Putting Beliefs Into Practice in a Church-Run Adult ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Ministry

• In Event: Roundtable Session 97
  In Roundtable Session: Issues in Christian Education

Abstract

This qualitative and instrumental case study explores how volunteer Christian ESOL tutors put their religious beliefs into practice in a church-run adult ESOL ministry. Such programs are a common though seldom studied form of adult education. Theory and research from community ESOL, spirituality in education, and language education help provide a background against which the data is analyzed and interpreted. Emergent themes or findings include relationality and empathy, Christian love or care, practical service, and learner-centeredness as values or priorities which participants connected with their religious beliefs.

Author

• Bradley Baurain, University of Nebraska - Lincoln