Gathering XVIII

Tom is a pastor with The Living Room Church in Midtown where he has been serving for 10 years. There he ran the English Conversation Cafe, a group for engaging newcomers and those passing through Toronto with the opportunity to meet new people and practice their conversational English skills. In addition, Tom established a number of ESL-based House Churches for those who have an interest in exploring God. Tom now regularly ministers to marginalized communities in Scarborough, Midtown, and Regent Park. Tom just moved to Scarborough with his wife, two young sons, and dog, Luna.

Mary-Jane Davison has been volunteering in ESL ministry in Kitchener-Waterloo for 13 years. She facilitates English conversation circles and leads ESL Bible studies in-person and on Zoom with Learn English Make Friends, an outreach of WMB Church. In her past career as an Occupational Therapist, Mary-Jane worked with clients to develop independent living skills through one-on-one sessions and group therapy. Mary-Jane enjoys serving and learning from people from around the world who have settled in the Waterloo Region.

Ros Farmer taught science and chemistry with the Toronto District School Boarduntil her retirement nine years ago. Many of her students were ESL learners. Ros has been involved
with the ESL Ministry at Bayview Glen Church for almost 20 years. During this time she has been
part of the registration team and has been teaching conversational Bible studies.

Linda Reed first taught English [to Indochinese refugees] during her master studies in linguistics with Wycliffe Bible Translators. She then served as a pastor’s wife alongside her husband, Rick Reed. Returning to ESL in 2011, Linda began overseeing ESL volunteers in public libraries. She now trains students through the TESOL program at Heritage College which includes practicums with International students.

Descriptor: This module is specifically for people who have no teaching or ESL experience but would like to get started in ESL ministry. The program provides some background in understanding different learning styles and second language acquisition and also includes practical instruction on how to teach ESL students English pronunciation and grammar as well as how to set up an ESL ministry in your church. All participants will receive a 40-50-page Getting Started handbook made up of notes and handouts from the program.

Presenter: Colin Brewster has been teaching English to non-native speakers for over 40 years. He began in Turkey, continued in China, and for 20 years taught ESL and Communications in local Community Colleges in Toronto. He has a TESL certificate from the University of Toronto. Colin is involved in the ESL outreach of Trinity Grace Church, Toronto where he enjoys developing and testing different teaching tools and materials for Church-based ESL programs.

Descriptor: Join Lydia Mountney in this workshop exploring the phonemic chart, a tool designed both for teachers to be confident in their understanding of the sounds of English and to help English learners to tune in to sound and articulation in order to take charge of improving their own pronunciation.

Presenter: Lydia Mountney has been an ESL teacher for 25 years and has been a teacher trainer for over 20. She has trained teachers at Tyndale University College and Seminary and was a teacher trainer for the University of Cambridge CELTA program. Her overseas teaching and training experience also includes work in Senegal, Niger, and Madagascar. For 20 years, she was the Director of the Don Valley ESL Centre, a language school that operated out of the Don Valley Bible Chapel. Currently, she is the Language Assessment Team Lead at the YMCA.  Lydia is also actively involved in a music ministry and lives in Toronto with her husband and 2 daughters.

Descriptor: Our learners often differ in education, language experience, age and first language. This workshop will help equip you to meet the challenges of teaching a class differing widely in language skills, backgrounds and learning rates. Practice designing tasks that meet a variety of needs and levels while juggling the multi-tasking demanded by a multi-level class.

Presenter: Marion Chang is a retired SIM missionary who has worked in Central Asia and Canada. She has a PhD in Second Language Education and has over 30 years of experience in ESL teaching and teacher training. Her work presently focuses on supporting churches to connect with their newcomer neighbours through ESL, and she has written an ESL Ministry Manual for that purpose.

Descriptor: This envisioning seminar is about reaching the world at our doorsteps in the most ethnically diverse city in the world. Through the desire of the Father, Jesus’ Commission, and the Spirit’s work in us, church-based mission grows churches, reaches neighbours, and changes neighbourhoods. Beginning with ESL, we will explore a dozen ministries, used with new immigrants in your district, that churches can provide.  After a presentation, we will have a longer question-answer/group dialogue.

