Sept - Dec 2021

Weekly Gathering 1: Vision, Goals, and

Plans
Missionary-Led
Objective

Create an environment where students feel love, support, and confidence that Heavenly
Father will help them learn English. Help learners feel the Spirit as they understand how to be
successful in their English language learning journey.

Key Concepts

● Learning English is a spiritual journey.

● Heavenly Father will help you on this journey.
● To be successful on this journey, you will need to:
○ Create a personal vision, goals, and plans
○ Be an agentive learner
○ Seek the gift of tongues

Welcome & Introduction (5 min)

● Welcome the class.
● Opening Hymn (1 verse) & Opening Prayer
● Briefly introduce yourselves.
● Explain the Objective: Tonight we will seek to learn from the Spirit and from
each other. Learning English is a spiritual journey. Tonight we will learn what
you can do to seek Heavenly Father’s help on this journey.
Here is a presentation you can use during the lesson.
You may make your own copy of this presentation by clicking File and choosing
Download.
 Sept - Dec 2021

Symbols Guide (2 min)

Briefly explain to learners that in the presentations each week, they will see symbols of
people and a clock. These symbols show how many people will do an activity and for
how many minutes.

These symbols will appear in the top right corner of slides. Here are two examples:

= partners (2 people) for 20 minutes

= small groups (3-5 people) for 15 minutes

Learning English is a Spiritual Journey (15 min)

1. Explain (1 min): Learning English is a spiritual journey.
2. Watch video (4 min): Your Journey
3. Whole Class Discussion (10 min): Ask questions to help students reflect on the
messages in the video. Help them discover connections between the journey of
learning English and the journey of becoming like our Heavenly Father.
Discussion questions:
● How is this life a spiritual journey?
● How is learning English a spiritual journey?
● How can Heavenly Father help you on this journey?
● How can you help each other on this journey?
● How can learning English help you increase your faith in Jesus Christ
and Heavenly Father?
 Sept - Dec 2021

Vision, Goals, and Plans (20 min)

Vision, Goals, and Plans (6 min)

1. Explain (10 seconds): To be successful on any journey, we need vision, goals,
and plans.
i. Elder Ballard Video Clips (Use the first two clips)
2. Read/Watch Clip 1 (30 seconds): Vision, Goals, and Plans (0:00-0:30 seconds)
a. “Over the years, I have observed that those who accomplish the most in this
world are those with a vision for their lives, with goals to keep them focused on
their vision and tactical plans for how to achieve them. Knowing where you are
going and how you expect to get there can bring meaning, purpose, and
accomplishment to life.”
3. Whole Class Discussion (5 min):
a. What three things did Elder Ballard say can help us accomplish the most
in this world? (answers: vision; goals; plans)
i. How can a vision help you on your journey?
ii. How can goals help you accomplish your vision?
iii. How can plans help you accomplish your goals?

Review 3 Steps
Step 1: Create a Vision (5 min)
Small Group (3-5 people) Discussion (5 min):

1. What is a personal vision?

○ Possible answer to share: A picture or visualization of who we
want to be in the future. A vision should “create excitement in your
heart” (Elder Wirthlin, “Life’s Lessons Learned”, General
Conference, 2007). A vision may be several paragraphs. However,
to begin, try to create a simple vision statement. For example, “I
am an eternal father. I protect my family. I provide for my family. I
preside over my family. I have power in the priesthood to bless my
family and others.”
2. How do you create a personal vision?
○ Possible answer to share: Prayerfully seek revelation to know
who you are and what the Lord expects of you. Patriarchal
blessings provide insight into our personal vision.
3. How can a vision help you on your journey of learning English?
 Sept - Dec 2021

○ Possible answer to share: It reminds you of your divine nature. It

reminds you that the process of learning English is a spiritual
journey. It reminds you to depend on Jesus Christ to achieve your
potential.

Step 2: Set Goals (5 min)

1. Read/Watch Clip 2 (30 seconds): Set Goals (0:32 - 0:59 seconds)
a. “Goal setting is essentially beginning with the end in mind. And planning is
devising a way to get to that end. Wise goal setting includes the
understanding that short-term goals only are effective if they lead to clearly
understood longer-term goals.”
2. Small Group (3-5 people) Discussion (5 min):
a. What does it mean to “begin with the end in mind?” (answers vary)
b. What is a long-term goal? (answer: Requires months or years to achieve)
c. What is a short-term goal? (answer: Requires days or weeks to achieve)
d. Why do we need both long-term goals and short-term goals? (answer:
Short-term goals help us take small steps to accomplish a larger goal)

Step 3: Make Plans (5 min)

1. Small Group (3-5 people) Discussion (5 min):
a. What is the difference between a goal and a plan?
b. How can planning help you achieve your goals?
c. What can you do when life becomes difficult and you want to give up?

