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EnglishConnect courses combine self-reliance, language learning

Johnny Brothers and Repeta Conroy, and their sons Enoha and Hinoï, are all learning English together through the EnglishConnect program in the Punaauia Tahiti Stake. They do their homework together at their kitchen table.

The EnglishConnect program is for anyone 12 and older who wants to learn English or improve their skills. The class is weekly for six months and includes one hour of English lessons and 30 minutes of “My Foundation” self-reliance principles, according to Pacific Newsroom release on Jan. 28.

EnglishConnect complements the Church’s self-reliance courses, which includes “Starting and Growing My Business,” “Finding a Better Job,” “Education for Better Work” and “Personal Finances.”

Four classes of 15 students each have been launched in the Punaauia Tahiti Stake, according to Maeva Ching Soy, manager of the EnglishConnect program in French Polynesia.

Conroy has seen the blessings from the English Connect classes. “The EnglishConnect activity allows us to improve as a family because the four of us are in the same class,” Conroy said in the Newsroom release. “We have the same focus and the same center of interest. It’s very rewarding!”

Their family also designates a time during meals to speak in English and will sometimes ask a family member to pray in English, she said.

"What is more, our kids love this class, and say, ‘It's just awesome!’" she said.

Brothers said that this course has helped them prepare for a trip to the United States.

“It is a great way to put what we had learned into practice,” he said. “In addition, this class has become our family activity on Saturday."

The Church’s Self-Reliance effort is based on the principle of individual responsibility in achieving social, emotional, spiritual, physical and economic well-being. Learn more at ChurchofJesusChrist.org/self-reliance.

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