“We are a welcoming church”. A worthy and common-enough statement (or aspiration) indeed. But wait a minute – what does welcome look like for you, your family, your church, and your ESOL class?[1]
Somehow, we all sense deep down inside when we feel welcomed. Think about a time when you experienced that emotion or lack thereof. What was it about the people (yourself included), situation, words, and posture that made you feel that way?
Welcome is an intriguing word. Revolving around greeting, invitation, and hospitality, Dictionary.com describes welcome as the glad and cordial receiving of a person whose presence brings pleasure and gratitude.[2] Think about that the next time a friend of a friend begs you last-minute for a couch for the night.
If we are honest, living out ‘welcome’ is easier said than done. On one level, welcome should be fairly straightforward, shouldn’t it? When people encounter one another for the first or hundredth time, a heartfelt “Hello!” can often work wonders. However, true welcome invites us to go a bit deeper. It’s more than being acknowledged, ushered in, given a seat, invited to fill in a grammar handout, or being fed and watered.
While offering a welcome is about us and what we do, being welcomed is the experience of the person approaching us. I suspect that the challenge in allowing others to feel truly welcomed is connected with our posture towards the unfamiliar, uncomfortable and unknown. Can we ever be quite certain if another person actually feels welcome or not? Nevertheless, it can be illuminating to consider how much of our approach considers our learners with gladness, pleasure and gratitude. If we embraced this attitude, how would it affect our classroom management, activities and materials?
And this posture is much informed when we add ‘Christian’ to ‘welcome’. Think of all the ways in which Jesus has welcomed us (would you describe his welcome as ‘cordial’?), and how the welcome of Jesus enables us to welcome one another.[3]
Well right off the bat, a generous welcome is rooted in God’s character – He who first loved us – and continues to love us.[4] We can live life to the full as most-welcome members of God’s family.[5] God’s welcoming posture and embrace is demonstrated most powerfully in the salvation provided for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.[6]
But what about the idea of ‘welcome’ in our churches and the ESOL classes we run? Some of the most impactful ESOL groups I’ve had the privilege of being part of have been integrated into the life of local churches (aka God’s people in action) – rather than stand-alone projects. Many classes are based in the church building itself and run alongside projects such as Foodbank, drop-in spaces, and cafés.
In other words, if “church” is more than merely a service on Sunday but rather how Christians gather, live, and serve together throughout the week 24-7, we need to consider welcome both in terms of the local church hosting the classes and the classes/classrooms themselves.
It’s easy to point the finger and suggest churches – and by extension church-based ESOL classes – should be more welcoming – and yes in a sense, we do need to rise to that significant challenge and be more intentional. However, would you agree with me in venturing to say that generally, people get more of a taste of welcome in church and in our classes than they do “out there”.[7]
When it comes to making our ESOL classes welcoming, we want to create optimal conditions for learning our lovely (but often quite stressful) English language. That includes being available to our learners – and building foundations of trust and respect so that positive relationships can be formed where life is shared and celebrated. Sometimes we even get to chat about Jesus. But how do we go about making learners feel welcome?
Well for a start, we can always be the first to walk across the room and greet learners, asking genuine open-ended questions and being ready to also listen and receive (“What’s your name?”, “Where do you live?”), offering refreshments (“Don’t worry, these snacks are halal”, “Do you drink black tea?”). As we beckon learners towards seating options and introduce them to others (“Have you met… yet?” “Do you know each other from school?”), we can be sensitive towards ability groupings and the potential need for men and women to sit separately (“Why don’t you sit next to …”).
Welcome can take the form of behind-the-scenes researching of the countries, cultures, languages, choice foods, and beliefs of our learners. Information can then be integrated into lesson content that connects with the lives and experiences of our learners.
Awareness-raising of possible trauma and stress experienced by learners might well prove insightful for teachers and volunteers (and those in churches who are able and skilled to follow up). This is so that a posture of welcome (manifested in patience, forgiveness, and understanding for instance) can be maintained in the classroom despite challenges such as learners being tardy and disruptive or having a lack of focus and interest.[8]
By extension when church volunteers and leaders are culturally informed and sensitive, learners are encouraged to relax. How often do we see and use materials that miss out the entire Middle East, for example, or suggest that those who learn English should never be unsmiling, unsuccessful, or cover their head. This approach of referencing learner culture and experiences (aka the realities of life) personalises our activities. This not only helps make learning more relevant but communicates a message of respect, validation, and empathy.
What about how the physical environment connects with welcome? Well with our lovely climate, is the space warm enough? Are chairs actually comfortable to sit on? Are there enough with a few to spare just in case? Lighting in church is often ill-suited for study – is there a position that takes advantage of both artificial and natural light?
What about the way in which learners are seated? My wife and I are forever rearranging tables and chairs into a horse-shoe shape or separate, smaller table groups depending on the situation. This is all about sightlines or the ‘viewing angle’ of learners which needs to take in at a glance – the teacher, other learners and volunteers, the whiteboard, and possible a projector/TV screen. This is because we’re after seating that affords optimal interaction and relationship-forming.
