Southern Ontario Cooperative of ESL Ministries
By Brian Seim Early this morning, I drove through our church’s neighbourhood, praying for it. Then, I walked into Starbucks, made my order and went to find a lid for my cup. A young immigrant lady, obviously not an employee, greeted me and asked, “What are you doing today?” I greeted her. She was lonely—in […]
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 Tom McCormick Romantic Love has always been a good topic for ESL conversations. It is of universal and very personal interest, and remains something of an ideal that touches the core of our humanity. No wonder! God is Love (1 John 4:16, etc.) and humans have been created male and female in His image […]
Author’s Note: Here’s an article I wrote for the TESL Ontario blog back in the summertime, while researching for the workshop I presented at the October SOCEM Gathering. Then at the Gathering, at our lunch table, I learned of yet another way to use smart phones for pronunciation—see the PS at the end! Aren’t SOCEM […]
By Inji Kim and Sangho Suh Technology is making it easier than ever for us to communicate with people all over the world. But is this enriching our lives or is this having a negative impact on our lives? We are Sangho and Inji, graduate students at the University of Waterloo in Canada and Seoul […]
On October 27, 2018, about 85 of us gathered at Trinity Church Streetsville, Mississauga for SOCEM’s 15th annual conference. Attendees came from all over Southern Ontario including Kitchener-Waterloo, Owen Sound, Guelph, Hamilton and Bowmanville. We were all interested in or involved in ESL ministries. Many were faithful participants year after year while others came for […]
By Mary Cummins What is Christmas? In many places in the world, Christmas is probably the most popular holiday in the year, especially for Christians. It is very nostalgic for many people—the sights, the sounds, the smells and time spent with family and friends. Since Canada is in the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas comes in the […]
Isaiah sets the context of the event. Matthew recalled Jesus’ words. “…the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2;. Matt.4:16 NIV Hymnology alludes to it: ‘O holy night’; ‘Yet in thy dark streets shineth’. Jesus arrived […]
Someone asked: what is one book that one needs to read for personal development that has to do with reaching out with ESL ministry? Some suggestions include: David I. Smith and Barbara Carvill. The Gift of the Stranger: Faith, Hospitality, and Foreign Language Learning. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000. ISBN: 978-0-8028-4708-9 Kitty Purgason. Professional Guidelines for […]
by Roslyn Zehr One of the first skills I learned as a novice ESL instructor in preparing lesson plans was how to supplement the assigned textbook with “realia”—authentic materials and objects from everyday life that can be used as teaching aids. Realia can be blended into different types of English lessons at any level and […]