Presenter: Brian Seim has been involved in newcomer ministry in Toronto since 1987, and, as a missionary with SIM, has developed a strategic field mission across Canada and around the world for urban mission. He is the author of Canada’s New Harvest: Helping Churches Touch Newcomers. He is completing his PhD in Urban Missiology.

Descriptor: As a group, we will take a magazine picture, or article, and work on it to create a lesson or discussion guide (the same can be done with a video) creating level-appropriate, open-ended questions to stimulate conversation. We will also examine other available resources to help teachers simplify the task of finding and editing an article and then setting the conversation questions.

Presenter: Sandi Howell has been an active missionary member with her husband, Don, for 32 years, with OMF International.  She is Connections East Asia (CEA)’s Coordinator for ESOL, using ESL as an outreach to East Asians in Canada. CEA has resources and training for individuals and Canadian churches to reach newcomers in their midst. Sandi has 22 years of ESL ministry including literacy, overseas in Singapore, in Edmonton, AB and in the Greater Toronto Area. She is a professional member of TESL Ontario. As a lead tutor for the Conversational English classes at Trinity Streetsville for 13 years, and the lead of the Newcomers ESL Hub at The Peoples Church for the past 5 years and now, on-line teacher, she is experienced in adapting materials to help students develop and practise conversation skills.

Descriptor: Is your knowledge of English grammar pretty rusty or non-existent?  Do you want to understand more of what your students have to learn?  This session will help you (re)discover the grammar you know that you don’t know you know in a participatory workshop.  We will cover aspects of sentence structure, question formation, negation, and the role of the word ‘do’, finding patterns and forms inductively by considering the language we already know and use. By the end of the session, you will have a greater empathy for your students and their study of English grammar.

Presenter: Carol Blake graduated with a Masters in Linguistics and a TESL certificate from the University of Toronto in 1982.  For the last 40+ years, she has been involved in teaching various aspects of English and language learning in first language, second language, and foreign language situations.  Carol is an Ontario Certified English Language Teacher and currently lives and teaches in Kitchener.

Descriptor: If you teach an Upper Intermediate/Advanced Conversation Class, would you like heartfelt and meaningful discussions in the class around issues that matter? Would you like to ‘teach English’ while enjoying free-flow, engaging conversations? This seminar introduces an informal approach that uses movies (including documentaries) as the focus of conversations in a class. We will explore the benefits of such an approach, and talk about the how-to practicalities; for example, what kinds of movies are best, how to set discussion questions, and how to conduct the discussion, and more. How students can learn English in such an approach will be emphasized.

Presenter: Jennifer Tong has been the coordinator and a teacher of a small ESL program at Parkway Forest Community Church since 2004. She is a TESL Ontario certified teacher and has taught LINC, at a private language school and a factory in the past. Her interests include non-Western learning styles, reflective practice in ESL, and mental health and immigrants. Jennifer is currently teaching an online class that discusses movies every other week.

Descriptor: Teachers of low-level ESL classes will receive tips on teaching beginners or low beginners. Through a short pre-registration questionnaire, round table discussion forum, and role-playing, participants will discuss students’ learning needs and key teaching issues.  A sampling of Best Practices will be presented, followed by a short question-and-answer period. If you plan to take this seminar, please answer the following questions and email your answers to:  info@writinglegacy.com  seven days before the conference. 

1. What do you think are your students’ top learning needs?
2. What are your two main teaching issues? 

Presenter: Nancy Kingdon is currently the volunteer coordinator of Evangel Church’s ESL Ministry and CEO of a copywriting business “Writing Legacy”.  Formerly she was the Director of Learning Resources at a Bible College and the CEO of four public libraries.  She is also the author of several books and video trailers which may be seen on her website at www.writinglegacy.com.

