Spotlight on Doris Edwards

I ended up being asked to be founding director of Friendship, a cooperative effort of many local churches, on behalf of the more than 2000 internationals in the Austin area. I found myself speaking before church and civic groups, and even appearing on a television talk show. Public speaking was something I had dreaded, but I took heart from these verses: "There is nothing in us that allows us to claim that we are capable of doing this work . . . The capacity we have comes from God . . . His strength is made perfect in our weakness." (II Cor. 3:5 and 12:9).

In another divine coincidence, I learned of the highly successful Columbia Council for Internationals in Columbia, SC. It was their resources which prepared me for another job God led me to: chairing an ad hoc Advisory Council for International Students at Baylor University. These efforts resulted in the development of a Host Family Program, Speakers' Bureau, Loan Closet, Arrival Hospitality, International Week, and New Student Orientation.

In 1990, as I was leading teacher-training workshops in Europe, I was thinking one day of all that I wanted to learn to fill in the gaps of what I had learned in the school of experience. Just then I received an unexpected call from my husband. Marshall shared with me his desire to take a sabbatical from the pastorate, and added, "You might want to consider graduate school!" God was connecting dots for a picture that I had begun thinking about only hours before! I knew God was connecting the dots when a nearby program offered the very thing I needed--a degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a TESL emphasis. In fact, God has always been in the details.

I had a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow in the TEFL program at Columbia International University. For the first time in my life, I taught ESL as a gainfully employed person--in the Adult Education program of the local school district. As coordinator for ESL classes, I was privileged to work closely with the students and CIU/TEFL faculty. I was blessed to teach with others who saw our work as an opportunity to make a difference for eternity.

Spotlight on Earl Stevick

Spotlight, July 2000
Few professionals in TESOL have had such a wide impact on our field as Earl Stevick. His nearly a dozen books spanning 40 years have influenced several generations of ESL/EFL teachers. Here, in his own words, CETESOLers can read Stevick's account of how God has led him through his remarkable career. He also writes about what Christian readers in particular should look for in his books.

The Quakers have an expression "as way opens," and a hymn by John Henry Newman begins, "Lead, Kindly Light ... one step [at a time is] enough for me." These two quotations pretty well summarize my life.

I majored in government at Harvard, having been informed that there was no worthwhile career in foreign languages. Just before graduation, however, an apparently chance encounter in a stairwell got me signed up to teach English for the Methodists in Warsaw. The dropping of the Iron Curtain killed that plan, but as part of the preparation for it I'd had an intensive two-week exposure to teaching English as a foreign language. That was how the way opened for my career in TESOL. With the help of the GI Bill and a working wife, I got an M.A. TEFL. Another apparently chance encounter, this one in an elevator, led me into training short-term missionaries in the learning and teaching of languages. That work put me in touch with Eugene A. Nida of the American Bible Society, who was later helpful in arranging a teaching fellowship at Cornell, where I got a degree in linguistics.

My first post-doctoral job was at Scarritt College for Christian Workers, in Nashville. There the president twisted my arm to apply for a Ford Fellowship, which gave me two years in Central Africa, thereby catapulting me into the position of eleventh-ranking African languages specialist in the United States (out of a field of twelve in those days). That in turn led me to the Language School of the Foreign Service Institute of the Department of State, where I spent the rest of my career. During that time, I was frequently lent to the Peace Corps for a variety of tasks in language training. This opened my eyes to how limited my understanding of learning and teaching had been up to then, which led to most of my books, all of them aimed at nudging language teachers toward a better understanding of themselves and their work. (It also led indirectly to an avocation in what might be called "lay pastoral care.")

I took early retirement in 1984, precipitated by my wife's health. She is doing fine these days, though I have been struggling with Parkinson's Disease. I'm still trying to live according to Philippians 1:27: "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ."

