AI: Artificial Intelligence – the capacity of a computer, robot, programmed device, or software application to perform operations and tasks analogous to learning and decision-making in humans.[1] Have you used AI in your teaching and/or in your witness to others? How were your experiences of using it? When I told my daughter that I was … Read more …
Direct or Indirect? Thinking Christianly about Communication in the Classroom
Direct (adj.) straightforward; frank; candid.[1] If you had to make a generalisation, would you describe the way the British communicate as direct or indirect? And how nuanced is your own approach to communication? Is there a noticeable shift when you’re with immediate/extended family, certain friends or colleagues, or when you’re rubbing shoulders with people at … Read more …
Thinking Christianly about Churches, Classes and Welcome
“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 … Read more …
Christian teacher or teacher who is a Christian?
For a long time, I thought that being a Christian teacher meant being conscientious, turning up on time, doing a bit extra, going the second mile, investing myself in my pupils. It is hard. I have colleagues who are like that who aren’t Christians. Or does being a Christian teacher mean I must find a … Read more …
Annoying Expressions and the Classroom
What are the English expressions that annoy you the most? Why do they annoy you so much? Are you like me and get all prickly when literally and like are liberally sprinkled throughout conversation? And how do you deal with teaching annoying language in the ESOL classroom?[1] The word ‘annoying’ points to something that is … Read more …
What our Learners think of the British
Have you ever wondered what our learners from overseas make of the British? What adjectives do you think they would use to describe us? Helpful, polite, smiley, reserved, private, prefer doing their own thing. Just some of the responses canvassed from ESOL[1] learners about their impressions of British people they have met – including probably … Read more …
Resistant Groups & the Classroom: Persevering in Skills and Faith
Resistance: The act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding.[1] Having spent years teaching EFL[2] abroad with little positive response to Jesus,[3] I totally get that I’m planting and watering,[4] removing the rocks even, as a veteran worker reminded me.[5] Only God makes things grow and what a privilege to be in his service as … Read more …
Maras, Church & Learning English: From El Salvador to Manchester
Imagine thousands of tattooed prisoners, heads shaved, kneeling low, with heavily armed guards standing over them ready. Now picture a prison built to hold a whopping 40,000 prisoners.[1] Inmates are crammed in together – mainly from two rival gangs – Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18. Violent maras (street gangs) have contributed to El Salvador[2], … Read more …
Can you read?
We may take it for granted, but the ability to read everyday texts, including this newsletter, is not possible for everyone. According to UNESCO, there are nearly 1 billion adults around the world who cannot read and write, and illiteracy is a problem in both developing and developed countries. 16.4% of adults in England, or … Read more …
Navigating the Art of Error Correction…’Christianly’
‘No Ahmed, that’s wrong, sorry. You keep mixing up your past simple with the past continuous. The way we say it is …..’ Sounds painful yet familiar? Error correction is a challenging and joyful artform with lots of pitfalls! However, there can also be a certain magic about error correction that can prise open the … Read more …
Some thoughts on Jesus, Gospel, and Shame
Shame (noun/verb): the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonourable, improper, ridiculous, done by oneself or another (dictionary.com) When was the last time you felt shame? Was it getting your teaching all muddled up while being observed? Finding out that the food you brought for ‘bring and share’ lunch at church had gone … Read more …
New Day Opportunities
All the material in this article was inspired by listening to ‘Rob’, who lived among the Kurds of Northern Iraq for 11 years with his family, before returning to the UK to carry on similar ministry.[1] Doesn’t winter drag on some days, especially when the cold and damp seem to linger in your bones? Solomon … Read more …