We Must Be Agentive Learners (30 min)

1. Explain (30 seconds): We can have a vision, set goals, and make plans, but we
must choose to act to achieve our goals. We must be agents of our own learning.
We call this “being an agentive learner.”
2. Whole Class Read & Discuss (5 min):
a. Read
i. D&C 58:28 “For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto
themselves.”
ii. 2 Nephi 2: 14, 16 “God … created all things, both in the heavens
and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and
things to be acted upon… [M]an …. should act for himself.”
b. Discuss
i. What does it mean to be “act and not be acted upon”?
ii. What does it mean to be “agents unto themselves”?
 Sept - Dec 2021

iii. How does this apply to learning English?

iv. Why does Heavenly Father want us to be agents of our own
learning?

An Agentive Learner: 5 Principles

1. Read (1 min):
a. Agentive learners have a vision for their life. They take action to achieve
their goals. They act in faith to seek the gifts of the Spirit. You can become
an agentive learner by applying five simple principles:
i. Exercise Faith In Jesus Christ
ii. Take Responsibility
iii. Teach One Another
iv. Press Forward
v. Self-Evaluate

2. Whole Class Discussion (10 min):

a. Exercise Faith In Jesus Christ: How can exercising faith in Jesus Christ
help you become an agentive learner?
b. Take Responsibility: Why is taking responsibility necessary to be an
agentive learner?
c. Teach One Another: How can teaching and learning from one another help
you be an agentive learner?
d. Press Forward: What does it mean to press forward? Why is pressing
forward necessary to be an agentive learner?
e. Self-Evaluate: What does it mean to self-evaluate? How can
self-evaluating help you be an agentive learner?

Examples from the Scriptures

1. Small Group (3-5 people) Discussion (15 min):
a. Think of people in the scriptures who were agentive learners.
i. What did the person do to be an agentive learner?
ii. How can you follow their example as you learn English?
● If you need some ideas, consider these people: Nephi - 1
Nephi 17:7-11, 1 Nephi 18:3; Abraham - Abraham 1:1-4;
Brother of Jared - Ether 2:22-23; 3:1, 4-5; Joseph Smith -
Joseph Smith History 1:10-11, 13-14
 Sept - Dec 2021

We Can Succeed as We Seek the Gift of Tongues

(20 min)

Resources for Sucess

1. Whole Class Discussion (3 min):
a. Brainstorm ideas to answer this question: What resources has Heavenly
Father given you to help you be successful in your English journey?
i. Each other
ii. Missionaries
iii. Prayer
iv. EnglishConnect Course

Seeking the Gift of Tongues

1. Say: Let’s learn about a gift & resource Heavenly Father has promised us called
“the gift of tongues.”
2. Small Group (3-5 people) Discussion (15 min):
a. What is the gift of tongues?
i. D&C 46:8-9
b. How do we seek the gifts of the Spirit?
i. D&C 46:24-25, 28 - Ask. Pray daily for this gift.
ii. D&C 46:30-31 - Believe. Act in faith to study and practice daily.
Believe that Heavenly Father will bless you.
iii. D&C 46:32 - Express gratitude for His blessings.
iv. D&C 46:33 - Be worthy.
3. Whole Class Discussion (5 min):
a. What did you learn about seeking the gift of tongues?
b. Share your testimony about seeking and receiving the gift of tongues.

Conclusion (5 min)
1. Whole Class Discussion (5 min):
a. What have you learned in this lesson?
b. What have you felt during this lesson?
 Sept - Dec 2021

c. How will you apply what you have learned today as you begin
EnglishConnect 3?
i. Learning is a spiritual journey
ii. Vision, goals, and plans
iii. Agentive learning
iv. Seeking the gift of tongues
2. Inspire Confidence: Express your faith in your learners’ ability to be successful
in this course as they depend on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Express
your support and love. Express your confidence in them.

Homework Reminder (1 min)

1. Log in to the online portal. Click on Week 2 > Pathway Preparation. Complete the
assignments you find there. Read the passage. Write a paragraph. Bring your
paragraph to class next week.
Weekly Gathering assignments for next week:
● Create a personal vision
● Set long-term goals
● Make plans to achieve your goals
● Start practicing English

Daily Habits Reminder (1 min)

These daily habits appear in every lesson. They will always be the last slide in every
presentation. Do not dismiss or ignore this slide. Emphasize to learners how important
these daily habits are. Share your testimony with learners about these daily habits and
how crucial they are.
● Pray for the Gift of Tongues
● Read the Book of Mormon
● Write in your journal
● Act in faith to achieve your goals

Closing Prayer