The U.S. Catholic population has a larger proportion of immigrants than the U.S. population at large. The majority of Catholic immigrants come from Latin America and are not native speakers of English. In this qualitative study, I interviewed nine Catholic immigrants from Latin America to better understand their experiences of navigating their Catholic faith in the United States and the role an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) class could play in helping them successfully adjust to United States Catholicism. Findings suggest that, beyond a general ESL class, an English-for-specific-purposes class, capitalizing on the universality of Catholicism and specialized for Catholic prayer, liturgy, sacraments, and community life, could equip immigrant Catholics to live their faith in English. English Language Teaching (ELT) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) professionals are encouraged to be more attentive to their students’ spiritual needs, and Catholics conducting outreach efforts, including ESL classes, are encouraged to specialize their ESL classes to assist students in ways other ESL programs cannot.
","abstract_html":"<p>The U.S. Catholic population has a larger proportion of immigrants than the U.S. population at large. The majority of Catholic immigrants come from Latin America and are not native speakers of English. In this qualitative study, I interviewed nine Catholic immigrants from Latin America to better understand their experiences of navigating their Catholic faith in the United States and the role an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) class could play in helping them successfully adjust to United States Catholicism. Findings suggest that, beyond a general ESL class, an English-for-specific-purposes class, capitalizing on the universality of Catholicism and specialized for Catholic prayer, liturgy, sacraments, and community life, could equip immigrant Catholics to live their faith in English. English Language Teaching (ELT) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) professionals are encouraged to be more attentive to their students’ spiritual needs, and Catholics conducting outreach efforts, including ESL classes, are encouraged to specialize their ESL classes to assist students in ways other ESL programs cannot.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Tillotson, Mary C."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"World Languages","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ildiko Porter-Szucs, Ph.D.","Francis Feingold, Ph.D.","Elisabeth Morgan, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:33Z","subjects":["Catholicism","culture","ESL","immigrants","Latin America","religion","Religious Education","Teacher Education and Professional Development"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/973","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ildiko Porter-Szucs, Ph.D.","Francis Feingold, Ph.D.","Elisabeth Morgan, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Tillotson, Mary C."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-09-30T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["World Languages"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Catholicism","culture","ESL","immigrants","Latin America","religion","Religious Education","Teacher Education and Professional Development"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/973"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The U.S. Catholic population has a larger proportion of immigrants than the U.S. population at large. The majority of Catholic immigrants come from Latin America and are not native speakers of English. In this qualitative study, I interviewed nine Catholic immigrants from Latin America to better understand their experiences of navigating their Catholic faith in the United States and the role an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) class could play in helping them successfully adjust to United States Catholicism. Findings suggest that, beyond a general ESL class, an English-for-specific-purposes class, capitalizing on the universality of Catholicism and specialized for Catholic prayer, liturgy, sacraments, and community life, could equip immigrant Catholics to live their faith in English. English Language Teaching (ELT) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) professionals are encouraged to be more attentive to their students’ spiritual needs, and Catholics conducting outreach efforts, including ESL classes, are encouraged to specialize their ESL classes to assist students in ways other ESL programs cannot.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["“But how could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?” An ESL/ESP class for Catholic immigrants"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ildiko Porter-Szucs, Ph.D.","Francis Feingold, Ph.D.","Elisabeth Morgan, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Tillotson, Mary C."],"dc:date.available":["2019-09-30T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The U.S. Catholic population has a larger proportion of immigrants than the U.S. population at large. The majority of Catholic immigrants come from Latin America and are not native speakers of English. In this qualitative study, I interviewed nine Catholic immigrants from Latin America to better understand their experiences of navigating their Catholic faith in the United States and the role an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) class could play in helping them successfully adjust to United States Catholicism. Findings suggest that, beyond a general ESL class, an English-for-specific-purposes class, capitalizing on the universality of Catholicism and specialized for Catholic prayer, liturgy, sacraments, and community life, could equip immigrant Catholics to live their faith in English. English Language Teaching (ELT) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) professionals are encouraged to be more attentive to their students’ spiritual needs, and Catholics conducting outreach efforts, including ESL classes, are encouraged to specialize their ESL classes to assist students in ways other ESL programs cannot.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/973"],"dc:subject":["Catholicism","culture","ESL","immigrants","Latin America","religion","Religious Education","Teacher Education and Professional Development"],"dc:title":["“But how could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?” An ESL/ESP class for Catholic immigrants"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["World Languages"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:33Z"}