ABSTRACT
THE INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
by
Márk Szallós-Farkas
ABSTRACT OF MASTER’S DEGREE THESIS
Universidad de Montemorelos Facultad de Educación
Title: THE INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Researcher: Márk Szallós-Farkas
Main Adviser: Raquel Bouvet de Korniejczuk, Ph.D. Date completed: January 2018
The Problem
There is a lack of resources for faith integrated English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching made for use in Romania, and because of this, resources need to be developed from the Seventh-day Adventist perspective.
Methodology
Results
There are a lot of high quality English as a second language teaching books made by secular companies, as well as lower quality ones. The problem with them all is that they do not reflect the Biblical worldview and often include topics that are antagonistic to it; topics like Halloween and magic. From interviews it was found that children can identify that these are not a representation of reality, but that they are still affected by them.
The workbook developed was appreciated by the professionals who reviewed it.
Conclusions
Universidad de Montemorelos Facultad de Educación
THE INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Thesis
Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree
Master in Education
by
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES ... vi
LIST OF TABLES ... vi
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vii
Chapter I. STATEMENT OF THE PROBELM ... 1
Background ... 1
Faith Disintegration ... 2
Rationale ... 3
Statement of the Problem ... 4
Objectives ... 4
Justification ... 5
Limitations ... 5
Delimitations ... 6
Target Group ... 6
Definition of Terms ... 7
Conclusion ... 8
II. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ... 10
The Adventist Philosophy of Education ... 10
Biblical Metaphysics and its Relation to Christian Education ... 11
Teacher Qualification ... 16
Methods of Teaching ... 17
Biblical Epistemology and its Relation to Christian Education ... 18
Biblical Axiology and its Relation to Christian Education... 20
School Rules ... 21
Aesthetics and its Implications for SDA School ... 22
Concluding Thoughts about the Philosophy of Adventist Education ... 23
Responsibilities and Outcomes for SDA Education ... 24
What is Integrated Faith Learning Practice?... 25
IFL Methods ……… ... 30
Testing for IFL ... 34
Conclusion ………... ... 35
iv
Biblical Foundations for Language Learning ... 36
Biblical Foundation for Faith Integration in Language Teaching ... 38
Application of IFL in English as a Foreign Language Teaching ... 41
Conclusion ... 41
Review of English Teaching Literature ... 42
Listening Skills ... 51
Stories ... 52
Speaking ... 53
Reading ... 54
Writing ... 55
Dictation ... 56
Topics ... 57
Assessment ... 58
Learning a Language ... 58
Successful Learning and Teaching ... 59
Planning ... 61
Review of EFL Books and Workbooks ... 62
Set Sail 1 ... 62
Fairyland 1 ... 63
Play English 1 (2013) ... 64
Magic English: 1st Grade ... 65
Comunicare în Limba Engleză (volumes 1 and 2) ... 66
Tilly and Fogg ... 67
Love English by Mastacan and Enescu (2008) ... 67
English for Kids by Cristina Mircea (2013) ... 68
Student Interviews ... 69
Concluding Thoughts ... 69
SDA Philosophy of Education ... 69
IFL ... 70
EFL Materials ... 70
III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 72
Qualitative Research ... 72
Reaching the Objectives ... 74
Objectives 1-3 ... 74
Objective 4 ... 74
Steps to Achieving Objective 4 ... 74
Criteria for Quality of the Workbook ... 76
Steps to Achieving Objective 5 ... 76
Conclusion ... 77
IV. RESULTS ANALYSIS ... 78
Introduction ... 78
v
Analysis of the National Curriculum ... 79
Conclusions about the National Curriculum ... 80
Student Interviews ... 80
Conclusions Based on Interview Results ... 84
Piloting the Workbook ... 84
Feedback from Professionals ... 86
English Teacher Feedback no. 1 ... 86
English Teacher Feedback no. 2 ... 88
Recommendations ... 89
English Teacher Feedback no. 3 ... 89
Feedback from Workbooks Author ... 90
Feedback from Psychologist ... 91
Feedback from a Theological Perspective ... 91
Feedback from Elementary School Pedagogy Expert ... 92
Changes Made Based on Validation ... 92
Concluding thoughts on Chapter 4 ... 93
V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECCOMENDATIONS ... 94
Summary ... 94
Challenges and Opportunities in Developing IFL Materials ... 95
Suggestions for Future Development ... 96
Conclusions and Recommendations ... 96
Suggestions for Future Research ... 99
Appendix A. LEVELS OF DELIBERATE TEACHER IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING ... 100
B. FIRST YEAR INTERVIEWS ... 103
C. SECOND YEAR INTERVIEWS ... 125
D. THIRD YEAR INTERVIEWS ... 134
E. LET’S DISCOVER – THE FINAL WORBOOK ... 145
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LIST OF FIGURES
1. Four Non-hierarchical, Broad Categories in IFL. ... 33 2. Four Zones of Teaching and Learning ... 42
LIST OF TABLES
1. Differences between ESL and EFL ... 9 2. Results from the Students’ Rate of Workbook…… ... 85
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to God for giving me the opportunity and energy to learn so much while completing this program.
I appreciate all the support from my parents, Margit and Zoltan, while I was studying and working on this dissertation.
Thank you to Dr. Raquel Korniejczuk for giving me so much advice for the thesis, for always being so prompt in answering my emails, and for guiding the process of writing this thesis.
Thank you to Dr. Zenobia Niculiță for helping as a coordinator and for the good ideas regarding interviewing students.
Thank you to Dr. Zoltán Szallós-Farkas for helping as coordinator and for being so encouraging.
I am thankful to all my teachers for their advice, as well as the people who contributed with feedback on the workbook, in order to make it a better final product. Thank you Ioana Bădescu, Ioana Gavrila, Dinu Alexandru, Lăcrămioara Seniuc, Daniel Olariu, Ina Todoran, and Dr. Eliza Spătărelu.
1 CHAPTER I
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Background
The Biblical principle to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness applies to every area of life. Educational work and the work of salvation are closely linked. Thus, to be worthy of the name, Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) education must include the principle to seek first His kingdom. Faith and practice integration are not an addition to the lesson; rather they are a starting point and must occur in every academic endeavour (Taylor 2001). There should be deliberate integration and expression of faith because “living the [Christian] life... by itself is insufficient- just as modeling good English is necessary but insufficient in the teaching of English” (Korniejczuk & Brantley, 1993, p. 10).
The worldview of Seventh-day Adventists is unique, and is rooted in the Bible’s
answers to origin, meaning, destiny, truth and value. Because of this unique perspective of the various components of metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology, it stands to reasons that SDA teaching content, methods, and areas of emphasis will also differ from those of other
worldviews. True education takes place when teaching is in harmony with what the biblical worldview holds to be true, the teaching process is carried out using suitable methods, and a suitable regard is shown for those things which are most important to learn. This presupposes knowing God personally and accepting what His Word, the Scriptures say, as well as
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Biblical and Spirit of Prophecy truths as they relate to education in its entirety is what is also referred to as the philosophy of Adventist education.
