ESL Volunteers
Teach English to Our Immigrant Neighbors!
Want a rewarding, hands-on volunteer opportunity? Join volunteers from St. John's and other area churches to help our immigrant neighbors learn English.
Volunteer teachers must commit to at least one morning or night per week, Tuesday and Thursdays during the spring and fall at St. John's. No experience necessary. Training is available. All you need is a smile and an interest in helping people from other countries!
We also need help with registration. Throughout the fall, administrative aides are needed to welcome students and assist teachers.
Since 2000, volunteers from St. John's and area churches have worked together to teach English to our immigrant neighbors as the Franconia Area Churches ESL Cooperative. Last spring, 38 volunteers came from St. John's, All Saints Episcopal-Sharon Chapel, Bush Hill Presbyterian, Central Christian, Faith Presbyterian, Franconia United Methodist, Springfield Christian and St. Bernadette's Catholic churches.
Almost 100 students in our spring 2007 session came from 21 different countries including Bolivia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Japan, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia and Vietnam. They speak 13 different native languages, with a majority speaking Spanish.
Some ESL students also attend Estudio Biblico, for Bible study in Spanish, and Friendship Nights, where they practice English in a fun, social setting with St. John's members.
The reputation of the ESL program has grown to the extent that we were contacted by an embassy to help find a tutor for the ambassador's wife and also by a restaurant manager seeking English lessons for his employees.
For more information on the Franconia Area Churches ESL Cooperative, call Coordinator Diane Brody, (703) 660-6386. E-mail: FACCESL@aol.com. Or visit www.sjlc.com/esl.htm.