Manchester: Cosmopolitan melting pot of rusting railway arches, shabby warehouses, brash pop-up skyscrapers, anarchic Britpop, and football fanaticism. Not an easy place to witness to Jesus. Yet God is at work amongst the immigrant and refugee communities throughout the city.

2:19 had the treat of catching up with Sarah[1] who hails from Oldham, a town of over 200,000 people in the east of Manchester. How did she end up running English conversational classes in her church and community?

“I worry about the students when they don’t come to class.” Sarah gets animated when she talks about the students who come to English classes. You get a sense of the depth of relationships and trust that she has carefully – prayerfully – built up over time. It all came about through Sarah’s longing to serve the local community, particularly women, through the English language. It’s the method of communication, Sarah explains: “Learning the language boosts confidence, mental health, joy. The learners help one another. It benefits the whole community. English language is a gift I can give”.

It’s so refreshing when Sarah talks about making sure that the English classes are not a standalone project but integral to the life of the church. Having classes in the  church building itself is a part of that. However, being a relatively new church member, getting leadership on board from the start has been essential, particularly as the church is small (around 60 people) and conservative.

Wise to the fact she couldn’t do it alone, Sarah also relies on the help of two or three volunteers from her church, some of whom are Primary and ESOL trained. How wonderful that ordinary church members can get involved, together with updates and prayer for the English classes that come from the pulpit weekly.

On the flip side, just imagine the courage it takes for people from other religions to enter a church building. Don’t forget we had race riots in Oldham not so very long ago. The church is smack bang in one of the most deprived wards of the town, an area mostly populated by ethnic Bangladeshis.[2] Women are often illiterate – Sarah describes one lady who comes to the classes living in England for 26 years speaking little more than her name.

In fact, classes are what Sarah describes as a self-created women’s group. Contacting the local school and asking them what they needed was a real breakthrough. Parents were met at the gate by the school pastoral worker and chaperoned up the road to the church building. We’re talking about often isolated and vulnerable people here – entrusted to the church. That’s once the menfolk and elder-type lady from the mosque next door have popped by to verify the classes are legit. Sarah and friends really do what they say they are doing: that is making the linguistic needs of the community a priority and helping them with their English. Picture twelve women busily working on their alphabet together.

Serving, listening, loving the unlovable. Something as simple as offering a choice of snack offers the dignity of choice, Sarah explains. With permission, stories are shared with the learners from the Christian perspective. Christmas is a fantastic opportunity but Eid also offered a chance to discuss Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. In the margins before class begins, when a learner shows up early, there are more direct questions: What is the church? What do you do here? Then there was the learner hyperventilating due to the anxiety of not knowing how the bills would be paid. An offer to pray in Jesus’ name, calmness, reassurance, supernatural help. That learner forms the core of the student body.

Witness takes many forms: Perseverance, prayer, cultural sensitivity, skilful teaching, and love are hallmarks of these conversational classes. In the future, Sarah wants to further cement relationships by taking church members on a visit to the mosque, demonstrating respect but also reciprocating the courage of the women who step into a church building each week. What a privilege to hear of an ordinary church member stepping out in faith to use church-based English classes as a gift for her local community.

 

Further Resources and Reading

Thinking about setting up a conversational class? Why not read through this guide from those who have gone before?

‘Sow to Reap: How to set up outreach through church-based conversational classes and iCafes’. A practical resource booklet from the 2:19 team modelling a step-by-step approach to getting your church on board, together with the nitty-gritty of planning and running English classes. Order softback (£15) or digital (£10) from the 2:19 website: https://www.twonineteen.org.uk/product-category/lesson-resources/page/2/

Need further support with setting up? Why not contact 2:19 to get more ideas on support available. North West (daniel@twonineteen.org.uk), Midlands (maura@twonineteen.org.uk), South (marina@twonineteen.org.uk)

Need to gain more confidence in teaching? Why not do some self-study online? Check out ‘Principles and Practices of TESOL’, a free introductory course through Future Learn. For a few hours a week, such courses are great for brushing off cobwebs for the more experienced while providing foundations for those new to teaching. Have a browse around, there’s sure to be a course that will spark your interest: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/key-principles-and-practices-of-tesol

Alternatively the Christian-run ‘ODILS’ charity in Plymouth offer the gold-standard Trinity Cert TESOL: https://odils.com/online-teacher-training-courses-for-english-tesol/ Although delivery is online, an optional plus point is that people in the area are welcome to come into ODILS for teaching practice, meetings, and further support.

 

Photo Credits

The nice little map of Manchester’s boroughs was snapped with permission from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greater_Manchester_map.png (last accessed 6 Oct 23).

The photo of the head/facial coverings typical of UK women from an Islamic background is aptly titled ‘Baghdad, Kabul, Brixton?’. https://www.flickr.com/photos/neilmoralee/8188745590 (last accessed 6 Oct 23).

Lady teaching ladies snap from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/liverpoolschoolofenglish/10211219575 (last accessed 6 Oct 23).

Footnotes

[1] Pseudonym to protect the identities of the church, church volunteers and learners themselves.

[2] The area surrounding the church building is almost exclusively Bangladeshi, Oldham as a whole has 3.3% Bangladeshi and 5.3% Pakistani heritage residents. See 2021 stats here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censusareachanges/E08000004/ (last accessed 6 Oct 23)