Interfacing Theology, Culture, and the English Language

Abstract

This study sought to answer a need for materials containing theological content suitable for teaching English for Theology. Two questions were addressed in the process of interfacing theological concepts and the English language through English teaching in a seminary context: 1) How were the data from the needs analysis operationalized in the ESP (English for Special Purposes) teacher’s and student’s manuals? And 2) How is the effectiveness of the manuals manifested in the student outputs?

Through five stages of data gathering involving two sets of evaluation instruments, these questions were answered, a teaching/learning manual comprising a syllabus and fifteen English language lessons (English for Theological Studies: English Made Easy for Seminaries) was written, and the compatibility of the language lessons to the context and cultures represented in the seminary was established.