Southern Ontario Cooperative of ESL Ministries
By Inji Kim Technology is making it easier than ever for us to communicate with people all over the world. However, does technology truly enrich our lives or does it impoverish us instead? My team, Pluscope, is working on a project called “Gible” that utilizes technology to enrich the lives of children in Africa and […]
By Linda Reed Editor’s Note: While Christmas 2019 is behind us, some of us still look back with nostalgia. Further, there may be lessons from Christmas that can apply throughout the year. We are publishing this Christmas-related article now because it may encourage and edify us in our ministries throughout the year. Sometimes ministry is […]
By Marion Chang Imagine that you are a tourist visiting Canada for the very first time during this holiday season. You see coloured lights on houses and gaudily festive store windows as you tour the city streets. There also seems to be a large, bearded, old man in a red uniform all over the media. […]
By Tom More The last time I wrote an article for this newsletter, I reflected on Jesus the refugee. At Christmas time, we recall that shortly after the jubilant birth and angelic choir, the shepherds and magi, after the gold, frankincense and myrrh, Jesus was on the road and on the run. It occurs to […]
By Anne Sim The ESL Ministry of our church, Oak Ridges Church in Richmond Hill, started as an outreach effort involving a local Retirement Community. While praying for ways to grow and revitalize the church, our pastor encountered a chaplain who asked if church members could participate in ESL ministry alongside some of the elderly […]
By Sandy Ho-Lam As an ESL teacher, I have wrestled with the question of how to become Jesus’ hands and feet while students seem to come and go through a revolving door without any chance of building long-lasting relationships. Then one day, things started to change. A student, one day, said: “Sandy…I have a lot […]
A review article by Timo Posti This helpful article was written by Dr. Allyson Eamer, a sociolinguist who teaches at The University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Dr. Eamer outlines the challenges of providing accessible, suitable and practicable language instruction to migrants. She lists several reasons why some migrants do not readily benefit from language […]
Many of us work with immigrants. Are you aware of the larger context we are working in? Below is some immigration and citizenship information released by Statistics Canada as part of the 2016 Census. See full details at this site.
By Nathan Kwan There are endless number of activities your students can do during the summer. The following are some possibilities mainly around the Greater Toronto Area, but including Ontario as well. We just took a group of students to Kensington Market in Toronto on Pedestrian Sunday (see here for this year’s dates). The roads […]
By Johnson Hsu Having worked in and with ESL ministries for over 20 years now, I know that sometimes we can question what we’re doing and why. Sometimes we get asked how this is ‘ministry’ work. I’d like to look at that question through the lens of one of the primary groups we serve: international […]