Education Services

The primary goal of the SSJ Welcome Center's ESL program is to offer immigrants a basic knowledge of English so that students are able to:

To provide for their families through education and work opportunities
To advocate for themselves at schools, hospitals and jobs etc.
To take the Naturalization Test -- which requires proficiency in English
To become more involved in their communities

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The Sisters of Saint Joseph Welcome Center offers instruction focused on the development of practical living skills. The staff places emphasis on survival English competency in the four major skill areas: speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing.

Teacher resources: The teacher is always the best resource. Being creative using guide books, videos, websites, DVD, whiteboard, stickers and much more. The book closet in the SSJ Welcome Center has many resources at your disposal.

For more information on teaching ESL, check-out the following websites:

Handouts Online
English-Zone.com
Enchanted Learning
EnglishForum.com
ESL Partyland
ManyThings.org
Three Wise Monkeys
EFL/ESL Lessons Using PowerPoint
EL Civics for ESL Students
ESLhome.org (Theme Units)
Dave's ESL Cafe.
ESLFlow.com
Activities for ESL Students

The Role of the ESL Instructor:

This program asks volunteers to share their knowledge of English, something fluent speakers naturally possess. Teachers do not need degrees in English, linguistics, or education, they do not have to speak another language, the only language necessary is English. Previous experience is not necessary to teach and ESL class but enthusiasm and planning are a must.

Language Resource: Students look to their ESL instructor as a living English language resource. Their language exposure will probably be limited to what is presented to them in class. They will likely look to you as a walking dictionary and want definitions of words. They may ask for explanations of grammar concepts. If it is not clear why it is we say things a certain way, don't worry. Tell the students you will find out for them and let them know next class. Expertise is not necessary and there are plenty of resources to help you explain grammar.

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