Every curriculum is founded upon a philosophy, and it has different goals in mind based on that philosophy. The underlying philosophy influences what is taught, as well as how it is taught, thus it is crucial for Seventh-day Adventists to have their own curriculum, and materials created based on the Biblical perspective.
Faith Disintegration
Just as not everyone has the same beliefs, there are different methods of integration of faith, as well. Some methods are unproductive, and even dangerous. Among some methods to avoid would be analysing one’s dreams as an authoritative source for faith building, and along a similar line, analysing the Bible in light of experience, rather than vice versa. It is a
dangerous piece of advice to say that “spiritual awareness… is best activated by stirring the imagination, not by gaining information” (Lealman, cited in Becker, 1993, p. 2). God endowed humans with an imagination, but imagination must work in subjection to
information, which must be gained at some point by studying the facts surrounding an issue. A healthy imagination must accurately use true information so be spiritually beneficial.
3 Rationale
In 2005, the General Conference Office of Education funded a global needs assessment of secondary school teachers in 12 divisions (Bradfield, Gittens-St. Juste, & Thayer, 2007). There were 256 schools included in the survey and 830 teachers responded. Division Education directors were also interviewed. From these interviews with division education directors,
it became evident that 1) Bible curriculum and resources to prepare Adventist secondary teachers to integrate faith in learning (IFL) were priority concerns for most leaders, and 2) knowledge of what resources were available, used and needed to teach from the Adventist worldview at the secondary level was limited. (p. 3)
Of those surveyed, “85% of teachers believed that their school administration
encouraged faith integration” (p. 12), and 85.4% carried out some of their plans to integrate faith in their classes. Yet, only 58.6% of the 181 teachers who taught language or literature (this category also included drama and English as a second language) as their major teaching assignment agreed or strongly agreed that their lessons made specific reference to biblical themes. Of the 181 teachers, 63.5% regularly integrated faith and tried exciting new
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(92.4%). Publications were four of the six most useful recourses. The results of perceived usefulness of unavailable resources indicated IFL learning textbooks to be number 1 at 73.9% and sample lessons plans with ideas for IFL at number 3 was 71.7%. Teachers wish to bring the Adventist worldview into their classes and would appreciate the availability of more resources.
No studies of this kind were found that focused on primary (elementary) school
teachers’ needs, or more specifically, those of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. While this global assessment of needs study was conducted with secondary schools (high schools) in mind, and can’t be generalized exactly to primary school teachers’ needs, it stands to reason that they would be similar.
Statement of the Problem
There is a lack of resources for faith integrated EFL teaching made for use in Romania, and because of this, resources need to be developed from the Seventh-day Adventist
perspective.
Objectives The aim of this thesis is to:
1. Identify core concepts of integrated faith learning and practice. 2. Identify how IFL applies to foreign language teaching.
3. Review existing EFL material designed for first year students.
4. Create a faith integrated EFL workbook, for use in Romanian schools, for first year elementary level that implements the core concepts of IFL.
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experts. The workbook will also be sent for review to a theologian, and a child psychologist, and any other experts who can contribute valuable feedback for this project. A selection of lessons will also be piloted to observe the reactions of children. “In this process of designing and implementation of an integrative curriculum it is vital that teachers work in teams” (Bouvet de Korniejczuk, 1993, p. 251).
Justification
The workbook mentioned above was developed in order to be an aid to teachers in Romania, who would have liked to integrate faith into their language classes, but needed suitable resources. Because teachers are very busy, this workbook is of use as it is a resource which helps students in the first grade to learn English, and it integrates faith in a planned and intentional way. The workbook is a contribution towards solving the number one problem faced by teachers who wish to integrate faith, which “was perceived to be lack of good IFL teaching materials (73.5%)” (Bradfield et al., 2007). Because the workbook was developed based on the principles of IFL and sound teaching methods used in the field of EFL teaching, it is a tool that saves teachers’ time and helps students understand the link between the various units studied, and the biblical worldview.
Limitations
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Time was also a limitation, due to the fact that the author was, for the most part, working alone in developing the workbook.
Another limitation of this research paper was the fact that the author works at a school with relatively small classes and he was not be able to interview a large number of students.
Properly done, statistical significance requires a suitably large sample size. Unfortunately, sample sizes are often too small to justify the degree of confidence claimed. Bakker et al. report that as many as half of all reviewed psychology studies had problems with sample size or other types of bias. (Gibson, 2015, p. 3)
Delimitations
It was the purpose of this thesis to research how to create a 1st grade workbook which
integrates faith and EFL teaching in Romania. Only a workbook was created (without a
separate teacher’s book). However, each page also includes instructions for teachers at the
bottom. Due to time constraints, it was not the purpose of this thesis to create workbooks for
other primary school grades. It would have not been a realistic endeavour to fit so much
information into one thesis. Other workbooks can later be developed based on the experience
of making this workbook, without necessarily going through same process gone through for
the creation of the first one.
Target Group
This workbook was designed for use with the following people in mind:
1. First year elementary EFL teachers in Romania, who want to integrate faith and need resources.
2. First year EFL students in Romania.
7 resources that integrate faith and learning.
4. Educational authorities interested in learning more about the Seventh-day Adventist worldview and the SDA philosophy of education.
Definition of Terms Below some terms relevant to this research are defined:
Integration of faith and learning (IFL): Is education with the Bible at the foundation of
what is taught inside and outside of the classroom, and how the teaching of the Bible relates to subject learned or activity undertaken. It includes the personal example of the teacher, as well as the school environment. As it refers to teaching English in a classroom, it means teaching in a way that makes the relationship between learning English and the Bible clear. It means exploring the content being learned from a Biblical perspective. For example, if studying an English text about the importance of an ecologically friendly lifestyle, this will naturally lend itself to being examined in the light of the Biblical injunction to care for the Earth.
Worldview:
Is a set of assumptions that provide a framework for answering the significant questions about life and our universe; is there a God, where did we come from, where are we going etc. These assumptions also influence how we understand the scientific process. (Brand, 2015a, p. 36)
Spirit of Prophecy: This term is used to denote the writing of Ellen White, who wrote
extensively about a vast array of topics, including education. While Seventh-day Adventists hold Ellen White to have been inspired by God, her writings are not placed on equal standing with the Bible. Due to the inspired nature of her publications, they receive special attention in this thesis.
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“is not widely used in that particular country outside of the classroom” (Nation, 2013a, p. 7). This would be the case of a Romanian child learning English at school in Romania.
English as a second language (ESL): This refers to a person learning English as a
second language who is living in an English speaking country. This would be the case of a Romanian child moving to England and having to learn English to be able to understand and learn what is being taught at school.
