“… if necessary, use words.”

Natasha thanked me for the book as she handed it back to me at the beginning of class. She had asked me several classes earlier if I could loan her a book to read that might help improve her English. It was encouraging to hear Natasha say that the book had helped her and answered a few important questions for her.

I always get excited when students ask me if they can borrow a book or some music because it’s a perfect opportunity to provide them with a resource created or published with the intention of drawing people closer to God. Natasha and her boyfriend, Victor, are in one of my ESL classes and they are also university students. I really enjoy having them in my class.

Actually, I am very pleased with all of my students this semester. It still surprises me sometimes how closely attached I can become to my students after such a short time together. Teaching English offers many ways in which to reach others with the message of God’s love and salvation. While I do hope that all of our students have the chance to hear this message, not all of the impact made on them comes through spoken words.

Being a teacher of any subject in any setting is both an amazing privilege and an awesome responsibility. In our words and our actions and through the way we interact with our students they get to see Christ. In many cases the attitude people form about Christ may be largely dependent on the witness they see in us.

God brings people into our lives and reveals things to us about them so that we can pray for them effectively. I have often heard comments from students about how they sense something different in us and our English school. Jesus Christ is that difference, and He is the reason we do all of this. Teaching English as a second language is a unique ministry. As relationships develop and trust is established, students of various ages and backgrounds begin to open up and share personal joys and struggles with their teachers.

Another semester is coming to a close. May we be faithful in these final weeks to take full advantage of every opportunity God gives us to be the salt and light He has called us to be.

Kent

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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 1st, 2007 at 11:21 am by Kent and is filed under ESL - TESL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.