Trinity Baptist Church
ESL Ministry
Version 2.5
Welcome to the ESL ministry at Trinity Baptist Church. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the in-person classes at church are not available. However, some of our teachers are still hosting some online classes for Winter 2021 and probably Spring 2021. This website has information on our online classes, an online registration form, as well as directions on how to video conference using Zoom.
Class Schedules:
The following classes are available online (no in-person classes available at this time). Our classes will have both English teaching and some form of Christian teaching (e.g., Christian songs, sharing, bible study, bible verses, stories). Please note that we do not have the same type of classes available as our in-person classes would normally have.
There are other churches that offer ESL. Please email us at tbcesl@brucelam.com for the latest details.
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Winter 2021 Classes:
| Classes Available (Tentative schedule): |
Beginner class (Textbook: Side by Side 1, from chapter 13) - Teacher: Susanna:
Wednesdays & Fridays, 10 am - 12 pm, Jan. 6 - Mar. 12, 2021 (No class: Feb. 12?)
[Note: Done in Chinese & English]
High Beginner class (Textbook: Side by Side 2, from chapter 7) - Teacher: Sharon:
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10 am - 12 pm, Jan. 5 - Mar. 11, 2021
[Note: Done in Chinese & English]
High-Intermediate / Low advanced class - Teacher: Bruce
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10 am - 12 pm, Jan. 5 - Mar. 11, 2021
[Note: Done in English only] |
| Cost: | $40 (+ $25 for textbook for Susanna's or Sharon's class)
After you register online and your class level has been determined (a phone interview may be needed), you'll be given directions on how to pay. |
| Location: | Online only this term --> using Zoom to do video conferencing. No in-person classes.
After you register online and your class level has been determined (a phone interview may be needed), you will be emailed the Zoom connection information for your class. |
| Registration: | Please fill and send in this online registration form. Registration cannot be done in-person at the church. If you wish to ask questions in-person, the ESL administrator will be available in the church lounge on Saturday, Jan. 2 between 10 am - 12 pm. For more information, please contact us at tbcesl@brucelam.com. |
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Spring 2021 Classes:
| Classes Available (Tentative schedule): |
Susanna's Beginner class (Textbook: Side by Side 1)?:
Wednesdays & Fridays, 10 am - 12 pm, Mar. 31 - Jun. 4, 2021
[Note: Done in Chinese & English]
Sharon's High Beginner class (Textbook: Side by Side 2)?:
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10 am - 12 pm, Mar. 30 - Jun. 3, 2021
[Note: Done in Chinese & English]
Bruce's High-Intermediate / Low advanced class:
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10 am - 12 pm, Mar. 30 - Jun. 3, 2021
[Note: Done in English only]
|
| Cost: | $40 (+ $25 for textbook) |
| Location: | Depends on COVID-19 and vaccine; maybe in-person at Trinity Baptist Church or maybe online through Zoom |
| Registration: | Still to be determined. To be announced in March 2021. |
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Class Level Explanations:
ABC (Low Literacy): [Note: not available; this is a very hard-to-find class anywhere]
- doesn't know or barely knows ABC or numbers
- not able to read
- extremely underconfident in speaking any English (e.g., "Hello.")
- Chinese / English used in class
Beginner:
- knows their ABCs & numbers
- able to say same very basic English phrases and/or greetings (e.g., "Hello.", "My name is ________.", "I am from _______.")
- able to read a little (e.g., ABCs. "My name is Peter Jones. John is my brother. He told me about the English classes.")
- Special note: too high for students that have no knowledge of English (i.e., not for ABC level students)
- Chinese / English used in class
High Beginner:
- able to answer basic questions English phrases and respond to simple greetings (e.g., "What is your name?", "What is your telephone number?", "What is your address is _______?", "Where are you from?", "How long have you been here?")
- able to read a little bit more (e.g., "My name is Peter Jones. John is my brother. He told me about the English classes. I am married. My family lives in Vancouver. My mother lives with us.")