The uses of EFL and ESL can sometimes render their meaning unclear, and are at times used interchangeably.
Because of these striking differences, materials designed for ESL teaching may not be suitable for EFL classes, largely because ESL materials may be too uncontrolled with regard to language features because ESL learners may have much larger vocabulary sizes than EFL learners. (Nation, 2013b, p. 171)
As seen in Table 1, Nation (2013b, p. 172) has summarized the key differences between ESL and EFL.
Conclusion
9 Table 1
Differences between ESL and EFL
Feature ESL EFL
Language needs These are strong and immediate language use needs outside the classroom.
Often has no obvious purpose
Motivation Because of immediate and
long term needs, motivation is typicaly very high.
Motivation depends heavily on the quality of the
teaching, and courses may be compulsary, which is not usually good for motivation. Opportunities for learning A wide range of
opportunities for learning exists outside the classroom.
Classroom activities may be the most significant source of input and language use. Cultural content There are immediate cultural
needs.
10 CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The Adventist Philosophy of Education
Every education system is founded upon philosophical presuppositions. Governments take time to select the curriculum their children, youth and adults will be subjected to. The selection of what students should learn and how to teach the subject matter is based on beliefs about our world, the nature of man, theology, truth, values, and other considerations. With these philosophical foundations in mind, the curriculum is tailored by educational authorities, in order to produce certain kinds of people. A right philosophical foundation implemented consistently is crucial for education to be useful to the student (Knight, 1980).
“Adventist education prepares people for useful and joy-filled lives, fostering
friendships with God, whole-person development, Bible-based values, and selfless service in accordance with the Seventh-day Adventist mission to the world” (General Conference Working Policy, 2011, p. 250). These aims are based on the Biblical worldview, or in other words, the Bible’s answers to the questions of philosophy.
All knowledge requires faith. Naturalistic philosophy, for example, holds that
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pursuit “much more like creation scientists than naturalistic scientists” (Roth, 1995, p. 56). Christian philosophy includes revelation as a means of establishing truth. For the Adventist, the Bible is God's revelation, and it provides the metaphysical, epistemological and axiological foundations upon which all other truths are build, as well as the context within which all other things are interpreted (Knight, 1980). “Creation science posits that there is a God who is the Creator and the Bible is His word. Nature is interpreted in the context of that basic
philosophical stance” (Roth, 1995, p. 56). The reason that the Bible is the foundation of our worldview, rather than empirical data, is because of the Bible's teaching about metaphysics and epistemology leads us to correctly interpret empirical data (Knight, 1980). The same data can of course be interpreted in various ways and can seem to fit creationistic science or evolutionary science (Roth, 1995). However, Scripture, not the senses (or the scientific method) are a guide for reason, a check for intuition, and the framework for other ways of arriving at truth (Knight, 1980). “A retreat into agnosticism or relativism is unsatisfying and unproductive. Many an open mind reveals only a vacuum! We should look for truth! Since we exist, we know that reality exists, and we should try to find the truth about it” (Roth, 1995, p. 56). This Biblical framework leads to a correct axiology through its declarations and
prescriptions (Knight, 1980).
We can have confidence in the Bible independently of the progress of science. We do well to investigate the discoveries of science and relate them to the biblical record, but we do so in a context in which the Bible is the standard by which all ideas, including the claims of scientists, are judged. (Gibson, 2015, p. 6)
Biblical Metaphysics and its Relation to Christian Education
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question asked in the study of metaphysics” (Knight, 1980, p. 14). Four subsets of metaphysics are: cosmology, theology, anthropology, and ontology.
The Seventh-day Adventist metaphysics stems from God's revelation in the Scriptures and from the revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ, as unveiled in the Word. Biblical cosmology, for example, holds that God created the universe ex-nihilo. Biblical anthropology holds that mankind was made, that is, created fully formed and in the image of God, as a whole – intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially, but that image was corrupted due to the events described in Genesis chapter 3. Mankind was created with free will. Due to their distrust of God and selfishness they disobeyed God and came to believe a once perfect and now rebellious angel, known as (renamed) “Satan”. This choice to disobey placed humanity on the side of Satan and introduced a rupture in humankind's relationship with God, others, the environment, and the way of relating to self. The image of God in mankind was distorted but not completely obliterated. God implemented the plan of redemption to restore man to His pre-fall condition. Until the Second Advent, people will be born with a sinful (selfish) nature, which left unaided would bring a life of self-centeredness, separation from God and eventually permanent death. The plan of redemption includes Jesus' incarnation as a Man, His
substitutionary death (so people who accept Him don't have to die permanently), His
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one, for in education, as in redemption, “other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ [1 Corinthians 3:11]” (White, 1903, p. 30). Education and salvation are the same, in that the return to Christ's image and education are restorative acts. The second advent of Christ will bring an end to the present order of the world, life will be restored to its pre-fall condition and in our sinless state we will continue to grow throughout eternity as we get to know God, others, and the created universe (Knight, 1980).
We can correctly assume that the above view of reality will have implication for the education system. The relation of the above to education is that Seventh-day Adventists approach students as children of God with infinite potential who need to develop
harmoniously intellectually, physically, socially, and spiritually. Due to the fall, each person's greatest need is a personal acceptance of the salvation freely offered by God. The first aim of education is to lead students to accept Christ as Saviour. Once a student is in a saving
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service incorporated into the formal education system helps internalise positive values. In the words of Mary Jane Janniello “Caring acts create caring people…If we do them over and over enough, we hope that by the time [the students] are adults, they’ll get it” (Hopkins et al., 2009, p. 24).
The curriculum needs to include developmental opportunities for the whole being. Biblical faith is the integrating factor across the curriculum, a thread that runs across every subject. The Bible is the foundation upon which every subject is placed and under the light of which subjects are understood. There is not rigid distinction between academic disciplines, to the point that they become so separated from each other and from everyday life that they become almost irrelevant to daily living (Knight, 1980). “Faith-learning integration occurs when biblical concerns and academic content are interconnected, particularly as they are incorporated into student learning outcome statements… any lesson-plan alignment must honor the foundational perspective that God’s Word contains ultimate truth” (Cox, 2014, p. 25).
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are, and the emphasis in the curriculum should reflect the answer to this question. There should not be an unhealthy overemphasis on certain intellectual domains to the detriment of other domains, such as of practical, vocational education (Knight, 1980).
An education derived chiefly from books leads to superficial thinking. Practical work encourages close observation and independent thought. Rightly
performed, it tends to develop that practical wisdom which we call common sense. It develops ability to plan and execute, strengthens courage and
perseverance, and calls for the exercise of tact and skill. (White, 1903, p. 220). Every gleam of truth is from God. Ellen White wrote that
as the moon and the stars of our solar system shine by the reflected light of the sun, so, as far as their teaching is true, do the world's great thinkers reflect the rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Every gleam of thought, every flash of the intellect, is from the Light of the world. (White, 1903, p. 14).
