English classes starting soon at Metro Detroit Chinese Alliance Church

By: Andy Kozlowski | Madison-Park News | Published January 30, 2025

MADISON HEIGHTS — The English language can be difficult for non-native speakers to learn. A program starting soon at a local church aims to ease that process, meeting each student where they’re at in their language-learning journey.

The classes begin Feb. 11 and run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. every Tuesday evening through the end of May, spanning two 16-week semesters per school year. Classes will be held inside the Metro Detroit Chinese Alliance Church, 31329 John R Road in Madison Heights. The program is open to people of all faith backgrounds or lack thereof.

The only cost to students is $15 per semester to purchase a textbook. The church will also offer free childcare services during the classes.

Lisa Burns is a minister and director of the church’s English as a Second Language program, while her husband Rob Burns is the church’s English pastor. Rob Burns explained that the church itself has three language congregations: Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. The Mandarin congregation is the largest, with about 250 members, while the Cantonese and English ones have about 50 and 40 members, respectively. The church recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.

The Burns’ are native English speakers, but they have served as international workers for their denomination before, including four years in Eastern Europe.

“We have experienced adjusting to life in a new country, especially the challenges of learning a new language and having to use that language in everyday life,” Lisa Burns said. “I found those challenges to be especially difficult, but I trust that the experience has made me a more understanding and informed ESL teacher.”

Lisa Burns currently serves as a volunteer ESL teacher with the Oakland Literacy Council, while Rob Burns has a master’s degree in linguistics with a concentration in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). The couple first started teaching ESL classes at a church in Chicago nearly 30 years ago, and have since started programs in Eastern Europe, Detroit and Madison Heights.

This year’s classes feature 16 volunteer teachers that completed a training program through Alliance ESL, an organization within the church’s denomination that has helped more than 100 churches around the country start their own ESL programs. The teachers are trained to use a curriculum published by an organization called Intercambio.

Some of the teachers are native English speakers, while others learned English after immigrating to the country. Many of them speak Mandarin and Vietnamese, but people with other first languages are welcome, as well.

“We will do our best to help each person who comes to feel comfortable and to improve their English proficiency,” Lisa Burns said.

She said that when she was growing up, she learned French in high school, but didn’t fully appreciate the challenges of being a non-native speaker until she traveled abroad.

“It’s just a whole new level of challenge, that experience of moving to another country and learning a language, and then needing to use it to buy groceries or take a child to the doctor, or to have a conversation with someone and understand things. I found it very stressful. So we feel very compassionate for those struggling,” Lisa Burns said.

“Some people may have learned English to a very high level academically, but speaking to others can still be difficult. We also have older people who retired to our country to be with family members already here, but they know little English, so their world becomes very small,” she added. “So in a sense, this program is also a way to show care for elderly people.”

Rob Burns said the program begins by finding the right starting point for each student.

“We’re using assessment tools, and people will be placed at the levels appropriate to them,” Rob Burns said. “It’s a very good system, and we’ll be careful with it so people don’t get too far ahead of themselves. And wherever people are at, we can work with them. We also welcome students who want to focus more on speaking and listening, which is really the benefit of an in-person ESL class. … Madison Heights and the communities close to it are homes to tens of thousands of recent immigrants, so we know there’s a real need to learn English.”

But it’s not the only way that his church has been striving to help the community.

“During the pandemic, we had a drive-through food pantry where we gave families donated food and prayed for them, if they wished,” Rob Burns said. “Currently, though, our efforts are focused on supporting local organizations who are meeting the physical needs of community members.”

The church is also open to those interested in volunteering or making donations to help support the program. Those interested can email mdcacenglish@gmail.com. For more information about the Metro Detroit Chinese Alliance Church, call (248) 588-0642.