English teaching and evangelical mission : the case of Lighthouse School

This book offers a critical examination of the use of English Language Teaching as a platform for evangelical Christian mission work. It presents an in-depth study of a language school in Poland in which Bible-based curriculum was employed. The book looks in detail at a key question faced by TEFL in the 21st century.

Debates about the place of mission work in English Language Teaching continue to rage, and yet full-length studies of what really happens at the intersection of ELT and evangelical Christianity are rare. In this book, Johnston conducts a detailed ethnography of an evangelical language school in Poland, looking at its Bible-based curriculum, and analyzing interaction in classes for adults. He also explores the idea of ‘relationship’ in the context of the school and its mission activity, and more broadly the cultural encounter between North American evangelicalism and Polish Catholicism. The book comprises an in-depth examination of a key issue facing TEFL in the 21st century, and will be of interest to all practitioners and scholars in the field, whatever their position on this topic.

Contents Series Editors’ Preface Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. A Nation of Many Faiths?: Religion in Poland in the 21st Century 3. The Road to Lighthouse School 4. The School with a Soul 5. Curriculum and Materials 6. In the Classroom 7. False-Bottomed Friendships?: Relation at Lighthouse School 8. Empty Meeting Grounds?: The Cross-Cultural Encounter at Lighthouse School 9. Conclusions Appendix A Transcription Conventions and A Note on Translation Refer ences Name Index Subject Index