Webinars 2023

Description: Evangelism can seem frightening, especially when we envision it as a sales pitch, or an aggressive argument. What if there were simple, organic… and Biblical(!) ways to share faith with friends, colleagues and family? Come and explore 5 tenets that will help you share your faith with your ESL students, and love doing it!

About the Presenter: Johnson Hsu was born in Taiwan, and came to Canada as a young child in the late 60s. As an adult, he has lived and served in Canada, the US, England, Thailand and China. Johnson has been a teacher, school administrator, pastor and missionary, and has stood on both sides of the faith divide; as an Atheist, and now as a follower of Christ. In his teaching, he brings a diverse perspective, as he has had the privilege of teaching every key stage from kindergarten, to college and adult, and has taught in secular public, and Christian and Muslim private schools systems. Johnson is married, and has three children, aged 18, 15 and 12.

Description: Most of the international students that arrive in Canada have set high goals for themselves. The fact that they are here indicates a resolve, a willingness to step outside the box. And it is likely that they have leadership potential; that whether they return to their home country or settle here they will get into leadership positions. In his upper intermediate/advanced English class Elmer has worked on developing and teaching a course that focuses on the theme of qualities that make a good leader while at the same time teaching key English components: vocabulary, idioms, pronunciation, proverbs. A key element in his lessons is discussion, where their English communication ability is enhanced. You will do some discussion in this session.

About the Presenter: Elmer Warkentin has taught in Nigeria, China and Vietnam as well as several locations in Canada. He holds a TESL certificate from Providence University/College. For the past 6 years Elmer has taught ESL classes in Guelph under the auspices of International Student Ministries Canada (ISMC). For the past three years his classes have been in upper levels. He has combined his classes with some activities like camping, cycling, picnicking, kayaking. Elmer lives in Guelph with his wife Elvira. They love being with their three children, their spouses and families.

Recognized by TESL Ontario for PD hours.

Description: Are you aware of how different your ESL students’ worldview is from your own? Most of them have come from an honour-and-shame based culture, which is drastically different from the innocence-and-guilt culture that is prevalent here in North America. We need to be able to understand the way they think before we can “speak their language” and effectively teach and care for them. What does an honour-and-shame worldview look like? How can we spot it, and what adjustments do we need to make in the way we interact with the ESL students who came from that culture? Come join us and we will find out together!

About the Presenter: Rev. CY Yan can be best described as a “missionary-pastor”. He currently serves as Director for Connections East Asia at OMF Canada – a mission that traces its origin to China Inland Mission, which was founded by Hudson Taylor in 1865. In this capacity, he seeks to come alongside East Asian diasporas across the country, help build indigenous biblical church movements in their midst, and see them become missionary sending forces. CY is still serving as a part-time pastor in the English congregation of a grass-root church in downtown Toronto. He spent most of his Sunday mornings speaking as an itinerant preacher in various churches.

Recognized by TESL Ontario for PD hours.

Description: Do you have seniors in your ESL class? In this webinar, Mae will share her experience and knowledge about serving the immigrant senior population and how their lack of proficiency in the English Language continues to exacerbate social isolation for this marginalized community. Mae will highlight some of the programs delivered by MPC Foundation that address the language needs of older adults, and discuss the challenges and successes of serving this group that encounters multiple barriers in living in Canada. Come and find out how we can better serve the immigrant seniors in our midst.

About the Presenter: Mae Chun is the co-founder and CEO of MPC Foundation, an award-winning registered charity in Alberta whose primary mission is to mitigate and prevent social isolation in the older adult population. Mae has spent most of her years in Canada (since 1990) serving in the non-profit sector. In recent years, Mae’s work with the older adult population has won her several awards. She was named Changemaker of the Year in 2022 by CBC Calgary. In the same year, MPC Foundation won the Tales of Triumph award by Canada Post.

Recognized by TESL Ontario for PD hours.

Description: In this webinar, we want to encourage you that if you can speak English you can teach someone else to speak English. We will explore some basic techniques you can use to teach English in general as well as using the Light of the World digital curriculum with Bible content. This curriculum is designed to be used by anyone who can speak English. The lessons are already prepared for you with teacher notes, as well as audio for the students to review. If you are already a TESOL trained teacher, then join us to see another resource for your teaching tool kit.

About the Presenter: Carey Jo Johnston is the Managing Director for Literacy & Evangelism Canada. She has been involved in helping to prepare curriculum and lead volunteer tutor training in basic adult literacy and ESL ministry since 1989. She lives in Arnprior in the Ottawa Valley area with her husband Paul. The goal of Literacy & Evangelism is to equip the church to share the message of Jesus through the gift of reading and conversational English. Her desire is to see others equipped to use the gifts that God has given them for his glory.

Recognized by TESL Ontario for PD hours.