By Carol Blake
Utter Wisdom1 is a resource produced by an organization in the UK called 2:19, based on Ephesians 2:19: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household”.
The stated aim of 2:19 is “to help churches use English conversation classes to reach out with the gospel for all nations.” “Utter Wisdom … contains specially written questions that will help Christian ESL teachers explore with their learners the searching issues of life, and introduce the person and work of Jesus.” (https://www.twonineteen.org.uk)
After hearing about this book last June, I was intrigued enough to order it. (Cost: £25.00 = $75 Can with shipping from England.) Once it arrived (I think it was 6 or 8 weeks), I was impressed by both the approach and the suggestions for teaching and I began planning for Fall 2023 and Winter 2024. Since September, I’ve been using world proverbs and discussion suggestions found in Utter Wisdom in the weekly English Conversation Class at my church and finding it very useful in my lesson planning and classroom interaction.
The book has three sections with world proverbs chosen to provoke discussion focused on five ‘magnetic points’ – Totality, Norm, Deliverance, Destiny, and Higher Power. The first section gives 60 world proverbs, each with an interesting and sometimes quirky illustration and suggested questions for discussion. (A particularly fun one is from Turkey: “A cup of coffee has a 40-year memory.”) Over the fall sessions I used some of these proverbs as stand-alone lessons and some with the link to section 2.
Twenty-two of the world proverbs given in section 1 are tied to the second (Bridge) section, where more in-depth questions and conversation suggestions for each one tie to one of the magnetic points. Section 3 focuses on five ‘I am’ sayings of Jesus (e.g. “I am the good shepherd”), each one again related to one of the magnetic points.
This winter, we are again using the world proverbs in section one, specifically choosing ones that tie to section two, and using some deeper questions for discussion. We are interspersing a lesson from the ‘I am’ section about every 2nd or 3rd week, while reviewing the proverbs that tie to each one.
The lessons have been well-received and enjoyed by both students and volunteer discussion leaders in our groups. We continue to pray for our students to encounter Jesus through our classes, in accord with “2:19’s twin aims of improving English language, and introducing people to Jesus Christ.”
I highly recommend this book and its guidance for the many meaningful and life-changing lessons that can be developed using proverbs from around the world and the ‘I am’ sayings of Jesus.
Carol Blake graduated with a Master’s degree in Linguistics and a TESL certificate from the University of Toronto in 1982. For the last 40+ years, she has been involved in teaching various aspects of English and language learning in first language, second language, and foreign language situations. Currently, she lives and teaches in Kitchener.
- Reference to the book can also be found in the Resource section on the SOCEM website (https://eslministries.org/resources/teaching-materials/copyrighted-materials/) ↩︎
One reply on “Book Review: Utter Wisdom (2022) by Daniel Whetham, Rachel Thake, Jonathan Norgate”
What a wonderful article thank you. I work for 2:19 Teach to Reach and have also used these proverbs in classes as well as our iCaf, an informal English café with great response and discussion with the learners. We pray it helps many church-based groups with their learners, opening doors for deeper discussion and encounters with our creator and saviour.