I have mentioned my books-here are a few more details about them. As part of my employment I prepared a number of language textbooks for use by missionaries or government workers. What I most enjoyed writing, however, were books for language teachers:

• Helping People Learn English (1957), A Workbook in Language Teaching (1963),
• Adapting and Writing Language Lessons (1971), Memory, Meaning and Method (1976),
• Teaching Languages: A Way and Ways (1981),
• Teaching and Learning Languages (1982),
• Images and Options in the Language Classroom (1986),
• Success with Foreign Languages (1989),
• Humanism in Language Teaching (1990),
• Memory, Meaning & Method: Revised [actually 78% new] edition (1996),
• Working with Teaching Methods: What's at Stake? (1998).

In writing the first four of these books, my thoughts were purely professional, with no conscious attention to matters of faith. The reactions to Memory, Meaning & Method (1976 edition) changed that.

1. Three unconventional approaches that I described in the 1976 book came to be called "humanistic" (apparently in the sense that all of them tried to explore and exploit human potential more fully than previous approaches had done) and I came to be known as an exponent of "humanism" in language teaching. That didn't bother me. What did bother me was that in another sense, "humanistic" in philosophy is the position that there is no "god" of any consequence, and that we humans are responsible for our own salvation, mainly through the use of reason. Anyone who thinks otherwise is regarded as a dangerous saboteur of the scientific quest for a better world.

2. The words "humanism" and "humanistic" carried a wide range of meanings and emotional associations which were sometimes overlapping and sometimes contradictory. As a result, discussions in this area were generating more heat than light.

3. Some critics of the three unconventional approaches seemed to use words like "theological" as epithets to discredit those approaches. Religion was now portrayed not as a saboteur of right thinking, but as a feeble-minded cousin.

In Humanism in Language Teaching I tried to deal in a non-polemic way with these three concerns, pointing out that the supposedly objective stance adopted by some critics both of "humanistic" methods and of religious faith, is itself dependent on unprovable articles of "faith" in a more generic sense.

In this same book, Christian readers may also want to look at my assessment of the religious content in Community Language Learning and the Silent Way, and at a style of teaching that I called "sacramental." I also began the casual use of the phrase "the created order" in contexts where many other writers had been equally casually referring to "evolution." (In the 1996 and 1998 books I listed the Christian touches in the index under "outlook.")

Now that my book-writing days are past, I've been looking back at my life overall, trying to integrate its professional aspects with its faith aspects. This has led to a few short pieces, two of which have appeared in the CETC Newsletter. I do not plan to publish these, but will gladly make them available on e-mail to anyone who is interested. Meantime, Newman's hymn continues:

So long Thy love hath blest me, sure it still

will lead me on

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till

the night is gone.

..................

Spotlight is a column in which we introduce individuals and organizations that exemplify what it means to be a Christian educator in TESOL. Do you know someone who should be spotlighted? Are you part of an organization which should be spotlighted? Please contact the editor of this column, 

Spotlight Archives

Spotlight on Educational Services International & Rob Filback

I signed on and in September 1991 found myself in a high school classroom in downtown Budapest, ready to begin my role as a teacher of English as a foreign language and as a representative of Educational Services International (ESI).

While I had intended to spend just one year overseas, the challenge of teaching along with the experience of living within and learning about Hungary's culture, captivated me. One year led to two more, the last of which I spent teaching in the Transylvanian region of Romania. What an opportunity that proved to be: working with extremely motivated students; exploring another facet of Magyar language and culture; and learning about other realities, such as the nature of an educational system confined by a decrepit political structure and the nuances of life in an area laden with subtle, yet deep, ethnic divides. All in all, these were without question three of the most exhilarating years of my life.

Upon returning to the U.S., I eagerly accepted an offer to work in ESI's home office, where I would have the privilege of recruiting and training others to do what I had so much enjoyed. Since that time, I've helped hundreds through the decision-making, planning, and training process. I've also been fortunate enough to be able to regularly visit many ESI teachers on the field and experience with them their joys and struggles -- whether personal, spiritual, or professional -- as they adjust to living and working in another land. As a result, my respect for our teachers has grown each year. I'm impressed with how they face cultural hurdles, endure personal ups and downs, put effort into making a team relationship work, and on top of all of this, respond to the demands of teaching (for many, their first year of teaching!) I'm grateful to be a part of such an engaging enterprise.