No truth is in opposition to the Bible. False dichotomies will not exist between faith and reason, the Bible and science or the religious and the secular (Knight, 1980).
A study of the Biblical educational plan for Adam and Eve, the students in the Schools of the Prophets, and the plan Jesus was educated under, leads us to see that they learned through areas like useful work, studying the world, studying God’s Word, as well as the experiences of life. Learning a trade was part and parcel of the education of young Israelites and would be a useful skill to have even if the student, like Paul in the New Testament, didn’t go on to work in that trade full time (White, 1903). Today, vocational training is still a part of some Adventist institutions of education, and it is biblical to include it in the formal
educational process.
The informal curriculum, which includes clubs, school trips, athletics, service activities or any other extracurricular activities would also function based on the guidelines of the Bible for that particular activity, in order to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Creating the
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fallen self afterwards is to be avoided (Knight, 1980). In other words, not every form of extracurricular activity is fitting for a Christian. Prayer, searching Scripture and thought are needed on the part of teachers, parents and students in the selection of extracurricular activities and principles for the implementation of these activities. Nothing should ever take the place of Christ as the centre of the school's focus, or the focus of our lives because the mission and perspective of the organization or the teacher will be lost.
Humans are capable of reflective thought. People are not merely reactionary animals, and God wants us to reason. Education is to help students think for themselves, rather than to merely memorize and repeat facts, or what others have thought about a certain topic.
Education in the past has tended to focus heavily on the use of memory and placed less weight upon the higher-order thinking skills. A broader view is needed, one which sees learning as the ability to retain, understand and apply knowledge in creative ways in real life situations. Analysis and evaluation also pertain to higher order thinking skills that Adventist Education seeks to develop. The individuality and uniqueness of students will be respected and the importance of the group will also be upheld.
Teacher Qualification
“The teacher should be both a committed Adventist Christian and an exemplary role model of the Christian graces and professional competencies” (General Conference Working Policy, 2011, p. 251). The teacher is a representative of God to children and is entrusted with the role of teaching and pastoring the students, thus “teaching is a form of ministry” and “the teacher is an agent of salvation” (Knight, 1980). In order for the teacher to fulfil this role, he or she must first be in a saving relationship with Christ. True conversion is a primary
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The second qualification is the teacher's literary acquirements, which may even be broader than the secular teacher's due to the broadness of the philosophy upon which Adventist education is founded. The teacher is also a student and always will be.
A third qualification is in the social domain, since teaching is personal and takes place best when there is a positive relationship between the teacher and the student. A positive relationship based on respect and trust will increase the influence a teacher will have upon a student. The relationship between teacher and student is not that of 'best friend', but rather responsible adult, who cares and spends time with the student in and out of class on various extra-curricular activities. The goal is to engage in what brings the greatest benefit on the long term, while not neglecting the need of the daily life. Since the teacher is older than the student, and has more experience and foresight, there will be times when a teacher knows better what the student needs. A fourth qualification for a teacher is health, since without it, one would find hard to have the energy, perseverance, patience and cheerful deposition needed to work with people.
Methods of Teaching
The methods of Jesus are a gold mine that necessitates study and application. Methods like the use of parables, object lessons, questions, combining theory with practice, and
transmitting hope to those who were hopeless about themselves. Methods chosen to teach will reflect the Bible's emphasis on cooperation rather than competition. “As a child of God, the student is the primary focus of the entire educational effort and should be loved and accepted” (General Conference Working Policy, 2011, p. 251).
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awaken interest. Education is not the forcing of knowledge upon someone uninterested (White, 1903). The curiosity and interests of children should be harnessed in the process of learning. Methods that engage the whole person will be sought for, because our minds affect our bodies and vice versa. Active methods that stimulate thought, rather than predominantly passive listening are more effective.
“Instructional methodology will actively engage the needs and abilities of each student, giving opportunity to put what is learned into practice, and be appropriate to the discipline and to the culture” (General Conference Working Policy, 2011, p. 252).
After the fall, man's will was seriously weakened and needs divine aid, training and education to choose to do what is right. For this dimension of our being, education means growth in one’s use of their free will to do right, and growth towards self-government. It means a shift from behaviour motivated by external forces and authorities to an internal control based on God's Law put in hearts. This can only be achieved through the help of the Holy Spirit. Christian discipline is a process that aims at self-government (Knight, 1980).
Biblical Epistemology and its Relation to Christian Education
Epistemology is “the branch of philosophy which studies the nature, sources, and
validity of knowledge” (Knight, 1980, p. 19). It “deals with such issues as the dependability of knowledge and the propriety of various methods of reaching warrantable truth” (Knight, 1980, p. 19).
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mankind in its current condition, but it is not an exhaustive book for all knowledge. It provides the framework upon which other questions can be explored and answered.
Nature is another source of revelation. Yet, after the fall the environment was also affected, and the Biblical framework is needed to arrive at correct conclusions from nature. Life and death, pain and joy, beauty and ugliness co-exist due to the fall and only the Bible believing student can correctly understand why these contradictions co-exist.
Reason is the means of understanding truth and “it is the truth apprehended which is authoritative, not reason” (Ramm, 1959, cited in Knight, 1980). All supposed truths are to be tested by the Bible (Knight, 1980). Faith is the basis of learning (General Conference Working Policy, 2011) because the student must believe in a set of presuppositions to be able to come to conclusions.
“The scientific “standard model” is based on exclusion of a God or Creator from our explanations of nature. According to the standard model all of the processes of origins and earth history occurred essentially by processes observable today, through the unaided laws of chemistry and physics” (Brand, 2015b, p. 2).
The current of scientific thought that excludes the supernatural because it is not empirical, has come to be very popular, but is based on a presupposition that requires faith. Gibson (2015) describes several rules of the “game” of science, and then states that
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After all, “what set of experiments could be done to demonstrate that no god exists?... The existence or non-existence of god is not a concept that can be analysed by science” (Gibson, 2015, pp. 24, 25). Methodological Naturalism cannot prove, or disprove miracles, and thus claiming that no miracles have taken place in history can limit the way one does science, and ultimately leads to claims about history that cannot be proved by methodological naturalism (Brand, 2015a).
Ultimately the Adventist view is that “True knowledge encompasses cognitive, experiential, emotional, relational, intuitive, and spiritual elements. An acquisition of true knowledge leads to understanding, which is manifested in wisdom and appropriate action” (Seventh-day Adventist Philosophy of Education Policy, 2003, p. 3).
