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Teaching English with Excellence . . .
Rebecca Harris of Bannockburn Baptist Church recently attended a TEX workshop in Austin. Her note to trainer Beth Avery, afterward, included the following excerpt:
My friends from Bannockburn Baptist Church and I were so blessed to be able to attend the TEX: ESL training at ABA a couple of weeks ago! Thank you for doing such a great job teaching & explaining. It really gave us the encouragement and motivation that we needed.
I'm directing the ESL program at BBC and this is my first year doing so. Last year the church hosted conversational English classes but there was no formal program. We see a great need in our area for ESL classes so I am working with our missions team to create a solid program. I completely agree with what y'all shared in that if we are offering English classes at our churches they need to be great classes. So I'm trying to do this wholeheartedly as to the Lord because I realize this may be the only way some folks will come onto our church campus.
We couldn't have said it better!
Here's what the state of Texas looks like according to the U.S. Census Bureau, based on 2011 data:
- 34.7% of the population speak a language other than English at home
- 8.9% of the population speak no English at all
- 14.8% of the population do not speak English well
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Dora Parnell leading a TEX workshop in San Antonio
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Like Bannockburn Baptist Church, chances are, there is a great need in your area for ESL classes, no matter where in Texas you live.
TEX prepares volunteers to teach English to adult speakers of other languages, with Friday-Saturday workshops offered in various locations throughout the state early in the year and again in August and September. We're wrapping up registration now for our final workshops of the season, happening this weekend, with Basic ESL Training in Houston and Cross Cultural Witnessing and Basic Pronunciation in Arlington. Click on the links for registration and information--but don't delay!
What will you get out of TEX? Recent workshop attendees provided this list of what they found most helpful from the training:
- Strategies and plenty of hands-on materials to choose from
- Practical ideas for teaching English with creative activities
- The variety of teaching activities
- The wonderful notebook
- Visual aids
- Modeling what to do in a classroom
- Exposure to basic concepts
- Practicing the learning activities
- Walking through the lesson plan
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Four of our TEX trainers: Martha McDade, Connie Anthony, Karen Peiser, Carol Coburn
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Trainer Karen Peiser commented on a couple of recent TEX workshops: "We had an 85 year old director attend Stephenville and a 90 year old attend McKinney. No one is too old to teach ESL!"
What about you? If you can speak English, you have an important service opportunity within your grasp. Young or old, you might just be surprised at the impact you can have on many in your community through this exciting ministry.
Our January/February trainings will be posted on the Events page by Thanksgiving. |
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North Texas Giving Day . . .
Please show your support by donating to this ministry
Thursday, September 17th.
Last year we received $3,525.
This year, once we hit that amount, the next $500 will be matched by an anonymous donor.
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Lester Meriwether, Executive Director
Offices at Henderson Hall - Agape Baptist Church
3954 Southwest Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76116
Mailing/shipping address:
3020 S. Cherry Lane, #123168
Fort Worth, TX 76121
817-696-9898 www.literacyconnexus.org
 
Pam Moore, Editor
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