Nevertheless, we at ESI often find ourselves reflecting on the nature of our work and responsibility as a Christian organization in the field of TEFL. How do we help our teachers properly integrate work and ministry? What does faith working through love look like in the context of a classroom overseas? How can we display the utmost integrity in everything we do? To find answers to these and other questions, we as an ESI leadership team have been committed to regularly spending time together in listening prayer; to seeking God corporately for wisdom, direction, and identity. One of the results is the following list of our four core values:

Servanthood

Few would deny that simple, sacrificial Service clearly reflects the heart of God. And what greater opportunity is there to Serve others than as a teacher in the classroom. Through teaching, the notion of Service can be swiftly turned into action. By exhibiting professionalism and sincere care for our students, as well as demonstrating godly lifestyles, we engage in significant incarnational ministry. Our life is our message and everyday actions speak louder than words.

Community

We will always be committed to sending our teachers out in teams. One of the reasons we emphasize teamwork is quite practical: Teams seem to meet the challenges of living overseas more successfully than individuals alone. But even more than sustainability, we know that serving in community is central to building credibility. Jesus did not pray that our words would convince the world that he was indeed God. Rather, he asked his father to help us love each other - to be one - in order that the world would know who he is. Community can sometimes be messy and less efficient than going it alone. But in terms of providing tangible proof of God's love, there's no other way.

Adaptability

Each summer, during our five week training program, we attempt a most challenging feat. We ask our candidates to reconsider the way they think about the world, about God, and about themselves -- in order to dampen the shock from the cultural discontinuities they're each about to encounter. One of the most important tools which we try to impart is a learning attitude. This can be a great catalyst in adjusting to and understanding a strange new culture, as well as adjusting to one's teammates and a new job. While we don't encourage anyone to go native, we do disparage a tourist mentality. We want our teachers to take off their coats and stay a while. For even the smallest effort to truly understand one's host culture will lead to deeper friendships and greater enjoyment.

Transformation

Finally, we believe that development and change is a two-way process that we can encourage and facilitate. We know that serving as a teacher overseas can be one of the best times for Christian growth. And while our goal is academic excellence, we do not use this as the only measure of success for our teachers. We want our teachers to avoid a perfectionistic approach to work overseas, so we often ask "Did you ENJOY your experience with ESI?" We want encourage reflection, learning, growth and overall enjoyment in all that our teachers do.

To sum up, ESI is in the business of good works. Producing committed teachers who care deeply about their students and pour out their lives in a practical way so as to impart knowledge and skills -- this is what we're about. But we also believe that a distinguishing characteristic should be our motivation. Why do we do what we do? Our work springs from profound gratitude and is guided by a determination that any credit or glory be directed to the One in whom we live, move and have our being. During a very recent prayer and planning retreat, we settled upon Matthew 5:16, which sums this up well: Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

So where is ESI today? To date, we've sent over 2000 teachers overseas. And currently, our teachers are Serving in the following places: China, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Morocco, Turkey and Egypt! They are diligently teaching English, business, computers, and other subjects, at the elementary through high school levels, as well as in universities and private language centers. And in the future we aim to strengthen our ability as an organization to more quickly respond to strategic new directions in which God may lead us.

Ten years after joining ESI, I still find my work truly fulfilling. The enjoyment I receive from counseling and encouraging others does not wane. I love persuading people to at least consider creating space enough in their lives for the meaningful and life-changing experience of being an English, business, or subject teacher overseas. Despite the challenges it brings, what I most often hear from returning teachers is that without a doubt they would do it all over again.

Contact Educational Services International. Tel 800-895-7955

Spotlight on Jan Dormer

"To whom much is given much shall be required." These words were often cited to me as I grew up, a missionary kid who had moved to Brazil at age 10. I came to realize that I was rich in Christian heritage, in educational opportunities, in cultural and linguistic experiences, in potential, and yes even in finances, when compared to 90% of the world. How God has led me to use my "riches" has proved to be a joy-filled journey.