Biblical Axiology and its Relation to Christian Education
The main branches of axiology are ethics and aesthetics. It “is the branch of philosophy that seeks to answer the question: What is of value? . . . The question of values deals with notions of what a person or a society conceives as being good or preferable” (Knight, 1980, p. 28). However, Habenicht (1999) notes that “values are not just personal preferences” (p. 17), while it is true that one’s values may be seen in the investments, made in items purchased and activities perused, values go beyond preferences; they stem from the being of God. “Without God, values die” (Habenicht, 1999, p. 21). “God’s values are qualities of the souls, not outward actions” (Habenicht, 1999, p. 24), and they cannot be generated by us. He implants them into us as we walk with Him.
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“Values play a central role in life. Values are who I am” (Habenicht, 1999, p. 17). Everyone must know what they live for, and will pursue even amid difficulty (Habenicht, 1999). “The strength of my values will determine whether it is an easy or a difficult decision.” (Habenicht, 1999, p. 17). When two things that lead to opposing action are valued, a problem arises. In cases where there is a contradiction between what is verbalized and what is carried out “one might ask: “Which do they really value. . .? (Knight, 1980, p. 28)”. “Values direct the means and ends of actions. . . They are qualities of the soul. . . When children have solid Christian values they feel loved, accepted, and secure; they make responsible choices” (Habenicht, 1999, p. 17).
God's character is revealed in His law, and it is His character that forms the basis of ethics (Knight, 1980). Christian discipline is influenced by this view. Because the Bible teaches it, Seventh-day Adventists believe that there are absolute truths, and principles of morality, that stay the same, just as God stays the same, regardless of time and location.
To teach ethics, we must first appreciate the importance of having a moral base from which to make decisions. Reluctance to explore morals, values, ethics, and character development with students can lead to personal and collective harm.
We must present ethics as a dynamic process and a lifelong activity rather than a set of facts to be memorized. As teachers, our approach should be to educate rather than indoctrinate.
Adventist teachers must forthrightly, yet respectfully, promote principles derived from the only source of wisdom and right-doing, the Scriptures. The idea is to share, not impose, beliefs” (Sabes, 2007, pp. 7, 9).
School Rules
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rigidity, nor unbiblical relativity. The ‘other centeredness’ of God's law also means that positive relationships and service flow out of the practice of Christian ethics (Knight, 1980). The purpose of discipline is to develop self-control (General Conference Working Policy, 2011; White, 1903). Discipline does not mean punishment. “In redemptive discipline, the student’s will and intelligence are engaged” (General Conference Working Policy, 2011, p. 252).
Aesthetics and its Implications for SDA School
God created things in ways that are aesthetically pleasing, and He has given us an attraction to the beautiful, as well as the ability and desire to create by using what He has already made. Due to the great controversy present in our world, and in us, aesthetics, too, have been affected, and the beautiful coexists with the ugly, the good with the bad, and the up-building, with the destructive (Knight, 1980). “The arts are forms of expression that clarify, intensify, and interpret life. They stimulate our capacity for observation, train our power of reflection, and help us to identify and empathize with others” (Taylor, 2008, p. 5). “The human creator of art often wants to communicate something about the world, and we must keep in mind: “that which rules the heart, forms the art” (Wolfgang Stefani, in Bacchiocchi, 2000, p. 330). A person is changed by that which they look at, listen to, or read, and an understanding of this will lead us to carefully consider what kind of visual art, music, literature and media, in general, we include in the curriculum at school, and promote for use outside of school. A knowledge of this should guide us when selecting or creating textbooks and workbooks as well.
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creation and appreciation of works of art? (Taylor, 2008, p. 5)
The Bible deals with both good and bad and is true to life for a reason. This balance will exist in art as well, and it means that anything ugly, bad, and destructive dealt with, is
explored as they are in the Bible - with a lesson to learn for redemptive purposes, rather than to fascinate the sinful mind (Knight, 1980). “Since art, music, and drama can have such a profound emotional impact, Christians need to carefully apply rational and spiritual criteria in their evaluation of all types of art” (Taylor, 2008, p. 7).
The school's physical environment, including architecture, decoration, and grounds should be aesthetically pleasing as they reflect our understanding of God. The implications of Christian aesthetics spread to areas like student and staff appearance, dress, and neatness of work, and work areas (Knight, 1980).
Concluding Thoughts about the Philosophy of Adventist Education
Among professionals who work with children, teachers have the largest influence upon children. Children are most impressionable in their youth, and teachers spend a considerable amount of time with their students. Teachers are the ones who implement the curriculum. It is at the intersection where students and teachers meet that the theoretical framework of the Seventh-day Adventist academic education first takes on a personal, meaningful dimension. As such, it is important to have the correct basis for education in the curriculum, but equally importantly, in the personal understanding of the teacher, who implements the curriculum.
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the Great Controversy theme, as it promotes the integration of faith and learning” (Seventh-day Adventist Philosophy of Education, 2003, p. 3).
Responsibilities and Outcomes for SDA Education The following is a statement from the General Conference Working Policy about education:
The following are the responsibilities and expected outcomes of the Seventh-day Adventist elementary school system: a. Responsibilities—The Adventist elementary school offers students: 1) A climate in which they can understand God’s will, commit their lives to Him, and experience the joy of helping others. 2) An organized program leading toward spiritual, physical, mental, social, and emotional development. 3) A basic core of skills and knowledge for everyday living appropriate to their age. 4) A wholesome appreciation and respect for the home, the church, the school, and the community. b. Expected Outcomes—Students completing the elementary level at an Adventist school should: 1) Have had the opportunity to commit their lives to God through conversion, baptism, service, and a desire to do God’s will in every area of living. 2) Demonstrate competence in thinking, communication, and
quantitative skills along with other academic areas foundational to schooling at the secondary level. 3) Manifest interpersonal skills and emotional growth necessary for healthy relationships with their peers, family, and community. 4) Know and practice basic principles of health and balanced living including a wise use of time and entertainment media. 5) Develop an appreciation for the dignity of labor along with a general awareness of career options appropriate to their interests and God-given abilities. (General Conference Working Policy, 2011, p. 253)
The church-related elementary school will assist each child to develop (1) a love and appreciation for the privileges, rights, and responsibilities
guaranteed each individual and social group and (2) a wholesome respect and attitude for each unit of society—home, church, school, and government. The elementary school will offer an organized program to ensure adequate
development leading toward total spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional health and a basic core of skills and knowledge for everyday living. (General Conference Working Policy, 2011, p. 257)
What is Integrated Faith-Learning Practice? Rasi’s (2007) definition of IFL assumes that integrated faith-learning
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enterprise—both curricular and co-curricular—from a Christian perspective. In a Seventh-day Adventist setting, its aim is to ensure that students, by the time they leave school, will have freely internalized biblical values and a view of knowledge, life, and destiny that is Bible-based, Christ-centered, service-oriented, and kingdom-directed. (para. 1)
Hasker (1992) says that faith-learning integration is “scholarly project whose goal is to ascertain and to develop integral relationships which exist between the Christian faith and human knowledge, particularly as expressed in the various academic disciplines” (p. 2)
“Educational programs are comprised of courses, courses are made up of topics, topics of concepts, and concepts of ideas”. If the ideas underlying concepts, topics, courses and the entire education are Christian, then “the entire educational experience recognizes and embraces the Lordship of Jesus” (Taylor, 2012, p. 10).
