Sherah Bodie, the director of our English Language Immersion program, recently was selected to present her paper at the Evangelical Missiological Society annual conference in Dallas Texas. Her paper, ‘ESL Instruction in a Theological Setting: Both an Educational and Missional Tool: A Practical Approach’, shows her thoughtful approach to education that lays behind ELI at PLBC. We are proud of this accomplishment and her contribution to the team. We to go Sherah!

English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction has had a long history in Canada and has been used with both positive and negative results for the students and even, at times, for the instructors. As such, we can suggest that ESL has been an educational tool. Before we begin, we should define what we mean when we use the term “educational”. “Educational” in this context means leading to education. This would mean that an educational tool such as the aforementioned ESL instruction can or should lead to the education of the student or students receiving the instruction. We also need to understand the term “missional” as it is an important term that will be used in this paper. For something to be “missional”, it needs to accomplish or lead to the “mission” the person is trying to accomplish. In the context of this paper, the mission is giving people a greater understanding of God. The specific theological context will change whether that happens while evangelizing or discipling. Thus, ESL instruction can be a positive or a negative missional tool as well. Therefore when used correctly, ESL instruction in a theological setting can be both an educational and a missional tool.

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