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ESL Class Locations and Schedule

A complete list of ESL class times and locations is available here.

Stay Connected

Standards for Membership

Minimum requirements for all programs joining ESLIM

 

  • Adequate training and support of volunteers
  • At least 3 people who participate in leadership of the program
  • Use of high quality ESL curriculum
  • Programs offered in at least three levels — beginner, intermediate, and advanced
  • Reasonable class size and adequate room space for classes
  • A commitment to allow students of all religions and faiths to attend classes
  • Student fees within the broad parameters of what ESLIM encourages (ideally $30 or less per semester)
  • Willingness to communicate key semester data in a timely fashion (upcoming program dates, number of students and volunteers each semester)
  • Willingness to have a member on the ESLIM Board of Directors and regularly attend meetings

Churches that want help in starting a program and joining ESLIM

In general, when a church approaches us for assistance with starting a new ESL program, we follow several steps.

  • First, we strongly encourage interested churches to read our ESL from A to Z Manual, which is a valuable resource on starting a faith-based ESL program — and on the challenges it will face.
  • Second, we try to find out who within the congregation is interested and where the pastor stands on the idea.  We encourage the church to survey their congregation to see how many people are interested in such a ministry.  As a general rule, programs should only be started when three people in the church agree to take leadership; experience has shown that starting an ESL ministry with fewer than three leaders often results in burn-out and program collapse.
  • Third, once a solid base of local support for the new program is established, our goal is to offer to have an ESLIM board member or other volunteer give a “mission moment” during a Sunday service with a meeting of interested folks following.  We can also provide a video about the blessings of this outreach mission for churches.
  • Fourth, once the church identifies a larger group of interested volunteers, we will offer them the opportunity to volunteer in an existing ESLIM program near them  for a semester.  During that semester, our goal is to work closely with the leadership core to make preparations for their program start up.
  • Fifth, during the initial semesters of the new program, our goal is to provide experienced mentors to coach the administrators and teachers during the start-up months.

We hope you will join us!