Southern Ontario Cooperative of ESL Ministries
Joyce always goes to class on time. She is the only one who is there on the snowy evenings in winter. She is shy and never speaks much during the class. Sometimes she writes down new words and looks them up in the dictionary at home. She likes grammar exercises, but she does not like […]
By Linda Reed What a summer! Heavy Rain, Soaring Heat, Hours of Olympics, and . . . a changed Heart. My heart was deeply moved through visiting a large house for incoming refugees, Adam House, in Toronto. How can it be people arrive at Pearson with nowhere to go? Housing and work are now real […]
In the Fall of 2022, some of you participated in a survey for volunteers working in church-based ESL programs. A summary of the result was published in The ESL Link Volume 14.1 in February 2023. The author of the survey, Gordon Moulden, has written an article based on this survey with additional information. The article […]
By Allan Pole We want to help new Canadians communicate in English so that they can thrive in a community. We do this by establishing common ground, where our lives intersect, and we recognize we are alike in more ways than might first appear. The Latin word “communis” and the Old French word form “comun” […]
By Tom McCormick I have been noticing a change in the use of English, even by native speakers. Have you? Sometimes the changing forms come up in ESL sessions. What to do? What do you do? One school of thought teaches the ‘correct’ forms, then also informs the students of the ‘changing’ forms—sometimes kind of […]
By Elmer Warkentin I could hardly believe my eyes as I watched the leather whip bite into the flesh on the bare chest of the young boy seated on the stool, leaving an ugly welt. On my Sunday morning walk outside of the African school campus where we lived and taught, I had stumbled on […]
Christian Content General Easter Content Beginners’ level Conversation questions Readings North American cultural stories to do with Easter (good as warm-ups or lead-ins to Easter story) Miscellaneous Other Good Friday handouts Easter card
By Jennifer Tong If we google <small talk ESL>, we will easily get different lesson plans or ideas to teach our students ‘small talk’. There is a lot to say about making small talk as a kind of English function, that is to say, a purposeful exchange for particular situations (for example, giving compliments, interrupting, […]
By Lorna Tatomir, Literacy and Evangelism Canada Strolling down the streets of downtown Leamington on a Friday afternoon, you’ll notice shops full of luggage, running shoes, lineups of Mexican and Caribbean workers at the banks and grocery stores. Spanish/English signs, multiple Taco-serving restaurants and a hum of Spanish language and music brighten the main street. […]
By Carol Blake 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.” […]