The following blog post is based on the seminar given by Rachel Thake at the English Teaching and Outreach Forum 2018 and is available to download here. A man came to Jesus and asked him, “Who is my neighbour?” If he had asked you, how would you have responded? Most likely, as an English… Read more »
One of the challenges that many of us face in teaching conversational English is how to manage a class of mixed abilities. How do we ensure that everyone is learning in such an environment? (Even if your class isn’t labelled as ‘mixed ability’, there is bound to be a range of abilities, backgrounds, learning experiences… Read more »
As Christians, what sense are we supposed to make of the current ‘migrant crisis’? Whether we like it or not, and sometimes we don’t, people are on the move like never before…and most of them are coming to Europe. People are settling in our cities, our towns and our countryside, some seeking a better… Read more »
So you teach English to migrants? Firstly, your skills are invaluable and in great demand! Only this year, the government released a report which looked at the impact of community-based English language provision, and concluded that what you’re doing ‘increases English language ability and encourages wider social integration’. As teachers, we are already aware of… Read more »
Why Bother with Pronunciation? If you’re not convinced about the merits of spending time on pronunciation, here are some reasons to start thinking about it… * It’s fun! It can be a moment of light relief in a lesson as students all have a go at making sounds which don’t come easily to them. *… Read more »
Ai came to London as a student in 2003 but only one month after her arrival, she injured herself whilst doing Kendo, a type of Japanese fencing. Unfortunately she’d torn her Achilles tendon and had to endure surgery followed by a lengthy recovery – six months without being able to walk on it. This was… Read more »
This is Mohammed, and he’s from Babylon in Iraq. He moved to Croydon in December 2015, and he attends the Vineyard English School there. Mohammed and his wife are both doctors, and he has worked in many different countries: Angola, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Soviet Union and Yemen. He brought medical aid to people in need…. Read more »
Small board and card games are great for a café setting. Recently many new games have been published which are quick to learn and play with simple rules. You can invite someone to plan with you and even if they are not fluent in English they can quickly get to grips and have fun. Likewise,… Read more »
See this as a God-given opportunity to welcome and show love, rather than something to ‘get over and done with’. Have a person(s) tasked with placing people. Make the most of that first meeting when a new student arrives. Smile, show warmth and make them tea. Tailor your registration form so that you can get… Read more »
Sow to reap (Galatians 6:7-8). Sowing was a thankless task because only a fraction of the grain you tossed on the ground would produce fruit, and even then not for many months. Paul used this picture to describe Christian ministry. Like the farmer, the only way to endure is to focus on the harvest to come. Are… Read more »
Syrian Hayk knows all about being a refugee. In the last 20 years, he has been a failed migrant, a successful voluntary migrant, a deportee and a forced migrant. He has travelled from the north of Syria to Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Cuba, Austria Spain, France, and Belgium all in a desperate attempt to reach the… Read more »
I’m 50 years old, trained as a nursery nurse, and was working as a teaching assistant when our lives took an unexpected turn in 2010. My youngest child, aged 13, developed serious mental health problems and I was forced to give up work in order to become his full time carer. This was a really… Read more »
