English Language Teaching in Theological Contexts

Equipping Global Servants with English for Theology, Mission, and Ministry

International students in North American seminaries struggling with academic work in English ... Seminary students around the world finding resource materials that are still only available in English ... Regional seminaries in Asia, Africa, and Europe educating people from many language backgrounds by offering instruction in English ... These and other factors are the primary reasons for this volume.

Trends in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) have led to specialized English and pedagogy for areas such as business, engineering, hospitality, and so on. The time has come to acknowledge English for Bible and Theology, along with specialized program design, materials, and instruction.

English Language Teaching in Theological Contexts explores various models for assisting seminary and Bible college students in learning English while also engaging in their theological coursework. It features chapters by specialists from countries including the U.S., Brazil, Ukraine, India, the Philippines, and Korea. Part one of the book presents language teaching challenges and solutions in various places; part two focuses on specific resources to inspire readers to develop their own materials.

Kitty Barnhouse Purgason is professor emerita of TESOL at Biola University. She has a PhD in Applied Linguistics from UCLA. She spent six childhood years in India as a missionary kid and has taught in East Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. She is a three-time Fulbright fellow and a U.S. State Department English Language Specialist. She is active in the professional associations TESOL, CATESOL and CELEA (Christian English Language Educators Association. She is the author of Professional Guidelines for Christian English Teachers (William Carey Library).