We never want learners to be sitting alone. Learners are encouraged to work together on projects and share their personal experiences and cultures to promote a strong sense of solidarity within the classroom. And don’t forget that love and kindness flow both ways. The Internationals in your circle are bound to have lots to offer both you and one another.[9] Seen from another angle, perhaps it is our task to encourage learners to feel that without their presence and contribution in the class, something would be lacking – the party would be incomplete without them. And celebrating needs some time – are we in a perpetual rush?
If handouts are your thing, paper, printing and copying costs do mount up and I’d encourage you to find someone to sponsor the expenditure. However, it does promote a healthy sense of justice if everyone has (or at least can see) a copy.
Barriers to learning can be taken down by using a sans serif font that is big enough to see and read without squinting or having to re-read the same line. That means a recommendation of at least 1.5 line spacing with adequate white space around text.[10] Spare pens and sharpened pencils should abound for those who have forgotten. Using photos and pictures invites everyone to participate in preliminary activities and perhaps even contribute with little to no language.
Having emergency activities for absolute beginners (and perhaps other ‘specialist’ and higher levels too) is vital for welcome when you have little idea who is going to walk in next through the door. If they don’t know the alphabet, where should we begin? Why not start with the letters in their name which give meaning, purpose, and a connection. We can always move onto letters that can begin spelling words or a word family in good time (e.g. starting with “a” and “t” allows a way to begin blending, then “c” “s” “h” can be added in and so on). Our welcome can often shine out from our thinking-ahead and preparedness.
In all of this, I trust we see afresh that local churches – and church-based ESOL classes – are a great place to start with welcome. That doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels, however. Although welcome can sometimes feel elusive, linking together a series of seemingly inconsequential, small-ish gestures has the potential to hold great weight in making a positive welcoming impact. As we step out in welcome within our churches and ESOL classes, let us remind ourselves of how Jesus has lavishly welcomed us. And with that motivation and joy, move in welcome towards our learners.
This may start with getting on the internet to read up on Iranian or Salvadorean culture and integrating what you find into the life of the classroom. Or having the courage to make the first move, put on your best smile, and initiate or follow up a conversation.
Welcome may mean a dash to the shops to get green tea and culturally-appropriate snacks, rejigging the furniture, or revamping your latest handout. It’s going to involve availability, a little more time, and quite possibly delicious food. But in the graft of persevering and being intentional in welcome, let us be encouraged that not only language-learning and relationships are heightened and enriched, but our learners are afforded opportunities to glimpse a snapshot of Jesus and the kingdom-welcome he invites all of us to experience and enjoy.
About the author
Daniel is based out of Manchester and enjoys helping churches set up English classes. He also writes about current issues related to English teaching. He likes tramping about in the countryside and exploring cities.
2:19 Teach to Reach are a bunch of ordinary people who are purposeful about teaching the English language skilfully, and in doing so, forging strong relationships and sharing Jesus with International people.
Footnotes
[1] Love acronyms or hate ‘em, ‘ESOL’ stands for ‘English for Speakers of Other Languages’.
[2] Words are often best defined with synonyms! https://www.dictionary.com/browse/welcome (Last accessed Jan 25)
[3] Acceptance, embrace, forgiveness, celebration, welcome: You already knew the painting is Rembrandt’s ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son’, didn’t you?
[4] The reciprocity and motivation for Welcome spin off 1 John 4:7-21.
[5] Read for yourself in John 10:9-11 how Jesus beckons to us: the gate – Himself – open in welcome.
[6] God moved first in welcome to and for us. Have a read of Romans 5:1-11 and count the ‘while we were…’ declarations and their outcomes – for us in Christ. (While we were still powerless, sinners, God’s enemies (v6,8,10) –in Christ’s death – we are saved, justified, reconciled, have hope and peace with God, have access to God).
[7] With good humour, Dr Israel Olofinjana amplifies the welcome or lack thereof from UK churches to people from the Middle East or Nigeria to make his point. What would an “affirming of humanity” look like for your church and ESOL classes? Listen to his short talk @ London City Mission Feb 2024 What does welcome look like in your church? (Last accessed Jan 25)
[8] How many of your learners have experienced some sort of trauma and how can we respond? 2:19 Teach to Reach Article on Trauma in the ESOL Classroom (Last accessed Jan 25)
[9] David Baldwin reminds us that we are not alone and we don’t have to go it alone when it comes to welcome: A Warm Embrace: An Article about Welcoming Internationals in Churches for www.baptist.org.uk (Last accessed Jan 25)
[10] Underlining, italics, line spacing, upper/lower case text impact readability for lots of people. Read more from the good people at the British Dyslexia Association: Dyslexia Friendly Workplaces (Last accessed Jan 25)