GET INVOLVED WITH ESL IN UKRAINE
Our ESL Ministry:
IP teams offer English conversation classes in partnership with short-term groups from American churches. As a native, English speaker you are being invited to serve with a church-planting ministry, which focuses on reaching leaders and influencers. Participants are mostly university-educated professionals who will attend in the evening after work.
Our Purpose:
To meet and connect with new people who desire to improve their conversational English.
Our Target Audience:
20-50 year-old professionals who use English with work and travel. Now that Ukraine is open to the West, almost everyone wants to speak well enough to “get around!” Even University students sometimes join our groups to perfect their English. Whether student or business professional, neither of these groups are spiritually motivated and would almost never darken a church door. They consider Christianity to be irrelevant and would react were someone to push religion. Hence the importance of using English to build relationships . . .
ESL team size and qualifications:
The optimum size for an ESL team is 3 to 6 people. Participants will be tested and divided into one of three levels: Elementary, Intermediate or Advanced. Each ESL team member will be speaking with one of these groups throughout the entire project.
Requirements for ESL team members:
1. Speak English fluently. You need not be a teacher per se, but you must be easily understood and confident in speaking. Your primary tasks are to build relationships and to help advance the conversational ability of Ukrainian professionals. Your regional accent is welcome as long as it can be understood.
2. Be at least 20 years old and have at least 2 years of higher education. Our participants are university educated and would feel disrespected with someone who does not speak and communicate well.
3. Be comfortable leading and facilitating a small group in which you are responsible to manage both content and effective communication.
4. Be willing to serve and to go the “extra mile!”
5. Understand and agree with IP’s ministry strategy, namely to work on building relationships rather than on preaching or directly evangelizing.
6. Be conversant with the Bible and confident that through it, God speaks.
Preparation to Come:
1. Email Natasha Bazilevich ([email protected]) to select the city and dates for the ESL project. The optimum season is the fall. A new academic year is beginning, self-improvement is on many minds, the IP follow-up team has most of the academic year to continue the classes, and the weather is pleasant.
2. Recruit your team, select a leader and assign various tasks: travel, materials, training, logistics, prayer and videographer.
3. Raise funds for the trip and purchase air tickets.
4. Host an IP training representative to give background and instruction
5. Study orientation materials and prepare lesson plans for ESL.
6. Make sure that details are clear to everyone.
ESL team Schedule:
1. Day 1 – Fly into Kiev, spend the night or proceed directly to your city.
2. Day 2 – Rest some, get to know the IP team and prepare.
3. Days 3 – 7 – Begin on Monday and run through Friday.
4. Day 8 – Debrief with IP Team, visit church, hangout with ESL participants
5. Day 9 – Explore sites in Kiev
6. Day 10 – Depart for the States
Days 3 – 7 may look like this:
1. Morning – meet with the IP Team, pray for the participants by name, and discuss how to be most effective
2. Afternoon – Prepare for classes, meet socially with IP team or even students and grab a little rest
3. Evening (6 – 9) – Lead the English class, take a refreshment break and observe life-issue discussion led by the IP Staff. (Usually an IP staff member will translate the life-issue conversation for you to follow along.)
4. Classes are generally held in rented facilities, e.g., a local school
5. Your team can discuss with the IP team which ESL curriculum to use. However, your greatest contribution is to focus on conversational English. Ukrainian teachers will cover grammar issues in the follow-up classes after you have returned to the States.
Logistics:
1. Passports must be valid for 6 months beyond your stay in Ukraine. No visa is required for any stay under 90 days.
2. IP staff secures lodging usually in rented apartments.
3. Meals: Breakfast food is provided in the apartment. Lunches and dinners will be prepared by staff or enjoyed in local restaurants. (Special dietary needs must be communicated in advance)
4. Travel from Kiev is normally via bus or train. Public transportation is used for travel in your ministry city.
5. Before leaving the U.S., check with IP staff for weather forecasts during your stay and bring appropriate clothing.
The Orientation Manual contains more information or you may contact Natasha Bazilevich by email.
