When I realized that God was leading me to serve in the ESL (English as a Second Language) ministry at church, I was excited and nervous, because I've never taught ESL before. It was time for God to use and stretch me in Singapore to fulfill His purpose. I've been truly blessed to be a part of this special ministry. The ladies in my class are so sweet and eager to learn. There are about 17 of them. It was interesting to learn about their different cultures, and they enjoyed learning about American life. One of the first questions they asked me was did I ever meet any movie stars. I told them I met Kevin Kostner and some actors from a TV show called
Hill Street Blues many years ago. Not much reaction. Then I told them that Renee Zellweger and George Clooney came to my town to film a movie. "Ohhhh.....GEORGE CLOONEY!!" Amazing. Women way over here in South East Asia also goes ga ga over George Clooney!
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| Ladies from my class |
With the weekly lesson preparations I did, I quickly learned that
it's one thing to speak my native language without giving it a second
thought, but it's another thing trying to explain English grammar and other
rules to someone learning the language. I had to teach the teacher so I
could teach the students. I definitely learned some new things about
English that I forgot years ago, or never learned in the first place.
One thing I had to do in my lessons was translate certain American
words that aren't used in Singapore, such as
car park instead of
parking lot, and
lift instead of
elevator.
Since there is a strong British influence here, I had to change some
American words into British words so they would understand. I had fun with that......
If I ever go to England again on holiday, I will rent a car with a large boot for all my luggage and drive to the countryside. I will have to stop somewhere and get a snack. Ummmm, maybe I will fancy some bangers and mash or crisps and a biscuit. I will then throw my rubbish in the dust bin. After visiting the loo, I will be on my way. When I arrive at the Inn, I will park my car in the car park, check into my room, and watch some telly before bed.
Classes just ended for this term and concluded with an end of term party. What fun that was! It was an international celebration of all the students, teachers and staff together. Many students and a few teachers volunteered to show off their talents by singing, dancing and playing instruments. They proudly represented their countries, which were Japan, Malaysia, Korea, China and Myanmar. One of the American teachers represented India with an energetic and fun dance. She was dressed in full Indian attire. Everyone looked beautiful in all the colorful outfits!!
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| Japanese Drum |
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| Myanmar Dance |
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| Indian dance |
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| Japanese ladies (my friend Keiko in center) |
