, …

#3 – Be Prayerful

• Prayer is vital …
• Pray for your students, …
• Pray for your fellow teachers, …
• Involve church-wide prayer support, …

STEPS TO DEVELOP AN ESL PROGRAM IN YOUR CHURCH

Part Two

Is ESL a useful tool for your church?

• What is the location and demographics of the

people in the surrounding area of your church?

• What is the makeup of your congregation?
• Are other ESL classes offered by churches or

programs in the community?

How to plan an ESL program

• Define your mission
• Find a capable administrative director
• Find a strong lead teacher(s)
• Recruit a team of teachers

How to plan an ESL program

• Select and order curriculum
• Decide upon the duration of classes
• Determine whether you will charge
• Provide orientation and training opportunities for teachers
• Advertise the classes
• Pre-register students

How to conduct and ESL class

• Establish class levels
• Plan for child care
• Consider transportation issues
• Plan a brief time for announcements and prayer
• Distribute a basic information sheet
• Maintain flexibility

How to conduct an ESL class

• Plan time for refreshments and fellowship
• Follow the classes with teacher debriefing and prayer
• Provide social service information
• Plan a party

Developing and sustaining an ESL program

• Build a budget
• Provide continued discipleship and mentoring
• Provide cultural awareness training for your own

congregation

• Incorporate cross-cultural elements into all aspects of the

church

• Invite your congregation to be a part of the ministry

DEVELOPING A COMMUNICATIVE ESL CLASSROOM

Part Three

ESL Teaching & Learning Principles

ESL teaching and learning principles will help guide you in making choices concerning what books to use, how to prepare for a class, etc.

ESL Teaching & Learning Principles

Be prepared pared to teach ch the ABCs Cs

The teacher must be prepared for each ESL session, understand a student’s attitude or motivation for learning English, encourage them to be diligent in study, and encourage students to communicate in English.

Diligence …language learning takes time

• Daily interaction with English is necessary to

gain proficiency

• FSI survey … # of hours needed for native

English speakers to gain proficiency in speaking and reading in another language:

• Closely related languages (e.g. Spanish): 575 to 600

class hours.

• Significantly different languages (e.g. Russian): 1100

class hours

• Exceptionally difficult (e.g. Chinese): 2200 class hours