2008 Woodie Awards
Local church offers conversational English classes
Jessica Delli Santi
Issue date: 12/5/06 Section: News
Newark United Methodist Church offers free conversational English classes each week to residents around the area who want to practice speaking fluently.
Ruth Nicholls, church registrar, said the conversational English classes benefit the teachers and students equally.
"We feel we learn just as much as they do," Nicholls said.
The conversational English classes are offered on Mondays at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and are open to anyone within the community, she said. Approxiamtely 10 to 15 students attend the classes each week.
Lisa Chieffo, associate director of the Center for International Studies and intstructor of the classes, said the staff is comprised of volunteers from the church and community. The teachers are not certified English as a Second Language instructors, but have experience in teaching.
This is the fifth year of the program, which exists because of motivation from the members of the church, Nicholls said. The classes are in session from September to May and two different levels are offered.
"Students are divided into two groups - level one and level two - with two to four teachers working together as a team to teach the lesson," she said.
Level one classes are designed for people who have difficulty holding conversations in English and need assistance with basic grammatical concepts, Chieffo said. Level two classes focus more on grammar and teach people how to read English.
Caroline Shortess, instructor at the church, said students at these classes learn vocabulary words that help them communicate in English with people around the area.
"This helps them with getting around town and how to shop," Shortess said.
The second-level students learn other important concepts for living in America, such as restaurant etiquette, Nicholls said.
At the beginning of the class, students come in and quickly take their seats in a small classroom inside the church. Each student has a name tag and everyone exchanges pleasantries.The teacher begins the class by asking the student to tell her about the definition of the word "icon."
Ruth Nicholls, church registrar, said the conversational English classes benefit the teachers and students equally.
"We feel we learn just as much as they do," Nicholls said.
The conversational English classes are offered on Mondays at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and are open to anyone within the community, she said. Approxiamtely 10 to 15 students attend the classes each week.
Lisa Chieffo, associate director of the Center for International Studies and intstructor of the classes, said the staff is comprised of volunteers from the church and community. The teachers are not certified English as a Second Language instructors, but have experience in teaching.
This is the fifth year of the program, which exists because of motivation from the members of the church, Nicholls said. The classes are in session from September to May and two different levels are offered.
"Students are divided into two groups - level one and level two - with two to four teachers working together as a team to teach the lesson," she said.
Level one classes are designed for people who have difficulty holding conversations in English and need assistance with basic grammatical concepts, Chieffo said. Level two classes focus more on grammar and teach people how to read English.
Caroline Shortess, instructor at the church, said students at these classes learn vocabulary words that help them communicate in English with people around the area.
"This helps them with getting around town and how to shop," Shortess said.
The second-level students learn other important concepts for living in America, such as restaurant etiquette, Nicholls said.
At the beginning of the class, students come in and quickly take their seats in a small classroom inside the church. Each student has a name tag and everyone exchanges pleasantries.The teacher begins the class by asking the student to tell her about the definition of the word "icon."
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Chao Zhang
posted 2/22/08 @ 1:03 PM EST
I cannot drive ,can you ride me ?
I have a 1 year girl need take care,does you provide a baby sitter ?
thanka a lot
chandima
posted 6/03/08 @ 5:09 PM EST
Pl. I would like to learn English.
joel
posted 8/28/08 @ 11:50 AM EST
I wan to know about these "local churches conversational english" the phone number or how I can contac about this class, thanks
Yomarie Rodriguez
posted 9/06/08 @ 10:27 AM EST
Hi! I am looking for Conversational English Classes provided by churches, if someone knowns information about it, please let me know.
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