The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. – Luke 6:40.
Teaching English to second-language learners is never an easy task. One has to have faith and confidence to help these learners acquire the language. God, however, is great and He gives us strength and courage to help them. Faith in God is essential in the English language learning classroom. It helps our classrooms in so many ways.
One way faith in God helps is when we don’t have what we need. There have been times when I did not have the resources I needed for my students, and I got discouraged. A voice would whisper to me and I would run to God in prayer, having faith that I could succeed with the materials I have. God has supplied my classroom and student needs and I can have faith that He will give me what I need at the right time.
Faith has also helped when there are students who feared learning the language. I would tell them, “Have faith, God will see you through,” and when they did, they progressed well. Their faith and mine gave them the confidence to try. I have taught students who could not speak a word of English, but with faith in God we were able to make it through.
I sometimes fear that I will not be able to meet the individual needs of all my students, as they come from different educational backgrounds and have different cultural values. I have experienced the voice of God at such times saying, “Have faith my daughter, I am with you.” Jesus, the Master teacher, had diverse groups of students from different educational backgrounds, and He dealt with each one as an individual without any discrimination. I want to be like Him and I am striving for that goal in life. My faith assures me that I can meet my student’s needs, just as Jesus met his students’ needs.
My faith also tells me who I am as an English language teacher. God did not call me and then leave me alone, similar to how He called Moses and said, “I will… teach you what you shall do.” God calls me to have faith and promises that He will show me what to do. I thank God for the faith that I have in Him, which I will cling to until Jesus comes back to take me home. I want to be a selfless, caring, and giving teacher for my students and see them succeed as students.
I have seen the benefits of faith in God in so many ways in my classroom. By having faith in God and encouraging our students to have faith as well, the English language classroom benefits greatly.
Author
Carol Kingston
Carol Linda Kingston served as an instructor at the English Center of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies in the Philippines (AIIAS) for five years. She is currently a PhD student in Educational Administration with TESOL as the emphasis and served as the Asst. Dean of the Women’s Hostel and English teacher for elementary through junior college level at Spicer for ten years.