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Save the Date

 

Our training for new teachers is scheduled to take place at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Fairfax on Saturday, January 7, 2023.  The session, led by Rob Simmons, begins at 9:00 am and will end at noon.  All new teachers and those who were not able to attend the fall training are welcome to attend.  To register for this training, please send your contact information, including the name of the church where you will be volunteering to  eslim.org before January 2.  Participants will be acknowledged and sent a reminder and additional details prior to the training.

ESLIM Welcomes Three New Churches

ESLIM has grown! We are pleased to welcome three very established programs, each with decades of experience offering English classes: Reston Bible Church, McLean Presbyterian Church, and McLean Baptist Church. Welcome!

Save the Date!

Our fall training sessions for new teachers have been scheduled for Saturday, September 10, 2022. The three-hour morning session to be held at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Alexandria, will focus on topics relevant to new in-person teachers, while the afternoon session will be presented via Zoom to teachers new to teaching online classes. The content of each session will be tailored to the needs of those attending each training.

Both trainings will be led by Rob Simmons, who is currently teaching at the Franconia Area Churches ESL Cooperative. He has been a volunteer ESL teacher in Northern Virginia for two decades, and he has worked extensively as a teacher trainer.

To register for the training, teachers should send their contact information, including their name, phone number, and location where they will be teaching, and which session they wish to attend to [email protected] as soon as possible. Registrants will be acknowledged and sent relevant information prior to the training.

Summer Conversation Classes

Starting April 2, 2022, free casual conversation classes will be offered at St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church, 8617 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA.

These classes are in-person and will be held on Saturday mornings from 10 AM to Noon.

To register, please fill out the registration form at:
www.stmatthewsumc.org/esl or contact Trung Trinh at 408-218-2985 for more information.

Free U.S. Citizenship Test Preparation Class

Lord of Life Lutheran Church will once again offer a free citizenship test preparation class for permanent citizens who are eligible for United States citizenship.

The class will be offered via Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:45 PM, starting April 14, and ending May 26, 2022.  Orientation will be on Tuesday, April 12, at 7:00 PM.

Register online at https://www.lordoflifeva.org/esl.

Free On-Line Citizenship Test Preparation Class

Lord of Life Lutheran Church will offer a free class for permanent residents who are eligible for United States citizenship.
The on-line class will be available via Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:45 pm starting December 2, 2021 and ending January 20, 2022.
Registration will be on-line at https://www.lordoflifeva.org/esl. Class size is limited, and classes are free.

ESL Classes

Fall classes are being offered at many of our locations.  Please check our Students page to view schedules and locations. We welcome students from all backgounds and faiths, and have classes for everyone from begining to advanced level students.

 

Training for New Teachers in August and September 2021

Lauren Lang will lead two trainings for ESLIM’s new teachers this fall.

On Saturday, August 28, from 9:00 AM to noon, an interactive training will focus on helping new teachers to teach ESL classes via Zoom. During this training, participants will learn strategies and activities for helping students learn English via Zoom by participating in similar activities. We will explore various features of Zoom such as captioning, written chat and nonverbal communication, sharing screens, and breakout rooms. We will also explore some online resources you can use in conjunction with Zoom.

For those unable to attend the in-person training, an excellent alternative to ensure comprehensive learning is to incorporate a Government Learning Management System (LMS). By utilizing this advanced online platform, new teachers can access a diverse range of resources and interactive modules at their convenience. The Government LMS offers a flexible and self-paced learning experience, allowing participants to delve into the strategies and activities for teaching ESL classes via Zoom and achieving desired learning outcomes in the classroom. The user-friendly interface facilitates seamless navigation through various features of Zoom and provides access to valuable online resources that complement the training. Embracing technology through the Government LMS ensures that educators receive comprehensive training and are well-equipped to deliver engaging and effective lessons in both virtual and in-person settings.

On Saturday, September 11, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, the in-person training at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield will lead new teachers through various activities which can be used in the classroom to help students achieve desired learning outcomes. (This is our usual, pre-pandemic training for new teachers who will teach in person.)

To register for training, teachers should send their contact information, including their name, phone number, and location where they will be teaching — along with the date of the training they wish to attend — to [email protected] as soon as possible. Registrants will be acknowledged and sent relevant information prior to the training.

Free On-Line Citizenship Test Preparation Class

Lord of Life Lutheran Church will be offering a free on-line test preparation class to permanent residents who are eligible for citizenship.

The class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, starting April 6 and ending May 20.

Class size is limited to 10 students.  Register on-line at www.lordoflifeva.org to receive a ZOOM link.

Returning Teacher Training Scheduled for January 24, 2021

ESLIM is happy to announce that our training for returning teachers will take place on Sunday, January 24, 2021 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM via Zoom.

Participants will practice using Zoom (whiteboard, screen sharing, breakout rooms, and polling) to engage ESL students in communicative language learning with a focus on student-student interaction. The training will also provide an introduction to and practice in using web-based technologies, such as kahoot, flipgrid, padlet, and Google Docs.

Our trainer will be Cyn Hatch, the associate director of the American Culture and Language Institute at NOVA.

Interested teachers are invited to register by sending contact information, including name, phone number, and the name of the church where they teach, to [email protected] by January 13. A limited number of seats are available.

Upon registering, participants will receive a link to a brief online questionnaire (due January 14) that Cyn has created which will help her to better assess their needs and interests; they will also receive a link to use for the training session. The office will send a reminder email on Saturday, January 23.

Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to help your students develop communication skills! We look forward to hearing from you.