My early love of teaching came from years of watching my mother's skill, though she hasn't graduated from college, in teaching Sunday school. It was only natural that after graduating from high school in Brazil, I should pursue a career in education. I majored in Elementary Education at Asbury College, and became the first student from there to do student teaching abroad at the Alliance Academy in Quito, Ecuador.

After two years of teaching at the elementary level, in Brazil and in the U.S., I knew I wanted to go on for my Master's in TESL. My goal was to become a missionary English teacher. However, towards the end of my graduate program at Ball State University in Indiana, I met a certain Canadian seminarian who re-directed my mission field focus from Asia to Canada. Though it was hard for me to give up my dream, love prevailed.

As always, God knew what he was doing. It was in Canada that I became active in my profession, teaching at Brock University and Mohawk College, and getting involved in TESL Canada. This was invaluable experience for me. I could not have done what God knew I would need to do on the mission field, had I not had this time to become an experienced teacher, learn from my colleagues, and get grounded and secure in the field of TESOL.

After almost nine years in Canada, God nudged us to an international mission field. We discovered a school for missionary children in Indonesia (CJIMS) that was in need of both an ESL teacher and dorm parents. I found great joy in my ESL work there. Though the school was established primarily for English speaking children, many other foreigners, the largest group being Korean, also placed their children in CJIMS. Consequently the school was about one third non-native English speaking, and in dire need of good ESL programs. I was able to develop an elementary pull-out program, and a one-year intensive academic prep ESL program for 7th-12th grade. It is a joy to hear from former ESL students who are now successfully enrolled in colleges in the U.S. and Canada.

We had only intended to go to Indonesia for one year, thinking we would give a tithe of our time for God's work. We ended up staying three years, and at the end of that time, we weren't so sure anymore that God wanted us back in Canada. Unmistakably, God led us--back to what had been my home as a child, Brazil. We are now career missionaries with OMS International and have been here nearly two years. We have discovered that Brazil is ripe for ministry, including ministry which involves TESOL. The Brazilian Christians with whom I work are excited about developing new programs, initiating new ideas, evangelizing in their neighborhoods, and reaching out to the world. This is heaven for a visionary person like me!

Consequently, we have more exciting ESL ministries here than I can handle.

• An English language institute associated with the seminary. These classes serve the community (both Christian and non-Christian students) and help bring in income for the seminary (which is trying to become self-supporting). We use New Interchange but we are also creating supplementary Christian materials. The high quality of teaching and the unique curriculum has already attracted students and the program grew from 14 last semester when it was started to 60 this semester.
• The English program at a Christian elementary school associated with the seminary. The school eagerly accepted my challenge to launch a five-year plan toward becoming a Portuguese-English bilingual school. Parents are so eager for their children to learn English that a bilingual program adds extra appeal to the school (which also helps support the seminary). To that end I've begun an English Club for 3rd - 6th graders at the school, and my absolute favorite part of each day is when I can be found baking imaginary cookies or doing the hokey pokey with my English Club kids. They are enthusiastic and so eager to speak English!
• A Portuguese as a Second Language program for missionaries. We started this program because the setting is perfect: the missionaries study Portuguese in our seminary, and their children attend the Brazilian Christian school in the same building, learning Portuguese in a sheltered immersion system in which they have private translators as needed.
• A content-based EFL class in "Missions" at the seminary. This class will give students with advanced English proficiency the chance to learn more about missions (and get seminary credit) while they improve their listening, reading, and writing skills in English. We want to equip Brazilian missionaries. Some will need English on the field as a means of communicating with the international missions community. Others have the potential of teaching EFL themselves, which could enable them to work in Muslim countries otherwise closed to missionaries.
• English through churches. Our goal is to get people through the church doors and establish relationships between church members and non-Christians through English classes and English Bible studies. Our model is to have local believers trained in evangelism studying in the English classes along with the seekers, and have short-term missionaries from North America come in as teachers. I'm teaching one of these classes, but more churches are waiting, and we could use lots of teachers!
• Teacher training. In order for all of these programs to go forward, I must be able to adequately train Brazilian English teachers. A lot of my current attention is going to the teacher-training course. It's not always easy to navigate cultural waters, uphold standards, and maintain positive relationships all at once.