Faith-learning integration occurs when biblical concerns and academic content are interconnected, particularly as they are incorporated into student learning outcome statements. This perspective keeps the focus on the purpose of the lesson rather than on a rigid alignment with varying definitions. (Cox, 2014, p. 25)
How then does the integration of faith, learning, and life happen? It occurs when Christian beliefs and values provide the focus and core of academic endeavour; when educators seek to relate Christianity to the full range of human existence and culture. This integration of faith and learning in life is more than a random mingling or chance encounter. Rather, it is a dynamic union, an intentional bringing together of many fragments to form a living and coordinated whole. (Taylor, 2012, pp. 10, 11)
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are not completely separate from the spiritual and moral realm, devoid of God.
“Genuine integration occurs when an assumption or concern can be shown to be
internally shared [or is integral to] both the Judeo-Christian vision and an academic discipline” (Wolfe, 1987, cited in Korniejczuk, 1993, p. 240).
IFL is a core concept of SDA philosophy of education and “given the centrality of Scripture in Adventist theology, it stands to reason that the integration of faith and learning has strong biblical support” (Taylor, 2012, p. 8). The Christian life extends to every area of life, whatever we think, say and do (2 Corinthians 10:5; Colossians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 10:31). Settings up dichotomies “such as mercy versus justice . . . theory versus practice . . . faith versus learning. . . Produces fragmented thinking and a compartmentalized, polarized life” (Taylor, 2012, p. 9). An especially dangerous form of dualism is viewing some “aspects of life as spiritual and others as secular” (Taylor, 2012, p. 9) because it can bring secular thinking to the sacred. Trying to embrace the secular and the spiritual perspectives excludes a person from the reception of God’s full blessing (James 1:5-8; 2 Corinthians 6:14), including ever
increasing likeness to His character. The mind must be all Christian or not so at all. A worldview is not like a set of clothes to be changed “at will, based on circumstances. While we may indeed change our minds and modify aspects of our worldview as we gain new information and clearer insight, what remains constant is our faith commitment” (Taylor, 2012, p. 9).
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this process as Integration of Learning, faith, and practice (ILFP). Failure to implement the practice part of ILFP keeps Christianity at a theoretical level. To be sure, it is true that practice is essential, however, since real faith works, this paper will continue to use the term IFL with the same meaning as that represented by ILFP. This way of teaching goes beyond
‘ornamenting’ our school activities with devotionals, prayer before class, and lofty words in the student’s handbook. It asks the essential question of what the basis of education is - the ‘great books’ or The Book (Akers and Moon, 1980a).
White’s invaluable counsel on the Bible’s place as first in our schools is abundant. “The youth are in need of educators who will keep the principles of the word of God ever before them” (1913, p. 430). “This Word is to be the chief study in our schools” (1977, p. 536). It “should be given the highest place in education” (1903, p. 17). Along the same line, Taylor (2012) wrote that “divine truth and values form the bedrock of the educational experience” (p. 13).
This does not mean that we don’t use books other than the Bible, rather it is a
theoretical and practical incorporation of Biblical principle into the curriculum. It makes the Bible and its values the starting point and seeks for practical demonstrations of them.
Learning the theory of Christianity is much like learning the theory of swimming from books. There needs to be application as well (Akers and Moon, 1980a).
“Integration is the process by which two often very different visions are related in an interesting and informative way on the basis of one or more shared presuppositions”
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Curriculum is made up of the formal, informal, and hidden curriculum. At times, the hidden curriculum has a greater influence on students than what is intended to be taught deliberately to them. Hidden curriculum of commercially prepared textbooks has a large impact on students. Use the hidden curriculum to communicate humility, and thankfulness to God for ability. Academic ability without God can produce conceit. Create alert spiritual thinkers by examining music, stories and grading methods. “All subject areas involve ideas, attitudes, issues, thought processes, or moral values. In every subject the teaching methods used tend to create either Christian or non-Christian values, attitudes, and life styles” (Akers and Moon, 1980b).
White (1997) wrote: “In the night season these words were spoken to me: Charge the teachers in our schools to prepare the students for what is coming upon the world” (p. 526). It is a sobering thought that the students who now learn in our classes, do homework assigned to them by us, make jokes, play pranks, and sometimes misbehave will soon be called to bear responsibilities and undergo trials of faith. They may have to give testimonies before legislators, and rulers (Akers and Moon, 1980b).
Jesus taught his disciples many things they did not understand, but when He rose from the dead, they remembered and understood many things through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. There were things that Jesus said to the disciples about the future, so that when the things said should come to pass the disciples would not be afraid, but that in Him they may have peace.
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things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:1-4, 33, NIV)
Trying to pack 6000 years of happenings into a child will wear that child out or cause him/her to quit. Thus the modern teacher has to be able to summarize excellently and
recognize what is most important in view of our understanding of eschatology. Help students understand that evolution and creation are theories, they are not scientifically proven, and both require faith (Akers and Moon, 1980a).
The secular worldview runs counter to God’s worldview, tends to focus on temporal things and often offers a fractured perspective (Taylor, 2012). Avoid the secular salad with Christian dressing approach to teaching (Akers and Moon, 1980b). Through teaching in a way that incorporates learning, faith and practice, students learn to see the Bible as relating to every aspect of life, rather than something that is done at set times in the weekly timetable or at prayer and worship times. It helps students understand that the Bible has something to say about everything worth studying, and it removes the tendency to fragment and
compartmentalize religion as another class alongside math, for example, and something spoken of for a few minutes before the ‘normal’ (academic) part of the class starts. Integrating faith and planning for practice is what produces a faith that works, for a faith that does not work is dead (cf. James 2:26) (Akers and Moon, 1980a). There are truths that can only be understood when practiced, and IFL is a wonderful opportunity to give our students the chance to experience a practical Christian life, with the wisdom given of God and the Help of the Holy Spirit (Akers and Moon, 1980a).
Humanism may call IFL indoctrination, but the Bible is clear about the fact that man is inclined to evil by nature and must be born again and learn to do right. Indoctrination –
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completely different concepts, though at times they are confused. Far from doing away with reason, biblical religion sets one free to reason, and that is why children need to be taught about God from a young age. Man left to himself will not make the right choices (Akers and Moon, 1980a). All truth comes from God (James 1:17). Students are to connect truths learned to their Source (Taylor, 2012).
Rather than a secret technique, or formula, Taylor (2001) says that what is needed is “a foundational understanding of Christian education, a personal commitment to think and teach christianly, and focused effort to develop and deploy effect integrational strategies” (p. 14). Adventist education is distinctive by being in the world and not of it through IFL (Taylor, 2012).
