Teaching ESL has been a fun and interesting journey for me. It’s a lot different from teaching students or other Americans. I still remember sitting in on my first class a year ago and thinking I couldn’t do this. But then God gave me the courage to step out and do it. Plus He gave a heart for these refugees as I saw the need for these people to learn english so they can function in society. Tonight Emily and Iman hosted a special training session to help us with teaching. I know God has called me to further explore teaching ESL. I’m actually looking at the possibly of traveling to another country to teach in english camps as I have been contacted by a few organizations. But for now, it’s here in Tempe at Imagine Schools. We had a great time discussing how we can better help out the students. Not to mention we got to eat some yummy Somalian samosas and rice.
Just a few basic principles we came up with in teaching ESL to another culture:
- Don’t tell the student what they can tell you
- Don’t dominate the class
- Don’t be a afraid of silence OR noise
- Model. Demonstrate rather than explain activities
- Lesson plans are guidelines, not rules
Living a life that Matters 
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