Fortunately, God guides. He provides wisdom about when to push, when to wait, and when just to love. One of my biggest concerns is maintaining professional TESOL standards in all that is done in the name of English Ministries on the mission field. But I remind myself that I don't need to worry about that. No one wants quality more than God, and if we let him lead, he will guide us into all truth. He created language, and knows it better than any of us. And he is putting into place resources such as the Christian Educators in TESOL caucus to help with this.

I have been given much. As I give back, following God's commands, I have discovered that this is not duty, but joy. Joy to be able to pray with a hurting student after class. Joy when a third grader says, "English Club is my favorite subject!" Joy when a teacher says that the idea I gave her worked well in her class. I can't think of any way I'd rather spend my years on earth.

Spotlight on Overseas Summer Missions

Spotlight October, 2002

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Taichung City-A.jpg

A few second-generation Asian-Americans returned to their homeland, Taiwan, a few years ago in order to teach English in churches during their summer vacation. Their intent was to reach out to the young people in the local Taiwanese communities. The program turned out to be very popular among the students, as well as the parents, in the city of Taichung, in central Taiwan. Many students accepted Jesus and, subsequently, became involved in local churches. All this was a result of the healthy relationships they had formed with the teachers in these summer English classes. Many churches have noticed a definite increase in the size of their congregations since the outreach program began. In early 2002 there were 30 churches looking for Americans and Canadians to help them with their English programs in Taiwan. It was this great demand for teachers that resulted in the formation of the Overseas Summer Missions (OSM), which now recruits Americans and Canadians for short-term missions to Taiwan.

 

OSM is supported by and the administration is done completely through volunteers. The goal of this non-profit corporation is to provide very affordable overseas mission opportunities for any mission-minded Christian that is a high school or college student or an adult. Teaching English, along with other activities, allows Asian churches to recruit non-believers. It is a great way to approach and attract, especially, the younger-generation of people, many of whom may otherwise never step into the doorway of a church.

 

The team members of Summer 2002 came from both the western and eastern sections of the United States and from Montreal, Canada. The teams were divided into groups of two to ten people. Teams taught in the churches for spans of time ranging from two to four weeks. At the end of the English classes, there were English summer camps sponsored by many of the local churches. The students and American teachers were able to spend three days of fun and relaxed time together, either in the church or in the beautiful retreat campgrounds. The Gospel was presented in the camp in the students native language. Friendships that were formed last summer have helped the non-Christian students to be more open-minded in accepting the true meaning of eternal life. In fact, many students came to know the Lord in the summer camps. It truly was a harvest time for churches, and they were able to reap the fruits gained from the summer teaching program.

 

HiSchoolCampus-A.jpg

One of the Summer 2002 teams was a high school group from a church in Southern California. In the planning stages for this group, a question came up as to how we could effectively utilize this group of young Americans. Before long God had opened up a huge door for them. They were invited to teach in a local private high school that enrolls 8,000 students, 2,000 of whom were signed up for the summer English classes. It was the first time that American high school students walked into a Taiwan high school to teach English. The bonding and interest among the students was certainly evident. The national students were invited to the church functions over the weekends, and hundreds showed up. This opened up a new evangelical avenue for OSM and the Taiwan churches for the coming years. There have been already five to ten Taiwan high schools that have expressed interest in bringing our program to them next year, the summer of 2003.

 

OSM also sent four teams in the Summer 2002 to four Japanese churches in Tokyo and Osaka as a pioneer project to see how the program would fit into the different cultures. As the result of the openness of the churches and the diligent work by our team members and lots of prayer, it turned out to be a very fruitful and successful summer for the Japan mission. We have been invited to go back next year with more American and Canadian teams to help the churches.

