What is the English Literacy program?

The English Literacy program helps individuals develop the skills needed to read the English language. This program focuses on the foundational skills of reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, and pronunciation in the English Language. 

Participants may speak English as their first or second language.

How is this program different from English Connect?

English Connect focuses on language learning for people who are learning English as a second language. The ability to read English is needed for participation in English Connect. 

The English Literacy program serves native English speakers and language learners, learn how to read and write in English.

Who are we serving?

Church employees and service missionaries from all over the world. We have recently expanded this program to the family members of the missionaries and church employees so families can learn together.

Requirements?

  • Excellent pronunciation of the English language.
  • A computer with reliable internet, a camera and microphone. 
  • Microsoft experience or a willingness to learn. 
  • Bilingual is helpful but not required. 
  • Teaching experience is not required. 
  • This opportunity is open to couples or single missionaries.

What countries around the world are you working with?

Currently they are from the following countries: Peru, Columbia, US, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Japan. Brazil, The Caribbean, Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, Korea, Costa Rica, Mongolia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay, England, Poland, Philippines, Columbia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Belize.

What role does a missionary play in this program?

We start all missionaries off as mentors. This gives them a gradual release of responsibility and allows them time to learn the system, demographic, and technology. Some missionaries start with mentoring one student when others start with 3-5 students. It depends on their availability and comfort level. Often after a month or two of mentoring missionaries, they feel ready to lead a class. When this happens, they continue to mentor their original student(s) and add twice a week classes that they lead. We have some missionaries who mentor several students and teach 2 or more classes. It all depends on their availability.

What are the typical number of hours needed per week?

A mentor is encouraged to observe the class their student is assigned to. This helps them know what the instructor covered that week, if their student attended, and if the student understood what was taught. This informs them of what they need to review with the student in their weekly mentoring session. The mentor can watch the recording if they cannot attend the class live. Mentors are asked to meet with their students once a week for 45 minutes. That is why the minimum for mentoring is 3 hours a week: 2 hours observation and 45 minutes mentoring. When mentors want to take on additional students, we try to place them with students in the same class, so they do not need to observe multiple classes. We have many missionaries who choose to just mentor and mentor many students from several classes. It is up to their availability and comfort level. 

When a missionary is an instructor, they have two hours of class a week and are encouraged to provide a weekly open office hour for students to attend for additional support. We have provided PowerPoint presentations that instructors can use during their classes; this has taken away a lot of preparation time. Yet,some instructors still like to spend time preparing additional games and activities to support their lessons. An instructor often serves 5 hours a week for one class. This is up to the instructor’s availability. 
If a mentor lives locally to their student, they are welcomed to mentor in-person. Our classes are combinations of participants from all over the world, so all classes are virtual.

What sort of virtual experience can be expected?

We create a Church Microsoft account for each new missionary. This enables them to have the tools needed to send emails, access class recordings, chat, set up meetings, and share screens using the tools the students and instructors use.

What training do missionaries receive?

All missionaries are given an account in the web-based software that supports the lessons. The students attend the live virtual classes and use this web-based software for additional review. Our missionaries complete the 95 lessons in the software as part of their training. They also attend a 5-hour live virtual training. This training is offered on Teams. It is one hour a day for one week, Mon- Fri. At that training, they are given all the resources they need for success. We have ongoing monthly coordination and training meeting for mentors. Those meetings are virtual and are the second Wednesday of the month at 1pm-2pm mountain time. Instructors attend every other week instructor coordination meetings on Wednesdays at 4pm MT.