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 obviously… 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 »
My adventure with “Bridges” started six years ago, soon after I had come to England. I could hardly speak any English but having graduated from university with teaching qualifications in Poland I dreamt about working in a school, so I decided to roll on a course. I joined evening classes in one of Reading’s Language… Read more »
Music is a regular and integral part of our Christian lives. Yet, when it comes to local cross-cultural ministry and mission, the role of music is often neglected. What if we could shape our music so that it enhances and serves our mission better? And what if, in doing so, it enriches the local body… Read more »
If you’re looking for some fresh resources to inject your lessons with something different, you might want to take a look at Lessonstream, a website that features video clips for use in English lessons. The topics covered are diverse. One clip shows a rabbit chomping on raspberries with the language point being present tenses while… Read more »
Living in the West, it’s easy to be individualistic in our approach to our students, forgetting that for many of them, especially those from Eastern parts, their whole identity is bound up with the family to whom they belong. How important, then, to make sure we make every effort to engage with their families. Below… Read more »