 

When the Soviet Union collapsed in the late 1980s, western churches were basically stymied and stunned, at a loss as to how to handle the suddenly wide-open doors to the millions of equally-shocked Russian people. Ten years later, many churches are still in disarray and confusion, not knowing how to effectively approach the former Eastern Block nations. Many doors have since tighten or closed within this area. We do not want this scenario to be repeated in China.

 

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China is one of the major evangelical frontiers of the 21st Century. Joining the WTO (World Trade Organization) and the anticipation of being the host of the 2008 Olympic Summer Games have made China more sensitive to international criticism and opinions in handling human rights. We believe that the continued improvement of the economy and the modernization of communication technology will force the last major communism regime to eventually open its doors for the freedom of preaching the Gospel. It is our goal to evangelize Taiwan's population of 23 million and help them grow and develop in their biblically-sound faith within the local churches. It is hoped that many of these people, who have no culture or language barriers with the people of China, will become future missionaries in China by moving ashore and merging with their brothers and sisters in the Mainland for the final harvest.

 

Approximately half of western Chinas populations are currently Muslim. They are Arab-Chinese. They have retained their Arab language and culture for centuries, even under the Communist control. In the past 50 years the situation has changed very little. Beginning with the trades on the Silk Road, friendships flourished through mutual trust between the people of East Asia and the Middle East. There has never been a war between these two areas.

 

On the other hand, ever since the Crusaders in the Middle Ages, suspicions lie deep between the Arabs and Western countries. It would be easier for the Gospel to come from the East than from the West, since many have tried to reach the Muslims. Evangelism to the Chinese Muslim population could be a critical point to closing the last gap and bringing the Gospel back to Jerusalem through the Middle East by our former-Muslim brothers and sisters in Christ in western China. As it says in Revelation 22:20 Yes, I am coming quickly. when the preaching of the Gospel completes a circle on earth, it will certainly hasten Jesus coming again.

 

OSM is anticipating about 100 churches partnering with us in the Taiwan program next summer. We are looking for up to 700 Americans and Canadians to join the summer mission teams of 2003. Christian churches and schools are welcome and encouraged to send teams to join this mission.

 

The cost per person for the 4-week mission is only US$875. This amount includes international airfare, mission training, room & board, local transportation and other expenses. Please check the OSM website at www.OSMusa.org for more information.

 

Life is a journey. Lets travel together and serve our Lord!

 

Francis Wang, Mission Director, OSM

Spotlight on Sally Eimer

When I was asked to edit this column spotlighting people and organizations that exemplify Christians in TESOL, I knew right away that I would start by introducing you to Sally Eimer. She represents to me what it means to follow the Lord in life and profession and to serve one's students. She's also been involved in such a range of ESL and EFL teaching that looking at her life gives us a panoramic view of TESOL.

Sally began her involvement in ESL, like many of us, through volunteer work. She volunteered in the 1980's with the Southeast Asian Fellowship in Pasadena, California. Meeting weekly with a Vietnamese family, she went beyond English tutoring and advocated for their children at school, provided resources for employment, and even found a donated piano for this musically-gifted family. But Sally knew that training and qualifications were important if she was to continue to use teaching in conjunction with cross-cultural communication of the Gospel, so she got her M.A. in TESOL.

While working on that degree, Sally got a job teaching beginners at the Community Skills Center of Pasadena City College. Here her students were also immigrant and refugee adults, but from Mexico and Central America. Again, Sally approached her teaching holistically. "I started out like a traditional teacher, giving homework, and so on. But after I listened to their stories, how they woke up at 4 a.m., worked all day, and then came to my class, I changed my style. I wanted to teach them what they needed, like how to make a phone call to a refrigerator repair person. I wanted to emphasize their abilities. I found out, for example, that one of my students was a gifted violinist. I found a loaner violin for him and invited him to play for my class. Even though adult ESL has challenges of attrition and turnover, I loved their eagerness to learn. I'll never forget one elderly gentleman who, for three years in a row, returned to my class; he never learned much English, but he enjoyed our little community. I was these students' first real contact with an American; as they felt comfortable with me, they felt better about being here."

