September Training Opportunities for ESLIM Teachers

Saturday, September 7 – training for new ESL teachers

The New ESL Teacher Training workshop will help volunteer teachers gain the skills and confidence needed to succeed in the English classroom. Designed for new teachers, this interactive workshop will teach you the fundamentals of creating good ESL lessons, how to teach English to adult learners, how to use audiovisual materials to maximize learner comprehension, and how to address common adult learner challenges. The workshop combines presentation, discussion, videos, and demonstrations to provide you with knowledge, tools, and approaches that will help you become an effective ESL teacher.

Saturday, September 14 – continuing education for experienced ESL teachers.

This refresher course is called “English Can be Fun and Games: Adding Fun to Your ESL Lessons”. The course was designed in response to a recurring question from experienced ESL teachers about how to add some fun activities to their lesson plans, with the goal of enhancing English comprehension and retention. About two-thirds of this session will consist of hands-on demonstrations of several fun ESL activities that can be adapted to all curriculum levels, which you can incorporate into your English lessons for learner practice, reviews, or assessments. New teachers are welcome.

Saturday, September 21 – training for intro-level ESL teachers

Teaching English to intro-level learners (also called beginner or literacy level) can be challenging. This course is designed for ESL teachers who teach intro-level learners and provides information, advice, and several practices that teachers can use to connect with their learners who cannot speak English. The course will demonstrate some of these practices, including opportunities for participants to take part in several of the demonstrations.


These sessions are taught by Rob Simmons, who has been a volunteer ESL teacher for over 20 years and has been training ESL teachers for over seven years. He has taught several levels of ESL curriculum, including Introduction, Level 2, and Intermediate levels. During his teacher training classes, Rob doesn’t just talk about the material, he demonstrates the concepts—and invites you to participate—so that you will understand how to incorporate the concepts into your lesson planning and classroom activities. Previous participants have appreciated how Rob’s training helped build their confidence as an English teacher.

Teachers planning to attend one or more of these 9:00 AM to noon sessions offered at several ESLIM locations should register by sending contact information, including the name of the church where they will be volunteering to [email protected]. Please specify which session(s) you  would like to attend, and you will receive an acknowledgment and additional information.