We’ve been thrilled to welcome two Christians from Brazil to our online TEFL courses recently.  Johny and Natália have started online teacher training courses with Christian TEFL to help them with English outreach to their community in Rio de Janeiro and now, more widely, online.

The Pulse English outreach project is a ministry of Rio Vivo church in Rio de Janeiro. It’s supported by CT graduate Rob Rawlins, based in the UK. In a recent Zoom interview, CT Director of Studies, William asked Rob, Natália, and Johnny more about the project. Discover how word is spreading and their vision for the people they are teaching!

Hello all and welcome. Can you give us a brief overview of the project?

Rob: We started in mid-2018, welcoming around 40 students with free classes at the church. An online newspaper article led to a flood of applicants and we have 60 regulars with a waiting list. Students are streamed into different levels, focusing on speaking. During Covid, 6 classes are by zoom and only the lowest is still in the church building. Teachers are from Brazil, the UK, and the USA.

Have you had any opportunities to share your faith with your students?

Natália: Yes, I’ve had opportunities to share the gospel with my students outside of the class in the relationships I’m building. One of my students in the last semester lost her grandmother and I could talk with her about it and pray for her.

Johny: Yes, thank God, through Rob’s tips, I can often share my testimony and take advantage of the English lessons to share the Gospel and pray for the students.

Rob: The course book is secular but higher-level classes often allow a spontaneous comment about faith and occasionally, lengthier sharing. My role is to serve the students well with English so they appreciate the church ministry and they respond to invitations to Sundays etc.

What are your goals for the project’s future?

Natália: I intend to teach with this project as long as I can. It’s a passion of mine and an amazing way to help others.

Johny: My goals are to increase my skills and connect more with my students.

Rob: To run an online Easy English Alpha course next month for the upper 3 classes only. To accommodate the waiting list with maybe two more classes. Consolidate all we have.

Tell us how you are finding your courses with Christian TEFL?

Natália: I´m enjoying my course a lot because it helps with new ways to teach and it´s giving a lot of ideas.

Johny: I find Christian TEFL challenges me to write better and think more about my teaching practice.

Rob: Some of our teachers have no experience but have grown into the job with mentoring. The Christian TEFL courses are perfect for them.

What’s the greatest need that you have at the moment? 

Rob: We need more teachers. The 7 classes are taught by 8 volunteer teachers. We need 2 or 3 more to cope with the recent expansion.

Thank you all for sharing what God is doing through you to serve the Rio de Janeiro community. May God continue to bless and grow your reach and influence for His glory.

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* Could you join the team and help on this valuable outreach project?
You can be situated anywhere in the world. Please contact us at info@christiantefl.org and we will put you in touch with pastor Michael at Rio Vivo Igreja Cristã.

* Watch the interview via the link at the top to hear direct from Johny, Natália, and Rob.

* Discover the exciting range of courses we offer at Christian TEFL that are helping trainees like Johny and Natália learn how to teach English for outreach here >>