During these years, Sally was also approached by the 1st Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton about setting up an ESL program. "I suggested that to do it right, they needed a trained teacher. That ended up being me! But the church had a wonderful group of willing volunteers. My job was organizing lessons; their job was being in the classroom so the students had native speakers to practice with. What an ideal situation! I taught for a year and then some of the initial volunteers were ready to take over and the program continued. It really expanded the church's vision for the community."

China was Sally's next challenge. She went to Chengdu with English Language Institute China in January 1986 as a replacement team leader. "I loved every minute of it, but there were a lot of new things to get used to. I was used to informal teaching; now I had to make a course outline. I was used to students who were motivated--and although I had lots of eager students, there were several who didn't want to be in my class. Among my English teacher students was someone who was being forced to be an English teacher--he really wanted to be a rock star. But I also experienced new joys. One of my teacher trainees was applying for a job and asked me for some teaching tips. I helped her put together a sample lesson with a variety of activities. When she got the job, we were both thrilled." Besides her regular classes, Sally did things like give presentations on life in the U.S. and teach demonstration lessons at a local elementary school.

And it was at an elementary school in Pasadena where Sally found herself in her next stage in the TESOL profession. Since 1988 she has been at Webster Elementary, first teaching in a Spanish bilingual classroom, then being a Bilingual Resource Teacher, and more recently back in the classroom (this time, due to California's changing policies, teaching the same Spanish-speaking kids, but all in English). Before her M.A. in TESOL, Sally had gotten a teaching credential, but felt uncomfortable in the classroom with children. Now it was the right place. Having studied Spanish since grade school and having been inspired by a visit to missionaries in Latin America in 1972 to dedicate her own life to missions, God was pulling together these threads in the tapestry of her life. "It was tough to manage a classroom of kids after my years with adults. But I love making a difference for their future. I have kids in my classes now whose parents were in my Community Skills Center class!"

Asia was still a part of Sally's life, however. "For several years I taught a TESOL methodology class at William Carey University. One of my former students told me that she was on her way to Mongolia. At that moment I knew that I'd be going there, too." In 1995 Sally was a team leader for English Language Institute to Mongolia. Each summer since then she has gone back, moving into the position of director of ELI's Summer English Olympics program. That ministry included a year's leave of absence from Webster, but also included a number of years of working her regular job while volunteering many hours for Mongolia. "My coming back year after year speaks to the students there. They know I'm a volunteer, paying my way, so my return communicates love and commitment to them. I've especially enjoyed deepening my relationship with some special friends there."

"Over the past five years, I've seen some wonderful changes. At first, there were only a few Mongolian Christians and they were afraid of speaking out. Then gradually they began to encourage each other. Most recently I've heard public testimony given by Christian students."

"God used my time in Mongolia to transform me. One summer there I was asked to lead a Bible study for a woman who was a new Christian. During our first meeting, her husband joined us and himself came to Christ. Another seeker joined us too and by the end of the summer had made a commitment to Christ. As we studied John, God ministered to my heart and fed my soul. They asked questions and I answered, but God was answering my own questions at the same time."

"Mongolia is a place of worship for me too. One day I was returning to the capital after a ten-hour drive to visit some teachers in the countryside. We stopped by a river. Surrounded by sky and fields, in the company of a few fishermen and horses, I thought, 'You have called me here to the ends of the earth, Lord, and I get to worship you here.' Even now, when I need a quiet space to worship, I return to that river in my minds' eye."

Sally's story reminds us of why we are Christian educators in TESOL: the call of the Lord, wonderful students, and opportunities in the U.S. and around the world. And ultimately, we come back to worship. As it says in Revelation 7:8-12, "There was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb...saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.'"

Spotlight on Tom Scovel

What does it mean to be a Christian educator in TESOL? As we teachers well know, it is much easier to ask questions than to answer them, but in the spirit of this "Spotlight" series, and recognizing that self-reflection is an important part of our growth as teachers and as Christians, let me tell my story briefly.

