Provides training in Oman and Brazil – from Nigeria

The Covid 19 pandemic made it difficult for teachers trained by Tent Nigeria to find international jobs. Then Tent Language Academy got birthed.

English teachers are in high demand all over the world, and skills in teaching English can serve as a door opener to most nations. With this in mind it was with high expectations Tent Nigeria arranged its first TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) training in Benin City in February and March. Due to the emerging Covid 19 pandemic the international job market did however shut down at the same time as the course doors closed.

“We faced a difficult challenge. All of a sudden, we had 16 people who were certified to be English teachers. They were ready to go, but we could not send them anywhere,” says Tent Nigeria’s director, Victor Agbonkpolor.

Despair and Creativity

Soon the sparks of despair created a flame of creativity and Tent Language Academy was born.

“As a start we have developed online language training. Some of the TESOL participants have taken the lead in developing the program, and we already have customers from different parts of the world. This week we have for instance trained children in families in Oman and Brazil,” says Tent Nigeria’s director.

“Through this tool we can reach out to people all over the world. We aim at providing excellent language training. At the same time, we relate to the families we are in touch with. This gives us opportunities to share life and faith, says Agbonkpolor. Currently, children who are enrolled in Tent Language Academy’s programs get weekly video lessons with lots of tasks they can do and games they can play. Twice a week they also have online meetings with their teacher.

New programs

“In the future we will offer a wider range of programs for all different age groups. For instance, we will have courses for people who need to pass the IELTS or TOEFL tests to get into higher education in English speaking nations,” shares Victor Agbonkpolor. The language academy is still in its start-up stage. Agbonkpolor does however see potential for rapid growth. For instance, he dreams of the language academy becoming the center for TESOL-training in the Tent-movement.

“English teachers can go almost anywhere. Thus, English teaching skills is a wonderful tool for reaching the nations with the gospel. Hopefully we can train a great number of new tentmakers at the Tent Language Academy. In addition, many tentmakers-to-be from nations who do not speak English, need English skills to be internationally employable. We plan to offer this training as well.”