Teaching Our Mother Tongue

We have had the great privilege to teach English to our Peruvian friends at Sali, the mission’s English Language Institute. Lora taught for the month of June and Eric taught for both June and July. Sali is known as a Christian institute, but many of the students are not believers, making for a wonderful ministry to both believers and unbelievers alike. It’s wonderful being able to help equip these students with a skill that is oh-so-valuable here. Speaking English obviously provides many opportunities, opens up availability of English resources, and expands the future for all sorts of professions. All ages of Peruvians come from all over northern Peru come to study at the Institute. Students must be very dedicated as classes are 5 days a week (on top of their school and/or work), with tests every Friday, and strict grade requirements. 

Lora taught a Basic English class to 15 students, and Eric taught an Advanced class to 3 students in June and an Intermediate class to 10 students in July. We found that you’re convinced you speak your mother tongue until you have to try and explain it to others! We had days where we were challenged trying to understand the rules and regulations of our very own language. We enjoyed the school’s teaching philosophy which centers on class participation and interaction. We would first get the students talking in the target language and then gently expose them to the new topic through conversation. We then design a fun task, game, or objective built around the new topic/target grammar to let the students use what they’ve just been exposed to. By simply reproducing what they’ve been exposed to, the students aren’t fearful of making mistakes, sounding stupid, breaking grammar rules, etc. At the end of class, we reign them in and explain what they’ve heard and used in terms of grammar rules, verb conjugations, pronunciation, etc. The next day, students are able to put into practice what was presented the day before and take on a lesson built on the foundation of recent material learned. Although this seems very backwards to most of us who’ve taken language classes in the states - rules first and reproduction second - it’s amazing how well it works. Letting students experiment with the language first without fear of messing up, and then laying down the rules at the end works phenomenally. Students are much more

willing to step out and speak, which is the best way to advance in a language. 

We were also able to make some great relationships with Peruvians along the way. We’ve gotten to know many ‘jovenes’ or young people through SALI which have become a large part of our staple Peruvian community.