Free class in Fort Mill helps women connect through studying English

When Heidi McGill began planning a women’s ESL program at her church last year, she did not have a single teacher or student.

Today, the ministry has 26 students, eight volunteer teachers, and 22 volunteers for logistics, administration and child care. An additional intermediate class will also be added this year.

McGill credits the growth of the ministry to her students.

“Our students are our best advertisement,” she said. “They invite their friends.”

Last year, the classes, which meet at First Baptist Church Fort Mill, were advertised as a Ladies ESL Bible study. This year, the program will be known simply as Ladies ESL class.

“We have found that meeting the needs of the non-English speaker first opens doors for sharing Jesus Christ with them,” McGill said. “That usually happens outside the classroom.”

A main focus of the program has been forming friendships, McGill said.

A sense of connection is the biggest need her students have, McGill said, adding that many of them are mothers who do not work outside of the home. That lack of connectedness makes it hard to improve language skills, McGill said.

“We are a wordless society,” McGill said. “In America, we have closed doors and closed garage doors. We get inside our cars, in our garages, and leave.”

Students Joanne Chan, from Hong Kong, and Cindy Wang, from mainland China, agree that learning the language is the hardest part of coming to the United States.

“I can learn English and I can meet many people and I can learn American culture,” Wang said are the reasons she participates in the class.

“We can make fellowship with some from Japan, South America, Korea,” Chan said. “This is a good place for people from different cultures to know and come and make friends.”

A pilot program this year is phonemes instruction, focusing on learning the sounds of the alphabet. Students of all levels, from beginner to advanced, meet together for a phoneme lesson before breaking off into their classes.

Carolyn Lape, a retired schoolteacher, helps teach the program. Lape became involved with ESL after meeting and befriending Chan at an aerobics class.

“I just felt such a love for her,” Lape said.

The ESL students are eager to learn, something Lape said she appreciates after her many years teaching in a traditional setting. The students are also appreciative of any and all help they receive, Lape said.

“I enjoy the time to make new friends. I think this is good,” Chan said.

“They are so precious,” Lape said. “I’m so thankful (for them.)”

This story was originally published August 12, 2015 at 7:30 PM with the headline "Free class in Fort Mill helps women connect through studying English."