Nehemiah English School (NES) is still going on in the year of 2021!
Nehemiah English School (NES), launched in March, 2020, provides the next generation of North Korean Refugee students a holistic education through intensive English classes, biblically based mentoring and counseling, worship and fellowship. NES aims to provide a fundamental English education as well as foundational skills that help students resettle as healthy, well-rounded Korean citizens able to build close, trusting relationships with one another and within their communities. Despite the limitations and restrictions of CoVID-19, we have continued to grow, receive inquiries, and requests to enroll in our educational program.
(7-weeks Intensive Winter Course) English Discipleship Training School
English Discipleship Training School successfully finished its seven week winter course, held from January, 4 - February, 19, 2021. The semester began with nineteen registered students, and saw twelve of those students receive their certificates of completion for all of their hard work and diligence. The winter semester was highly desired by one of the students who was in need of intensive English education coursework during their break so that they could improve their English skills for college and their future.
The course was scheduled quite tightly every day, requiring a lot of work from the students. Despite the heavy degree of work, most students didn’t give up and saw marked improvement in their English Language skills.
For the attendees of the English Discipleship Training School, each day began with a discipleship training session rooted in Christian Faith and consisting of worship, bible study, small groups, and prayer meetings. Non-believers and believers all participated in these sessions, which turned out to be an opportunity for non-believing students to learn about God and develop their faith in him.
Due to social distancing regulations resulting from CoVID-19, the winter course was conducted entirely online, from start to finish. The degree of commitment and encouragement provided by the teachers helped to fuel the students’ passion to learn and grow.
We deeply appreciate the five staff members and NGI and teachers who dedicated themselves to the seven-week winter course, working hard to make the winter semester at English Discipleship Training School so successful. Through everyone’s hard work we were able to see 12 students improve their English skills, develop and share their dreams and visions, agrow in their faith, and take the first of many big steps toward accomplishing their goals.Nehemiah English School - Spring Semester
Nehemiah English School - Spring Semester
On March 15th, 2021, Nehemiah English School started its spring semester! This time, the school has redesigned its classes based on the opinions collected from the North Korean refugee students. The renewed curriculum consists of full-time school that helps students focus solely on English education from 9am to 6pm, part-time school that offers students flexibility on their class meeting times based on their availability, and 1:1 mentoring class that provides students a weekly 2-hr intensive speaking session with a native English speaking teacher. A total of 53 students are currently enrolled in the spring semester at Nehemiah English School.
_Full-Time School
Full-Time school requires more energy and endurance than other courses, so we run this program from 9am to 6pm daily. This is naturally appealing to those who want to improve their English skills and have the time to commit. However, for those who are working or enrolled in college, full-time school is difficult to attend.
This semester, the curriculum is designed with various classes like grammar, TOEIC, speech writing, public speech to name a few, and two teachers are in charge of carrying out the curriculum. The teachers take time from 9 to 10am every morning, before classes begin, for devotions and fellowship with the director of NGI.
- Full-time teachers and spiritual caregivers: Luke Seok (teacher), Bryn(teacher), and Gyu ho Chug (director)
_Part-Time School
The part-time school here is a great opportunity for those in college and/or working who are available for afternoon/evening classes only. The advantage of this course is that the enrolled students can utilize their time after school and/or work to take the classes.
There are a total of five teachers and volunteers committed into the part-time school, and has 8 classes including basic conversation, intermediate conversation, and TOEIC advanced. There are presently 28 students enrolled this semester.
- Part-time teachers and volunteers: Min ah Kang (teacher), Alieen Kim (teacher), Grace (volunteer), and Laura (volunteer)
_1:1 English Mentoring
1:1 Online English mentoring is a program in which each enrolled student is matched with a native English-speaking teacher to take a course during their available time, and customizes the pace of the course according to their needs and level. One difficulty of this program is that the mentors are volunteers that come from English-Speaking countries from all over the world. This means that we need to have enough volunteers to meet the demand. Right now there are 25 students actively in this program while 45 wait for a mentor to become available.
- 1:1 Online English Mentoring Volunteers: UK(2) Caroline, Nicky / US(13) Erika, Peter, Rose, Clair, Alissa, Jarid, Esther, Joy, Els, Sara, Annie, Jaehoon, Shaunda (Michelle) / China (1) Brooke / Australia (1) Jaquline, (Elizabeth&Tony) / Germany (1) Kateline / South Korea (4) Choi, Haram, Eunju, Dukhaeng (Hajun, Maria)
Teachers Who Volunteer at Nehemiah English School
Jacqueline (Australia)
My name is Jacqueline, I am married and live in the countryside of Australia. I enjoy nature, animals, photography and travelling.
So how does this lead me to volunteering for North Korean refugees?
I have visited Korea and also met Koreans in Australia. Through these encounters God placed His love for the people of North Korea in my heart. I know it is from Him because such a deep, pure, unconditional love can only stem from our heavenly Father.
With His love for the people of North Korea, my sincere desire is to allow His love to touch individual people of North Korea in the same way that He has touched me.
When the opportunity was given to me to help young North Korean students improve in their English skills, I thanked God for choosing me to connect with a student on a one to one basis.
I consider it a privilege to meet with the students weekly, encouraging them, teaching them, laughing together and praying for and with them. It has now been over 10 months since I began and I appreciate fully this time of connection.
Our faith is not just to be treasured in our heart for ourselves, but it is to be shared in love through our words and actions to others. I am grateful for being allowed to sow a small seed into the young Korean lives.
Rose (U.S.A)
Hello everyone my name is Rose and I'm from the United States. I'm currently living in Taiwan has a missionary. I decided to start volunteering with NES after attending their summer camp in Jeju Island three years ago. I think this is a great opportunity to give North Korean refugees a chance to practice English. So far this experience has taught me how diligent the students can be to learn a new language. I really enjoy seeing the excitement on the students face when they are able to express themselves in English.
Caroline (U.K)
In 2019 the Lord put it on my heart to earnestly pray for North Korea. I then came across the Nehemiah one million prayer petition and signed up to pray for the country. It was following this in 2020 that I decided to volunteer to teach English online. I am an education mentor for young people and I wanted to use my teaching skills and my love for Christ to make a positive difference in the life of NK refugees. I was a bit nervous at first, but I did not need to be, because it has proved to be a very rewarding experience and my students really appreciate the teaching support.
Laura (U.S.A)
My name is Laura Im, and I am an actor and an English tutor. As a freelancer, I was looking for a meaningful work which I can do during my free time. Since I always had a huge interest in North Korean refugees and their journey to settle down in South Korea, I decided to volunteer at Nehemiah Global Initiative. It has been my biggest joy to teach the North Korean refugee students this semester. They are passionate about learning English with me, and they are diligent students. I am grateful for them and cannot wait to see their progress!
Steve (U.S.A)
I started volunteering with NGI because I wanted to help North Korean Refugees. As a English teacher I was able to use my past work experience to help North Korean refugees improve their English. Teaching North Korean refugees with NGI was such a blessing. I enjoyed spending time with the students each week and was so encouraged by all the progress they made in their English studies. I will also cherish the strong friendships I have made with the students throughout my time as a volunteer with NGI.