"We are so grateful to all who teach. We love you and appreciate you more than we can say. We have great confidence in you."
Jeffery R. Holland | “A Teacher Come from God”
Thank you for serving!
We hope that you will feel the love of your Heavenly Father and feel the assurance that your efforts are blessing the lives of learners now and in the future. To be successful, you will need to understand the purpose of EnglishConnect and your role in achieving that purpose as outlined in the teacher manual.
What is my role?
Your most important role is to create an environment where learners feel the Spirit, feel that they belong, and feel confident that with Heavenly Father’s help they can learn English.
Remember, the Spirit is the true teacher. Your role is to create an environment where the Spirit can teach. You can help learners feel love and support and learn how to seek Heavenly Father’s help to learn English.
You don’t need to be an expert in teaching English. Everything you need is in the learner manual. As you prayerfully seek to fulfill this responsibility and to improve, Heavenly Father will help you (see Ether 12:27).
Speak English
(2:10)
Encourage Conversation
(2:15)
As you prepare to teach EnglishConnect, consider the following questions:
- How can I prepare spiritually?
- How can I invite the Spirit during each conversation group?
- How can I help everyone feel welcome and confident?
How can I be successful?
There are many things you can do to help the learners in your conversation group learn English and foster faith. Prayerfully seek the direction of the Spirit as you consider the needs of the learners and strive to improve.
Help Learners Apply the Principles of Learning
In EnglishConnect, we strive to learn “by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118). As a group, you will study and apply six principles of learning. These principles describe what we believe about each participant, and their ability to partner with God to achieve their goals.
You will be most successful as you seek the Spirit to help learners apply the principles listed below. Prayerfully study each principle. Plan how you will help the learners apply these principles as they work together to learn English.
- You are a Child of God
- Exercise Faith in Jesus Christ
- Take Responsibility
- Love and Teach One Another
- Press Forward
- Counsel with the Lord
Follow these Activities in the Learner Manual
Discuss the Principle of Learning
(2:42)
Activity 1: Practice the Patterns
(2:29)
Activity 2: Create Your Own Sentences
(2:09)
Activity 3: Create Your Own Conversations
(2:33)
Evaluate
(2:08)
Seek to Improve
As you prayerfully strive to fulfill this calling, the Spirit will help you know how to improve. Study the principles in “Teaching in the Savior’s Way” and the principles of learning. Recognize what you are doing well. Identify areas you want to improve and make specific plans to apply what you are learning.
As an EnglishConnect teacher, you have a special responsibility to create an environment where learners can “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118). You can help learners act in faith to experience the Savior’s promise that “with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). This experience can bless their lives beyond EnglishConnect. Trust that Heavenly Father will help you as you seek the Spirit and do your very best. Have faith that the Spirit will give you the direction you need, even “in the very moment” (Doctrine and Covenants 100:6). As you seek the Spirit and love those you teach, you will be able to create an environment where learners feel the Spirit, feel welcome, and feel confident that Heavenly Father will help them learn English.
Seek Learning by Study and by Faith
The foundation of the EnglishConnect experience is helping learners “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118). Every lesson in EnglishConnect is centered on a principle of learning. These are spiritual principles that help us rely on the Lord to increase our capacity to learn and teach. The principles of learning can help us understand our true potential and the Savior’s ability to help us. The principles of learning that we will study and exemplify in the EnglishConnect experience include:
- How can I help learners feel God’s love?
- How can I help learners seek God’s help as they learn English?
We invite learners to learn about Jesus Christ and exercise faith in Him. Through the grace and power of Jesus Christ, we can receive strength and help to learn and change.
You can help by inviting learners to pray for strength and act in faith to achieve their goals. Express your faith. Invite learners to share their experiences acting in faith to overcome challenges and accomplish their goals.
Consider the following questions:
- How can I help learners exercise faith in Jesus Christ through learning English?
- How can I specifically help those who are not members of the Church or are not familiar with the teachings of Jesus Christ?
In order to improve, learners must take responsibility for their own learning. Participating in the weekly class is an important part of learning. However, the only way to learn a language is to practice daily. You can help by inviting learners to set daily practice goals and act in faith to accomplish their goals.
- How can I help learners take responsibility to study and practice English daily?
- How can I help learners prepare for conversation group?
- How can I help learners recognize their progress?
Learners will be most successful when they help and teach one another. Learning a language can be difficult, and having a supportive group will help learners keep going even when they may feel discouraged or want to give up. Your role is to create an environment where learners feel loved and feel comfortable interacting and supporting one another. Help learners get to know each other and develop relationships of trust.
Consider the following questions:
- How can I help the group develop feelings of trust and fellowship?
- How can I help learners teach one another and share their experiences?
The Lord loves effort. He will bless our efforts. We can press forward and keep practicing every day, trusting He will help us learn. No matter what challenges we face, we can press forward with faith.
Consider the following questions:
- How can I apply this principle in my life?
- How can I help learners “press forward” in learning English?
God wants to help us learn and grow. Through prayer and scripture study, we can counsel with the Lord. He can guide us. As we counsel with God, He can help us achieve our learning goals
Consider the following question:
- How can you counsel with God about your efforts as an EnglishConnect teacher?
- How can you help learners apply this principle?