Greetings from ESL and Immigrant Ministries
Speak Easy
Newsletter from English as a Second Language and Immigrant Ministries
Summer 2020
Over the last five months, coronavirus has changed our daily lives. People face unprecedented challenges with disease, unemployment, child- and elder-care, travel, and quarantine. Yet in the midst of these struggles, resilience and hope and kindness are evident. Family members and friends find creative ways to connect. Neighbors care for one another. People count their blessings, focusing on what they do have rather than what they don't. They wear masks to protect others. 

In that spirit, ESLIM looks forward to serving the community with online English classes in the fall (and eagerly awaits that day in the future when it is safe to provide the full contingent of in-person classes). Thank you to the many students, churches, volunteers, and donors who join together in this effort. Be well, and happy learning!     
books_laptop_apple.jpg
Teacher Training Moves Online

ESLIM is offering teacher training via Zoom on Saturday, August 29 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and an identical session on Saturday, September 12 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The training is designed to prepare volunteers to teach classes online. New teachers, as well as returning teachers with little or no experience teaching online, are encouraged to register. During each session, Lauren Lang will cover
  • Basics of Zoom and Zoom instruction (45 minutes, followed by a 15-minute break)
  • How to leverage Zoom for instruction (2 hours)
Participants are asked to register by sending contact information, including name, email, phone number, name of the church where they will be teaching, and which session is preferred, to [email protected]. Participation is limited, and all teachers must register at least one week prior to the training date selected.
Teaching Tip

Are your students looking for more practice on their own? Literacy Minnesota has compiled a list of (free) online resources.    

Three Ways to Get Involved

1. Volunteer opportunities are available for the fall semester! Classes will take place online due to COVID-19. No teaching experience or foreign language skills are needed--just a willingness to share one morning, afternoon or evening a week, plus some time for lesson planning. Semesters typically last for 10 to 12 weeks. See our website for more information and submit a volunteer application form today.   

2. 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.
3. 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.      
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 phone line for inquiries from prospective students and volunteers
  • Producing the Speak Easy e-newsletter two or 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