Greetings from ESL and Immigrant Ministries
Speak Easy
Newsletter from English as a Second Language and Immigrant Ministries
Fall 2016
A Teacher's Perspective

by Lisa Gregory, ESL Teacher at St. Matthew's United Methodist Church

I have a favorite student from a few years back that no longer comes to class because he does not have the time, but whenever I run into him at the two restaurants where he works, he always shows me a note of what new word he has learned. One time he had a bad scrape on his arm from falling off his bike that he rides to work. In his pocket was a note with the word "scrape" written on it -- the new word that he learned that day. His English skills continue to improve because he makes time to practice -- something I advise my students to do every day.
Thank You...

...to our students who are devoted to improving their English skills.

...to our volunteers for generously giving their time and talents.

...to Crossroads United Methodist Church, Dulin United Methodist Church, and Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church for hosting our fall teacher training sessions -- and to Lauren Lang for leading the sessions.

...to Mount Olivet United Methodist Church for supporting our mission since ESLIM began in 1989.

...to program administrator Dorothy Hettmann for her commitment and compassion.
Teaching Tip

Not only are ESL lessons on holidays a great way to share information about American culture, but also an opportunity to start a conversation with students about holidays in their countries of origin. Check out Thanksgiving lesson-planning materials at the Lanternfish website. Its Thanksgiving worksheets include cloze activities, crosswords, word searches, and poems.

For holiday lessons to last an entire year -- with photo lessons, worksheets, crossword puzzles, PowerPoint presentations, and videos -- see the EL Civics website. 
Three Ways to Help ESLIM

1.  Did you know you can assist ESLIM just by shopping online? Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible AmazonSmile purchases when you shop at smile.amazon.com. Simply search for "English as a Second Language and Immigrant Ministries" and select it as your charity.
2. Your donation to ESLIM helps us reach out to prospective students and train volunteer teachers. It also allows our member programs to spend more on essentials such as books and supplies. To donate via PayPal or find instructions for mailing a check, please visit our website.      

3. ESLIM participates in the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area. Please designate #60490.
About ESLIM

We promote and support the teaching of English to adult immigrants of all nationalities in Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia and welcome their active participation in our community.

To support the efforts of our member churches, ESLIM handles a variety of tasks in a centralized way. Its activities include the following:
  • Advertising for, placing, and training volunteer teachers
  • Advertising the English classes in foreign-language media
  • Maintaining a voice mail line in which calls can be returned in English and Spanish
  • Producing the Speak Easy e-newsletter three times per year
  • Maintaining a website that features the class schedule, a variety of resources for teachers, instructions for making donations, and information for churches considering an ESL ministry
ESL & Immigrant Ministries | [email protected] | www.eslim.org