I have always felt that I have had "a goodly heritage" to quote the psalms. Born in China where my parents served as Presbyterian medical missionaries, I was raised there until my early teens, when we then moved to India where I was fortunate to attend and graduate from Woodstock School, beautifully situated in the Himalayan foothills. Like many "mish kids" of that era, I had to leave my parents at the age of seventeen and all by myself, sail to the United States to attend college in Ohio. Not only did I not know a single person at the school, I did not know anyone in the entire state. Nowadays, thanks to the fascinating work done by people who study the social psychology of this phenomenon, I realize that I was (and in many ways still am) a "third culture kid."

Naturally, it was difficult to acculturate to a place which wasn't my home, and to live independently from parental support. That anomie- the feeling that I was "a man without a country"- has left me with a great deal of empathy for the ESL students I have taught throughout my career. In a wonderful anthology entitled, On Becoming a Language Educator edited by Casanave & Schechter (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1997), I wrote about one college experience I had in a piece I called, "Strength from weakness, insight from failure." Although my direct intent was to share what I learned about language teaching from the many times I flunked French in college (yes, you read correctly- it is the plural, "times"!), I tried to package into the story what also happened to me spiritually. You might recognize that this title is taken from Second Corinthians 12:9- "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." In that story, I describe how at a Christmas party for our French class, we were all given little cakes and in one of them was a tiny porcelin baby Jesus. I "happened" to get the cake with the figurine, and a little bit later, I finally passed French with a glorious C-. For me, this episode was one of the many I have had where I have experienced the wonderful gift of grace.

After barely graduating from college and just squeezing into graduate school, again I was blessed to find in the same semester at Ohio State University, a field, a career, and my partner for life! Having always been interested in both languages and science, it was there that I just happened to discover that a new program was opening up on campus in a field called linguistics. Simultaneously, I was lucky enough to get a teaching assistantship in the English Department where I was given a composition class for foreign students (because I had been raised overseas), and I instantly discovered I enjoyed teaching. Finally, I was fortunate to be washing dishes in the same dormitory where my future wife was residing, and some forty years later, I am still washing dishes at her residence. But really, it was not happenstance, luck, or good fortune that led me to these marvelous new worlds of opportunities; again, I these as instances of rich grace.

From graduate school, my wife and I sailed away for three years teaching EFL in Thailand as Presbyterian missionaries, and later, after we completed our graduate training, we returned to Thailand for four more years under similar auspices. Both of our children were born in Thailand, and later, they accompanied us for a one year stint in my native China where my wife and I had been invited as one of the first American families to go to China to teach. That year was a crucible of incredible experiences for each of us, and among the many marvelous opportunities we had, I think one of the highlights was attending the first church service allowed in our city of seven million since before the Cultural Revolution.

But enough of the past. How does the Lord lead me today as a Christian educator? The answer, of course, is manifold, just as the past blessings have been multitudinous. As a linguist, I find the coincidences and the contradictions between my work as a psycholinguist and my Christian beliefs to be terribly exciting intellectually. Again and again, what I learn and study from the secular world of science reinforces the power of the Word. In many ways, it seems to me that linguistics forces us to the inescapable conclusion that we are created in God's image and that the word is made flesh in who and what we humans are. As a teacher, to borrow the words from another Christian educator and a person who is held in highest renown and esteem, Earl Stevick, "what goes on inside and between people" in my classrooms is a daily challenge and opportunity for me to express my Christian faith. I have always enjoyed teaching in large secular universities because they afford me unique opportunities to be in but not of the world and to share my faith with disparate and wonderful people. Finally, as a husband, father, and now as a grandfather, I have been given the marvelous chance to recapitulate God's love for me through my relationship with some very special people.

In looking back over my life journey, I can only pray that you will experience the joy I have had as a Christian educator in TESOL. I do not mean to leave the impression that my life has been easy- failing French was fairly insignificant compared to other hardships I have endured- but there is great comfort in knowing that God's grace is always present, and I hope that this faith is something which can accompany you and which you, in turn, can convey to your students.