- Chinese / English used in class
Low Intermediate: [Note: not available]
- able to answer moderate questions English phrases and respond to greetings (e.g., "What did you eat for dinner last night?", "What did you buy?", "When did you come to Canada?", "How are you feeling?")
- able to read better (e.g., "Patricia lives in Canada. She lives with her husband and children. She likes to shop in the grocery store. Her family likes fruit, so she buys oranges, apples, bananas, and strawberries. She buys many new things to eat. Her family likes to try Canadian food.")
- Chinese / English used in class
High-Intermediate / Low advanced
- able to answer to somewhat complex sentences (e.g., "If you could choose a job, what job would you choose and why?", "What do you do on your spare time?").
- able to read fairly well (e.g., I am getting worried about Tom and Betty. I'm afraid something might have happened to them. They should have been home by now. They may have had an accident. But I don't want to jump to conclusions or let my imagination run wild. They are probably just having fun and forgot the time.)
- English only
Advanced: [Note: not available]
- able to answer complex questions (e.g., "If your English became perfect, what would happen to your life? Why?")
- able to discuss current events (e.g., COVID-19)
- able to read well (i.e., somewhat able to read newspapers)
- English only
High Advanced: [Note: not available]
- able to converse in English fluently
- reading & discussing current events from English newspapers (e.g., Vancouver Sun)
- discussing other popular topics (e.g., school system, politics, food)
- English only
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About:
Trinity Baptist Church is located in Vancouver, BC. Its ESL Ministry is a volunteer-based ministry that helps immigrants to learn English while sharing our faith in Christ with them. Due to COVID-19, this website was created as a special extension to accomodate our online class information, registration and class notes. Our ESL terms are Fall, Winter & Spring and are usually 10-12 weeks long. Classes are normally on Tuesday & Thursday mornings.
Trinity Baptist Church, 1460 West 49th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6M 2R5, Canada; Website: http://www.tbcvancouver.ca
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Other Activities:
Trinity Baptist Church has a various other activities that may be of interest to ESL students:
- Daycare
- Alpha courses - video & discussion groups introducing Christianity
- available in English / Mandarin / Cantonese
- also available for youths
- Youth group programs
- Sunday Church Services (online):
- English
- Bilingual (Mandarin/English)
- Small Groups & Bible Study groups in Cantonese, English & Mandarin
- Prayer Groups (English: online and in-person; Mandarin: online)
For more information about these various activities, please contact the church office (Email: office@tbcvancouver.ca).
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Website Updates:
November 18, 2020 (Version 2.5)
- Transforming website to handle Winter 2021 registrations.
- Adding in-person Q&A session just before term starts.
- Simplified and clarified various instructions.
- Changed registration email sender -- much faster and more secure
September 17, 2020 (Version 2.3)
- Activated a security feature on the registration script to prevent bots from sending blank forms.
September 10, 2020 (Version 2.2)
- Removed church phone number. Added more references to our email address. Added notes that in-person registration at church not allowed. These are to reduce work on church secretary.
September 5, 2020 (Version 2.1)
- Added in referral from in registration form.
- Allowing viewers to email us for other ESL church information.
September 3, 2020 (Version 2.0)
- Finished the bulk of the Chinese translation. So, now the website is officially ready (no longer Beta testing).
- Still need to correct some trivial parts and translate the email responses.
August 31, 2020 (Version 1.9 Beta)
- Added more Chinese webpages
- Had to redo Registration forms to use online scripts.
August 25, 2020
- Edited English text. Added church info.
- Changed Sharon's level.
- Added in Chinese webpages (integrating Chinese and English on the same page made them too wordy to easy read; already a lot of text to read). Translation is still in the works.
August 22, 2020
- Streamlined the English descriptions and pages to prepare for Chinese translation.
August 20, 2020
- Now online with paid hosting for reliability after last term's problems with free hosting.
August 10, 2020
- Setting up first offline beta.
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If you have questions or comments, please ask Bruce at tbcesl@brucelam.com