IFL Methods
The Bible says that “desire without knowledge is not good, how much more will hasty feet miss the way!” (Proverbs 19:2, New Living Translation). Thus, it is important to look for the best methods to incorporate faith in teaching EFL.
Foremost, the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the teacher is indispensable for successful integration of faith in the class, because, as discussed previously in this chapter, the first requisite of Christian teacher is conversion; a positive faith relationship with God. The Bible makes it clear that God desires to give us His Spirit, in the same way as a father knows how to give good gifts to his children. We should ask for the Spirit of God (Luke 11:13). The second thing teachers need is literary acquirements, which they are also able to apply. God gives wisdom to all who ask and believe (James 1:5, 6). Planning ensures deliberate
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efficiency if there are pre-prepared, quality recourses available that are made from the
Christian perspective. Resources such as lesson plans, books, worksheets, music and activities, save teachers time in preparation because it may be that some teachers lack the ability or means to prepare certain resources. While there are faith incorporated English textbooks, these are mainly designed for native English speakers. So far, the author has found no EFL
textbooks designed for the first grade, which also integrates faith and learning.
To share something you must possess it (Taylor, 2012). So, a personal acquaintance with the God of the Bible precedes IFL. “Living the values you want to teach your children is the most effective and important way to get your point across” (Habenicht, 1999, p. 29). Having gained the experiential knowledge to share, it is also important to learn the best ways to share it. It is interesting to note that we need to “make it clear how you live by explaining and pointing out the value. Just living your values is not enough to be absolutely sure children catch on” (Habenicht, 1999, p. 31).
Habenicht (1999) advises parents to “carefully choose the values you want to teach your children. Without value goals for your family, you run the serious risk of meandering all over the values landscape without really teaching them anything worthwhile” (p. 24). While the advice is aimed at parents, it can just as well be applied at schools, where teachers fill similar roles to that of parents during the time they spend with their students. Habenicht identifies the values she holds to be foundational, and which need to be taught to children. They are: “faith in God, respect, responsibility, self-control and moderation, honesty and integrity, kindness and compassion, contentment and thankfulness, patience and perseverance, peace and
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of you being, these values cannot be expressed. All these values are part of the definition of love” (p. 25).
In one study, most Adventist teachers wanted to know more about IFL from someone who could instruct them (Bradfield et al., 2007). Face to face IFL instruction has the
advantage of opportunities to ask questions of experienced teachers, but in the absence of such opportunities, there is a large body of written work about methods and strategies to IFL.
Taylor (2001) identifies four non-hierarchical, broad categories in IFL. The one, the Contextual, two, the illustrative, three, the conceptual, and four, the experiential. Within each category there are three subgroups of approaches to aid implementing that broad category (see Figure 1).
Cox (2014) recommends using “the Semantic Connections Biblical Integration Heuristic”, which contains four sequential steps:
(1) Identify a relevant semantic property (e.g., a word, phrase, etc.) in the instructional material that might connect to the Bible; (2) use biblical resources to identify potentially relevant biblical passages exemplifying the semantic property; (3) select the actual biblical content to integrate with the academic content; and (4) connect the selected biblical and scholastic content in a meaningful way to both the intended learning process and learning outcome. (p. 25)
Semantic property from step 1, “refers specifically to the content of words, phrases, values, facts, principles, issues, assumptions, and implications contained within the textbook or other curriculum material” (Cox, 2014, p. 25). As part of this first step
identify words of substance that may have biblical relevance. Identify commonly spoken phrases that may have biblical relevance. Identify values – wording that evaluates something as good/bad, right/wrong, evil/holy, pleasing/displeasing, etc. Identify facts – truth statements in the form of words or numerical data. Discern principles – relationships among concepts that signify regularity, cause effect,
33 Contextual
Tactile
Ornament
Environmental
Descriptive methods. E.g. Name of School including the word Christian. Course descriptions including terms like character building.
The school’s environment. E.g. Posters with moral messages, pictures of Bible characters, and uplifting bulletin boards.
The ambience of the school. E.g. Teachers student interaction, redemptive approach to discipline, approaches to evaluation.
Illustrative
Analogous
Narrative
Exemplary
Comparisons, metaphors and allegories. E.g. The immune system being like divine agencies that repel the enemies attacks.
Christian examples. E.g. Asking students to find a Christian example of the topic under discussion, from the Bible of notable Christians. Personal life experiences that highlight the topic.
Modelling. E.g. Allowing students see the teacher’s commitment to God, faith in action. Behaving as the teacher wants students to.
Conceptual
Textual
Thematic
Valuative
Incorporating relevant Scripture into lessons. E.g. Using a topic concordance to find Bible verses that relate directly to lessons throughout the semester. Making use of themes already in the course. E.g. course goals, unit titles, core concepts… Unity in art, accountability in business, conflict in history, communication in language, System in math. Ethical issues of the subject. E.g. plagiarism in art, technology, math. Vegetarianism in geography, religion, philosophy…
Experiential
Personal
Interrelations
Declarative
Helping students experience faith and walking with God. E.g. Personal talks, interviews, prayer,
counselling sessions, celebrating a milestone. Interactions among students that enhances faith and learning. E.g. cooperative learning, projects,
investigation and service both in and out of the school.
Christian witnessing. Representing Christ in the world. E.g. including in the course requirements that equip for communication of truth, speeches, articles, posters, on diverse messages, spiritual, personal experience, health…
34 peoples, etc. (p. 27)
In step two, there are several resources that can help us find appropriate content such as:
1. Memory 2. Concordances 3. Indexes 4. Bible commentaries 5. Bible dictionaries 6. Study Bibles 7. Bible encyclopedias 8. Theological texts 9. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary 10. Web Bible programs 11. Haycock’s
Encyclopedia of Bible Truths 12. Resources from the Institute in Basic Life Principles. (p. 27)
Finally, step four is the integration of the biblical content. “Use the biblically related information to modify the existing lesson plan, lecture notes, curriculum, etc.” (Cox, 2014, p. 27).
Habenicht (1999) says that the more ways used to teach a value, the greater the strength of impression.
Testing for IFL
Several models exist for helping teachers determine the level to which they are integrating faith and learning. Such models may be of help to teachers, and school
35 Conclusion
Objective 1 was to “Identify core concepts of integrated faith-learning”. From the literature review on the subject of IFL, the concepts that emerged are that: (a) the Biblical worldview must be understood by those involved in SDA education; (b) the Biblical worldview shapes the curriculum, including aims, contents, and teaching methods; this
worldview is the foundation, not just seasoning the educational process here and there; (c) IFL includes the hidden curriculum and informal curriculum; (d) the teacher is of key importance when it comes to IFL because they implement the curriculum; as such a teacher wishing to integrate faith must have a living relationship with God; as well as the other necessary qualification to teach (e) IFL takes planning, deliberate effort, and there are resources to help with practical ideas, some of which are referred to in this thesis.
