Teacher Training
Thank you for your willingness to serve God's Children by teaching English. 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.
What Is the Purpose of EnglishConnect?
EnglishConnect 1 and 2 are not typical academic English classes. The purpose of EnglishConnect is to help learners:
- Increase faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
- Become capable learners
- Develop English skills in a gospel-centered environment
EnglishConnect courses provide a unique opportunity for learners to improve their English in an environment of fellowship and faith.
As you teach, pray for the guidance of the Holy Ghost to understand the needs of your learners and how to help them succeed. As you prepare yourself spiritually and strive to do your best, Heavenly Father will increase your capacity to accomplish this purpose.
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 course materials. As you prayerfully seek to fulfill this responsibility and to improve, Heavenly Father will help you (see Ether 12:27).
As you prepare to teach EnglishConnect, consider the following questions:
- How can I prepare spiritually?
- How can I invite the Spirit during each class session?
- 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 class 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
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.
- Exercise Faith in Jesus Christ
- Take Responsibility for Their Own Learning
- Teach One Another
- Learn by Doing
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 listed below. After each lesson, take time to evaluate your progress using these principles and the “Self-Reflection Chart” in the EnglishConnect Instructor Manual. 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” (D&C 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” (D&C 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.
Exercise Faith in Jesus Christ
The purpose of EnglishConnect is to help learners develop English skills in an environment that fosters faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. You can help by inviting learners to pray for the gift of tongues and act in faith to achieve their goals. Express your faith that Heavenly Father can help them. Express encouragement. Take time during each class to give learners opportunities to teach one another and express faith. Invite learners to share their experiences receiving the enabling power of Jesus Christ 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?
Take Responsibility
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. Learners who study and practice English for 8–10 hours a week will progress more quickly. You can help by inviting learners to set daily practice goals and act in faith to accomplish their goals. Encourage learners to develop three daily English habits:
- Pray for the gift of tongues
- Read the Book of Mormon
- Act in faith to accomplish their goals
Invite learners to track their progress in the “My Practice Plan” at the front of their manual. You can follow up at the beginning of class by having them report their progress to a classmate. Invite learners to share ideas for making English a part of their daily routines. Remember, the greatest learning gains will happen when learners take responsibility to consistently study and practice outside of class.
Consider the following questions:
- How can I help learners take responsibility to study and practice English daily?
- How can I help learners recognize their progress?
- How can I help learners memorize the lesson vocabulary and example sentences before class?
Teach One Another
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.
Give learners opportunities to share what challenges they have and what they are doing to be successful. Prayerfully find ways to help every learner feel appreciated and part of the group, especially those who are not members of the Church. Encourage learners to support one another and minister to those who are struggling. Counsel with your leaders to find appropriate ways to help the group stay connected during the week through group messaging or other activities.
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?
- How can I help learners stay connected during the week?
Learn By Doing
EnglishConnect 1 and 2 are conversation classes. The goal of a conversation class is to give every learner the opportunity to practice speaking as much as possible. Learners should be speaking and practicing with each other in every part of the lesson. Encourage learners to memorize the lesson vocabulary and example sentences before class. This will help them be prepared to benefit more from the conversation class activities. Manage your time so that the majority of class time is spent doing speaking activities in pairs or small groups. Working in pairs or small groups gives each learner more time for practice.
You will know you are successful when learners can complete the conversation activities naturally and they don’t need to use their books. Many learners are hesitant to practice speaking and feel afraid of making mistakes in front of others. You can help by creating an environment where risk-taking and failure are encouraged. Find ways to celebrate their efforts. If learners make a mistake, give them opportunities to identify the error and let them try again until they are successful. Be an example by cheerfully recognizing and correcting your own mistakes. Help learners experience the joy that comes from acting in faith to learn by doing.
Consider the following questions:
How can I reduce the amount of time spent in vocabulary and grammar activities so that the majority of time is spent in conversation activities?
- How can I plan each activity so all learners are speaking most of time?
- How can I create an environment where learners feel safe to make mistakes?
Speak English
Establish the expectation that you will speak English in class, and invite learners to do the same. Avoid long descriptions or explanations. Use basic words, simple sentences, hand motions, or other resources to communicate. When learners have questions, invite other learners to help. Encourage learners to use available resources to find answers (including the learner manual, a dictionary, and classmates). Avoid translating everything you say. If you use simple sentences and repeat slowly, most learners can understand the general idea—don’t worry about making sure they understand every word.
Trust that you will help them most by giving them opportunities to listen and communicate in English. Encourage learners to speak English as they interact with you and with each other. Invite them to try first in English, to use the words they know, and to proactively learn words they don’t know. Encourage learners to use a small notebook or other resource to write down new words and definitions. If you hear learners speaking their native language, cheerfully remind them to act in faith to speak English! Speaking English takes faith, but acting in faith will invite the Spirit to help everyone learn.
Consider the following questions:
- How will I make sure I am speaking English all the time?
- How can I help the learners act in faith to speak English?
- How can I create an environment where speaking English is safe, fun, and engaging?
Teaching Materials
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