Southern Ontario Cooperative of ESL Ministries
Will your online or in-person ESL program continue throughout the summer? If so, here are some resources related to themes about summer. There may be opportunities to go on outings with your students; you may talk about travel; and it may still be good to talk with your students about summer in Canada, Canada Day, […]
By Jennifer Tong* Even though we just heard that we are entering a ‘sixth wave’ of the pandemic, the Ontario government has stuck to its policies of lifting public health restrictions and re-opening the economy. We may be leaving the acute or emergency phase of the pandemic. Many ESL classes, which have changed to an […]
Valentine’s Day: Love and Valentine’s Day lessons (The Virtues series) (readings, including from the Bible; discussion questions, quotes and other activities) http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/valentinesday.pdf (excellent reading on the history and customs of Valentine’s Day, with glossary) http://www.eslholidaylessons.com/02/valentines_day.pdf (a reading with lots of accompanying activities) http://iteslj.org/questions/valentine.html (Valentine’s Day conversation questions) http://bogglesworldesl.com/valentines_day_worksheets.htm (vocabulary and writing activities for lower level) […]
By Jennifer Tong In our online ESL class for Upper-Intermediate to Advanced students, we have been discussing movies since last year. First, we agree on a movie. Then we watch that movie in our spare time before the class. When we come together for a class, we discuss the themes and content of the movie. […]
By Mary-Jane Davison When the spring 2020 pandemic arrived, “Learn English, Make Friends” (LEMF), an outreach program of WMB Church in Waterloo, moved from the community centre to an online format. Almost two years later, the online English conversation circle has shown significant benefits and unforeseen opportunities. Not only has the online circle continued to […]
By Jennifer Tong If you live in Ontario, you probably remember the big ice storm of 2013. It was a few days before Christmas. For many, the memories included being forced to leave their homes and stay elsewhere. It was difficult, a struggle. We then had a taste of being ‘displaced persons’, forced to leave […]
[Part 1 of the interview can be accessed here.] ESL Link: What is the most rewarding thing in your teaching or tutoring? AU: Relationships. These people become friends. You have good companions. They ask you, they task you. You build relationships. I personally don’t like to teach in groups. I don’t think group teaching is […]
Sandy has been my ESL class teacher. The atmosphere in her ESL class was always joyful and harmonious. Classmates and Sandy made friends with each other. In March 2019, I was lucky to join Sandy’s Bible study classes; all of my classmates were from the ESL class. We were excited. This was the first time […]
Editor’s Note: Over the past year or so, issues of racism and discrimination have been much in the spotlight. This only helps to highlight the realities that some of our ESL students may be faced with day to day. The following is a piece written by a friend of SOCEM, an ESL teacher, about her […]
ESL Link: Hello Andrew. Thank you for chatting with us. I know that you are not originally from Canada. Can you tell us a bit about your background? AU: I’m from Poland. During WWII I was a soldier in the Polish Underground Army fighting the Nazis. I experienced Nazi occupation. In 1944 I took part […]