Language Acquisition as Evidence of the Existence of a Creator God
In her insightful paper Maidom-Lampadan (2000) outlines several reasons as to why “language acquisition and universal grammar testify to the existence of a Creator God” (p. 2). Some of the reasons are that:
1. Children all go thought the same steps in the acquisition of first language. First come babbling, then comes the one-word stage, then two-word stage, then longer sentences.
By about age three, children can comprehend an incredible quantity of linguistic behaviour; their speech capacity expands tremendously as they move from the telegraphic stage to infinity. Goodluck suggests that the existence of regular stages in language development is comparable to other biologically triggered behaviour in humans such as walking and in other species such as flight in birds (Maidom-Lampadan, 2000, p. 3).
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3. Deaf children can also acquire language and “show the same stages of language acquisition as do hearing children”.
4. Children learn language despite impoverished data. Fromkin and Rodman (cited in Maidom-Lampadan, 2000) define impoverish data as "slips of the tongues, false starts,
ungrammatical and incomplete sentences, and no information as to which utterances heard are well formed and which are not" (p. 5).
5. Though thousands of differing languages exist, they also show remarkable
similarities, which point to God's design in the field of linguistics, as well as God as the source of language.
Biblical Foundations for Language Learning
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saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people”. The gospel is to go to everyone in their own language. God does not expect everyone to learn a global language. In this context, learning a second language has missionary implications (Z. Szallós-Farkas, personal
communication, August, 2013). The New Testament was written in Greek, which was the most common language in the world at that period in time. It is interesting to note that the Seventh-day Adventist church was raised up in America, in light of the fact that English is one of the most commonly spoken languages on earth at this moment in history. We can
understand through this that widely spoken languages, naturally presents advantages to the spread of the Gospel, thus the learning of foreign languages is advantageous to missionary work (Z. Szallós-Farkas, personal communication, August, 2013). James White “wrote that ‘there is no branch of this work that suffers so much at the present time as the proper
education of men and women to proclaim the third angel’s message’….they should be taught the ‘living languages’ (rather than dead classical ones), since we have ‘a message… that is to be proclaimed before many nations and tongues and people’” (Knight, 2015, p. 1). J. N. Andrews said in 1873 that “the calls that come from every quarter from men speaking other languages, must be answered by us” (Knight, 2015, p. 1).
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linguistic ability, and then also to acquire other languages with the aim of service. At the time of its founding, Avondale College was a good model of Seventh-day Adventist education. Milton Hook studied the first six years of the school and “concluded that the two central goals… were the conversion and character development of the students and preparing them to be denominational workers” (Knight, 2015, p. 1). While it is not possible, or even necessary for all of our graduates to work within our denomination’s institutions at this time, it is necessary that they all support the work of the denomination, which is in fact the work and mission of God for His followers in serving others and making Him known. To be able to fulfil this mission, we need to guard against narrowing the curriculum down to only strictly religious lines of study, to the exclusion of the sciences and arts taught from a biblical perspective (Knight, 2015). “Over the years, she [Ellen White] and other educational leaders guided Adventism to adopt a religiously oriented liberal-arts approach to collegiate study” (Knight, 2015, p. 2).
Biblical Foundation for Faith Integration in Language Teaching
At the very moment that the serpent contradicted God he was disseminating another worldview. A worldview that voided God's appraisal of everything being very good. In essence, the serpent was conveying to the woman that God is a restrictive, lying, self-serving Being (Gibson, 2003). At this point there are at least two worldviews. The question however remains, how many correct worldviews were there? It is clear that the two worldviews are mutually exclusive. From the Christian perspective, history has proven that God was telling the truth, and the serpent was lying. Interestingly, with the passing of time ever more
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worldview and any other worldview ever be entirely correct?
It is clear that since God created everything, every single thing in the universe was pronounced good. So there is only one worldview that fits the universe correctly, which further means that “all truth is God's truth" (Gaebelein, cited in Knight, 1980 p. 197) and the acceptance of an alternate worldview was what brought sin with its alienation, suffering and death into the world. Interestingly enough, the essence of God's worldview remained
unchanged after sin. God remained the same, and His love found new occasion for expression when He interposed to restore the human family and their relationship to Him, to their original ideal.
It is important for children to understand the application of God’s truth in various domains of life by integrating the values of the Bible into the various disciplines, including English. Habenicht (1999) wrote that
values are important because they provide a basis for all decisions and actions during life…Values are who I am. They become my character, the real inner person. They are expressed in what I do and how I act… Values provide a sense of purpose for life. (pp. 16, 17)
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things were good, yet the correct worldview remained the same. God's creation, as well as its degradation by sin and God Himself revealed in space-time history are the object of study. It goes without saying that we are not to indulge in sin and study it as a science by exposing ourselves to what it produces just because it feels good, yet there are elements of the
outworking of sin that we must understand to comprehend how repulsive and alien to God it is. On earth sin and righteousness live side by side for now, yet we can still see the hand of God in so many areas of reality. Having understood this concept, it becomes clear that it has implications for the Seventh-day Adventist educational curriculum. The biblical worldview can be brought into the curriculum so that students grow up with the Biblical worldview in its original, unified totality rather than with the impression that the subjects taught are neatly separated from each other and from God.
Theories, such as Stephen Jay Gould's Non Overlaying Magisterial (NOMA), or dictionary definitions of “religious” and “secular” that separate science and religion
unnaturally, will reveal a mistake in perception related to this topic. But no Bible believing person need fall into this dichotomy.
The term “faith integration” sounds like faith is being inserted into something. It sounds like a combination of two different things, with the desire to bring out a new unified whole. It implies that there are things to be combined that are separate. Yet, in reality, they are not separate because God made everything and all truth comes from Him. The separation occurred in our minds, which led to erroneous practice and a reinforcing of the false
dichotomy. It is not, however, the purpose of this thesis to deal with the terms commonly used to express these ideas.
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modification of the secular one, but a fundamentally different one, with different
presuppositions and ultimate aims. Ellen White said that: “the Lord never designed that our college should imitate other institutions of learning. The religious element should be the controlling power… The strength of our college is keeping the religious element in the ascendency” (White, 1948, p. 11).
Application of IFL in English as a Foreign Language Teaching
Objective 2 was to “identify how IFL applies to foreign language teaching”. As discussed in this chapter, the ability to speak a language comes from God, who later saw it best to bring about many languages at Babel, and because of this we now live on a planet with a large variety of languages. In order to reach people of other nations with the truth about God, learning languages is very important. It can make us more successful in our service here on earth to know foreign languages. Given that English is currently one of the most spoken and useful languages on earth, it is a great advantage to learn it. When learning English, we are learning to express ourselves and to talk about things and ideas. All of these lend themselves easily to teaching content from a Biblical perspective.
Conclusion
