Southern Ontario Cooperative of ESL Ministries
By Linda Reed Zoom requires joyful exuberance (i.e. a little more enthusiasm), but it is worth it! We “meet” as a leadership team 15 minutes early, and as students “arrive,” we ask a warm-up question such as “what did you do last weekend” to practice past tense. Then, using the ‘Breakout Room’ feature, we discuss […]
During the COVID-19 global health crisis, most church ESL programs are cancelled. Some programs continue online. Other teachers may be thinking of creative ways of connecting with their students either individually or as a class. We’d like to offer some resources during this unusual time. COVID-19 ESL Resources Quite a few ESL lessons that pertain […]
By Mary Hogan After Christmas, the ESL program at Bayview Glen Church resumed but in my advanced class, I began to hear rumblings about a coronavirus in China. It didn’t mean too much to me but then a few students stopped coming. I sensed something was wrong, but the class was eerily quiet and didn’t […]
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 […]