A Vietnamese Boat People Story

By Louisa Gerber and Trung Trinh, St. Matthew's United Methodist Church

The events that brought Trung Trinh and his wife (both pictured at right with his brother) to the United States were quite long ago, but I think they still resonate. Below is his story of escape as part of a group of boat people fleeing Vietnam in 1981. 

The addendum to the story is that he and his wife ended up as our church custodians for over a decade, until they both retired. They were very dedicated and were loved and respected by our church community. His wife even hand painted the stripes marking the parking spaces in our church lot. 

When we began looking at reopening our ESOL program in January 2022, after the COVID shutdown, Trung volunteered to help me restart the program and to teach ESOL at St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church. The ESOL resource room had been used for storage for several years and was in total disarray. He had been helping with English classes in a local Vietnamese charitable support organization. He said he wanted to give back to his adopted country, and to help new immigrants trying to learn English in their new, adopted country. He helped us for two years until family health concerns caused him to retire from teaching in our program. He is certainly an inspiration to me.

On Sunday, October 4, 1981 at around 11 a.m., the US Destroyer FF-1053 Roark was on the way from Subic Bay to the Indian Ocean when it rescued a group of 60 Vietnamese refugees from a small boat in the middle of the South China Sea. That day is still vividly in my memory since my wife, my youngest brother and I were among those 60 fortunate people.

I always consider that day as my second birthday and the FF-1053 Roark is like my second mother. Without it, I really do not know how my life would have ended up.

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Teaching Tip: Artificial Intelligence for ESL Teachers

By Connie Hauer, ESLIM Program Administrator

Why AI?

Using AI to create lesson plans for adult ESL students offers several benefits:

• Customization: AI can tailor lesson plans to fit the students’ language levels, goals, and interests, making learning more engaging and effective.
• Efficiency: Educators save time as AI quickly organizes and structures plans, freeing up resources for classroom interactions.
• Resource Diversity: It can suggest a wide range of materials, from grammar exercises to cultural content, ensuring a well-rounded language-learning experience.
• Adaptability: AI tools can be updated in real-time, allowing instructors to adjust plans based on student progress or feedback.

It's like having a personal assistant for the classroom, enhancing both teaching and learning outcomes!

(This summary was generated by AI in less than a minute in response to a prompt that asked for a description of the benefits of using AI to help design lesson plans for an adult ESL class.)

AI in Your Classroom

Using AI to create engaging lesson plans will save you time and create multiple options for achieving your goals for your students. The key lies with writing a concise prompt that will let AI know who you teaching, what you want to present, and how much time you will be spending on your lesson. When the plan is generated, you can further refine it by tailoring to the needs of your students by asking for simpler language, additional ideas for practice or games, or whatever else you think you will need to refine the lesson. While you remain in charge of the lesson, the suggestions and ideas that you get will help you to hone your teaching skills and your students will benefit.