Descriptor: Depression, anxiety, mental illness… Aren’t these the words we dread to hear, let alone talk about?!  This is especially so for our cross-cultural students who will find it a stigma to admit that they have mental health issues. They may even attempt to hide their symptoms if they can.  There is both bad news and good news.  Although mental health issues have been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has also been an increased awareness that these illnesses can and must be treated! Let’s start the conversation with our students to reduce the stigma further. This seminar will help us become more aware of the symptoms of some major mental health issues and how we can use the Active Listening skill to connect with our students and help them feel more cared for.

Presenter: Estella Cheong is a Registered Psychotherapist in Toronto. She is on the counselors’ referral list of Focus On The Family, Shalem Mental Health Network, and Power to Change’s Family Life Ministries.  Apart from psychotherapy, she also conducts seminars and various retreats.  She has worked as a psychotherapist in the Tyndale Wellness Centre at Tyndale University as well as in the Psychiatric Ward of the Sunnybrook Hospital.  She has also worked as a supply teacher, an ESL teacher, and a Christian Education Director.

Descriptor: This seminar focuses on ministering to learners whose past and current circumstances leave them feeling diminished, and vulnerable to others’ low opinions of them.  We may have seen symptoms of isolation and withdrawal, and may be frustrated with what appears to be aloofness and unresponsiveness to our best efforts to reach them.  We may want them to know Christ and His Gospel but find our words land on deaf ears. This seeming disconnect may be cultural and may not be a rejection of us or the Gospel. We will present real case studies of how cultures that are collectivistic and sensitive to honour/shame (Middle Eastern, Asian) relate much differently to each other than our Western individualistic, righteousness/guilt-driven ways. We will welcome your sharing and will discuss ways of navigating misunderstanding and opening up trust and effective communication across this cultural gulf.

Presenter: Jeff McCarrell trained in mission with Canadian Baptist Ministries among Somalis in N.E. Kenya. For 30 years, he collaborated with Etobicoke congregations seeking to present Christ to predominantly Muslim and Asian (honour/shame-motivated) neighbours. Jeff teaches at Dixon Women’s ESL Classes.

Near Trinity Grace Church, there are several easy parking options:

1. Eglinton & Laird: Free parking is available at your discretion at the shopping mall located on the southeast corner of Eglinton & Laird all week long.
2. Streets north of and parallel to Eglinton: Donlea Dr. east of Laird between Laird and Brentcliffe, Divadale Dr. and Broadway Ave. Free parking on Saturday.
3. Streets running north and south to Eglinton: Don Avon Dr. Free parking on Saturday.  Rumsey Rd., Sutherland Dr., and Laird Dr. north of Divadale Dr. Free parking on Saturday.
4. Eglinton Avenue: Monday to Saturday—Paid Green P parking is available on Eglinton Avenue, Monday to Saturday 9 am – 6pm.

Parking signs may change. Read the signs carefully before leaving your car either on the street or in the parking lot.

Take TTC Bus #34, 51, 54, or 56 from Eglinton Station. Going East, get off at Sutherland Dr. (5th bus stop after Bayview Ave.) Cross the street to the North side and walk east about 70 metres to 826 Eglinton Avenue East. For more info about TTC schedules and maps, visit the official TTC website.

There are chairlifts for the sanctuary and basement but not for the upstairs room.

We provide a sub sandwich / wrap lunch for $12. You need to pre-order it on the registration form.

You can bring your own lunch.

You can visit nearby restaurants. Suggestions:

• Mt Everest Restaurant – 804 Eglinton Ave. E.
• Domino’s Pizza – 784 Eglinton Ave. E.
• Pizza Nova – 854 Eglinton Ave. E.
• Loz Shawarma Restaurant – 858 Eglinton Ave. E.
• Sushi by K – 874 Eglinton Ave. E.
• Tao Northern Chinese Cuisine – 220 Laird Dr.
• Local Public Eatery Leaside – 180 Laird Dr.
• Kintako Sushi Japanese Restaurant – 214 Laird Dr. #101