The goal of St. Matthew's English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Program is to help each adult student develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening language skills sufficient to support their involvement in family, community, and work activities at a level commensurate with their experience in their previous home.  It requires that we address themes as diverse as personal communications, employment, health and safety, money and banking, transportation, education, community, civics, food, clothing, housing, and weather with our students.

These students may be from communities as diverse as large metropolitan cities and remote mountain villages.  They may have little or no formal education or, occasionally, may be college graduates.  Some will speak but not read or write their native language.  They may have little experience with an alphabet or with the Arabic number system.  They also may have been respected workers, successful business leaders, or wise counselors of their communities, whatever that community and their educational experience may have been.  They often have had challenging, vivid, and informative life experiences.  If they succeed in acquiring survival language skills, and this often requires repeated attempts, they will be able to contribute to this community in safe, well-paying jobs and homes that are comfortable for their families.

Frequently, learning a new language will be very difficult for our students and their difficulties may embarrass them.  Simply choosing to attend ESOL classes may have been a long-considered and difficult decision.  Demonstrating that we respect them and value their decision to attend our classes is fundamental to our teaching ministry.

Working to accomplish the goal of the ESOL Program are six dedicated members of St. Matthew's who teach classes at the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Levels from 7pm to 9pm each Wednesday during the school year.  Our instructors make every effort to provide informative, interesting, and effective education in a relaxed, supportive environment.  We value our students for the interest and joy that they bring to the classroom and to our lives.

Our students come to us through the Spartanburg Adult Learning Center (SALC) whose staff tests the prospective students to determine their skill levels and provide follow-up testing to monitor progress.  The SALC also provides instructor training that leads to certification by the Literacy Volunteers of America.

Textbooks/workbooks are provided for each student through the very generous financial support of two St. Matthew's member families.  For this, the instructors and students of St. Matthew's ESOL are very thankful.

ST. MATTHEW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH