What ESOL curriculum do you use?[1] Do you use textbooks from Oxford or Cambridge perhaps – supplemented by a handful of go-to websites, self-created and downloaded handouts, games, and activities? We continually analyse and assess materials through an ESOL lens but is there really a way of thinking about materials ‘Christianly’? Apart from the linguistic … Read more …
Engaging with Shop and Restaurant Communities
The Plan behind the Pain After eleven years in the Middle East fruitfully serving the gospel, immersed in the local language and culture, we had to leave quite suddenly. It was a severe blow, and yet part of the recovery process has been a joyful discovery of the many shopkeepers in our city who’ve welcomed … Read more …
Challenges and Opportunities from the Land of the Eagles: Albanians in the UK
Eagle: large, soaring bird of prey noted for size, strength, and power of flight and vision (dictionary.com) In the last two years, there have been extraordinary movements of people to the UK from specific countries: Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Ukraine, and now Albania. Although we should be cautious about how and why the media bring such … Read more …
The Bible Society’s New Projects
Recently, 2:19 has been in discussion with the Bible Society and highly recommends taking a look at what they are doing. Our very own Maura Baldwin was chatting to Harry about some recent projects that are really engaging with and helping people bring change in extremely difficult circumstances. Harry shares with us on ‘Navigating Trauma’ … Read more …
Reflections on how to respond to trauma in the ESL classroom: A Christian response
Trauma: an experience that produces psychological injury or pain dictionary.com, accessed 28 May 22. Do you know the background of your learners? Do your learners come from countries that you know are difficult and challenging? Are any of your learners seeking asylum? How did they come to be where they are now? How many … Read more …
Is the UK (and the Church) Hong Kong-ready?
Whilst we have seen quite a lot of coverage about China in the media recently, there hasn’t been much talk lately about the UK’s new BNO (British National Overseas) visa route for Hong Kongers. A New Visa Route Many people in Hong Kong known as ‘British Overseas Territories Citizens’ registered as ‘British Nationals Overseas’ (BNO) … Read more …
Operation Warm Welcome: Is the UK (and the Church) Afghan-ready?
Online government papers state that the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) prioritises those who ‘have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan’. Should we read this as provision of military assistance? In addition, people will be considered for the ACRS if they have ‘stood up’ for values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech, and … Read more …
Developing teaching through observation, discussion and feedback
Two:nineteen Review: Cathy Clarkson, “ ‘While-observation’ discussions: using text-based synchronous chat to scaffold ESOL trainee-teachers’ reflective noticings during teaching practice,” Language Issues: The ESOL & Community Languages Journal, Vol. 31, No. 2, Winter, pp. 61-75 (15). Do you cringe when you see yourself on video? Have you ever recorded the audio-only of your teaching? Or … Read more …
Hong Kong Ready?
2:19 CEO, David Baldwin, has been ‘looking East’ and thinking about the latest wave of people ‘going West’ to settle in the communities around our local churches. “35,000 hongkongers apply to live in the UK under visa scheme” headlines a recent newspaper article.[1] Since the British National Overseas (BNO) scheme opened in January, ‘more than … Read more …
Mysterion
Do you like mysteries? Some people love them – some love setting them and others love solving them. Mysterion (μυστήριον – ‘mystery’) is used 28x in the New Testament and Paul accounts for 75% of these![1] Paul loves to talk about how amazing the gospel is and how nobody could ever have expected it. He … Read more …
The Scattering and Gathering of the Nations
Believing in a Trinitarian God helps us understand the enduring diversity of God’s plan
Who is Ramond Lull and what does he have in common with 2:19? – by David Baldwin
Question: What has 2:19 got in common with an obscure 13th Century Mallorcan? Answer: A love of language and a passion for cross-cultural mission. If you thought the most notable person to come out of Mallorca was Rafael Nadal, then let me introduce you to two non-tennis playing Mallorcans. Firstly, because this is 2:19 and … Read more …