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The native English teachers who pack Bibles along with their textbooks as they travel to foreign countries are part of a movement that has grown and matured in the last 30 years. (This article covers Christians teaching English on foreign soil, but a large group of English teachers minister to refugees, immigrants, and even the deaf here in North America.)

Thousands of English-speaking Christians have taught English worldwide. Over 65 North American agencies have sent them abroad. At least ten Christian and tens of secular colleges and universities offer degrees in TESOL and/or English as a Second Language (esl). Among them are Biola, Wheaton in Illinois, Columbia in South Carolina, Azusa Pacific, Oral Roberts, and Regent in Virginia.

In spite of its academic strength, the Christian TESOL field has not examined one crucial area in much detail: itself. It's not that its experts—many of whom are well respected in secular academia—aren't doing research. They are, but almost no one studies Christian TESOL. Scholars are torn: They would like to know what works and what doesn't. But they also want to protect the work (and, in some cases, the lives) of the Christians who teach English abroad—something disclosure would jeopardize.

One of the scarce resources is the Handbook for Christian EFL [English as a Foreign Language] Teachers by Lonna J. Dickerson and Dianne F. Dow (Berry, 1997). It says that "more than 65" Christian groups in the United States and Canada have teaching openings. More than 20 said they anticipated needing 100 or more teachers in the subsequent two years.

But there are gaps: Countless numbers of teachers are sent by congregations and many set out on their own. An undisclosed number of respondents asked not to be listed because it could endanger work in countries officially closed to the gospel.

I'm not surprised. Articles like "The Stealth Crusade" in the May/June issue of Mother Jones condemn evangelistic efforts. Its writer described Rick Love, international director of Frontiers, telling a class of missionaries that he became an English instructor just so he could proselytize among Sudanese Muslims. He then reportedly encouraged his students to find similar pretexts.

Love, who has a master's degree in TESOL, told me that Frontiers tentmakers are not cagey. They are "well-trained to fill the jobs they hold" and "joyfully identify themselves as followers of Jesus Christ," he said. After all, he allowed the journalist into his classroom.

Another indicator of the Christian presence in the field comes from TESOL—this time, this versatile acronym stands for the name of the umbrella organization of teachers of English to speakers of other languages. Its Christian Educators caucus is the biggest TESOL caucus, with membership around 300. That's about 150 more than the second-largest caucus. But my sources made it clear that hundreds, and very likely thousands, of English teachers don't belong to TESOL.

The Christian TESOL behemoths—groups with the greatest number of teaching opportunities—are:

• English Language Institute/ China, which sent 500 English teachers this summer and around 400 for school-year-long teaching stints.
  
  
• Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, which has over 500 people teaching English around the world.
  
  
• Education Services International, which has between 150 and 200 English teachers in its year-long program and 100 in its summer program.
  
  

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December 9 2002, Vol. 46, No. 13