Before the Fall Quarter of 2014/2015 academic year kicks off, EDGS signed me up to attend a full four-week program organized by Northwestern University’s International Summer Institute (ISI) from July 28 to September 4. The program was filled with both serious and fun activities for effective North American English learning, and moreover, adapting to U.S. culture and academic standards. This year’s instruction was rather special because it not only consisted of the most fun cohort of 46 international graduate students, but also marked the 15^th anniversary of ISI.

Perhaps it was part of ISI’s tradition to divide the program into 5 main sessions: English Class Instruction, Practica, Learn-By-Doing Workshop, Social Events,and Integration Conference. The following points were based on my personal experience with ISI.

English Class Instruction

The entire group was divided into 8 small groups of 5-6 students based on the results of their SPEAK Test (taken on the first day of ISI). Conversation class was conducted in the morning, whereas SPEAK Test Preparation and Pronunciation classes were held in the afternoon. My instructors were PhD candidates in Linguistics, David Potter and Michael Frazier (Mike). One challenging task from David’s instruction was the day which each of us had to introduce a specialized term in our field of study to fellow classmate from a different field within one minute only. This activity proved the effectiveness of direct feedbacks from peers, judging from the gradual improvements shown in the following 2-3 performances from each classmate. The most challenging task from Mike’s instruction was to debate on controversial issues. The task not only required us to take sides, but also persuade classmates from the opposing side to agree with my standpoint. In addition to the twelve-hour per week of classwork, I was entitled to receiving extra and private instruction by Lisa Hesterberg, also a PhD candidate in Linguistics. She was my tutor of 30-minute sessions for consultations on Tuesdays and Thursdays to improve my speaking and writing skills. My sessions with Lisa tremendously helped me in preparing my presentation better for the ISI Integration Conference.

Joint classes instructed by D. Potter and M. Frazier

Pronunciation Class

Practica

During Practica, ISI’s Assistant Director Lisa Del Torto led the instruction about day-to-day basics for living in the U.S. Each session covered different topics such as tips on apartment hunting, on-campus health services, preparing for the winter, transportation, home and personal security, and many more. Guest speakers from the Northwestern Police Department, Sexual Harassment Prevention Office, and ISI Alumnae were regularly invited to speak and directly answer any questions from the class. Practica had served me well in planning my needs to settle down in Evanston.

Learn-By-Doing (LBD) Workshop

Each student may choose only one of the available eight workshops: coffeehouse culture, contemporary art, walk the talk, social media, improvisational comedy, food and shopping, games and sports, and digital yearbook. I was very happy to have chosen improvisational comedy (Improv). The skills that I developed from my LBD sessions with the Improv group contributed a lot to the fluency of my presentation during ISI Integration Conference, especially when answering questions after presenting. ISI’s LBD workshop also helped me discover my new interests and passion in theatrical performance and standup comedy.

My Improv Group in action during Coffeehouse Night!

Social Events

The number of social events that I joined was large that it seemed impossible for me to write about each and every one of them here. However, one social event that I enjoyed the most was Dinner at ISI Director Julia Moore’s House. Dinner was held outdoors and the weather was just perfect for the combination of good food and company. I was able to meet new people, ranging from Julia’s family, neighbors, to church friends. Furthermore, I was able to apply the things I learned from my previous conversation classes about starting socially acceptable conversations. It was just exciting to be able to expand my network of friends and new acquaintances within few weeks in a completely new environment.

Dinner at ISI Director Julia Moore’s House was so much fun and mainly about sharpening our English speaking and social skills (photo courtesy of Kartikey Sharma)

Integration Conference

This conference had two main structures: discussion panels on academic integrity and culture at Northwestern University and small-scale research presentations. Senior PhD students from various fields of study and faculty/staff were present to give advices on good academic and professional conduct. The discussions were highly important, as they would be useful for graduate students like me who are expected to teach undergraduate students and excel in academia. The second half of the day was the time when I had to give a 10-minute academic presentation to a group of 4 ISI participants from Indonesia, Mainland China, and Turkey, who will be studying political science and sociology. I chose to present my research plan to the group and was very happy to receive quite many questions with both negative and positive feedbacks from peers and moderator Kenneth Konopka.

Colleague Yoes Kenawas presenting his past studies on Political Dynasties in Indonesia.

Colleague Wara Urwasi presenting her past project on Urban Studies.

Coda

At the end of ISI, a formal farewell banquet was held to celebrate all participating students’ learning achievements throughout the summer. I had the honor to speak on behalf of my English Class Instruction group on the podium and share about my ISI experience to the audience. The presence of The Graduate School’s dean and other faculty/staff made me extremely nervous but it was good practice for my public-speaking abilities. Fellow ISI students had also been a great support system. In sum, ISI has built a good start for my graduate school life and new meaningful friendships ahead.

The best: ISI Class of 2014!

Farewell Banquet

(SSP)

During the period of my one-month commitment with the International Summer Institute’s series of academic English programs, I had a wonderful experience attending an event to meet and greet one of Illinois’ state representatives. Together with colleagues, Yoes from Indonesia and Yi-Shu from Mainland China (PhD candidate in Statistics), we went to a wine store near the Jarvis CTA station, simply 15 minutes away from campus by train. The following post will comment on the organizer, activity, and my post-event reflection based on my field observation.

“Meet and Greet with State Representative Kelly Cassidy,” a straightforward name for the event, was organized by Illinois’ state representative Kelly Cassidy herself and her team* to reach out and communicate with her constituents in the 7^th legislative district. Representative Cassidy is one of the 71 Democrats in the State of Illinois’ House of Representatives, and this event was part of her efforts to encourage voters in the upcoming November 2014 election to consider the measures and constitutional amendments she has sponsored during her current term. The three things that she sponsored and mainly addressed in her informal speech during the event were health insurance, minimum wage increase, and tax increase for people with higher income to fund better education. Other than legislative updates, Rep. Cassidy also announced a few social activities, including a gardening competition, that were open to the public as part of her efforts to support local schools and her district’s green home initiative.

Before Rep. Cassidy presented her speech, she mixed and mingled with all attendees. The three of us even shook hands with her and we conversed amicably. I found it very wonderful and amazing to be that close to a political figure. She was very passionate about reaching out to the people of her district to let them know what she is actually doing legislatively.

After Rep. Cassidy finished her brief speech on legislative updates, and as more people were starting to taste free and fine wine, a Q&A session was opened. Attendees enthusiastically asked follow-up questions on the issues she raised, mainly concerning minimum wage and taxes. There was also an attendee who conveyed her appreciation for Rep. Cassidy’s achievement in passing a bill that will enable citizens with past criminal records to have equal rights in applying for jobs. Her voice sparked a huge round of applause from everyone present.

From my brief explanation about the main activity of this meet-and-greet, it may seem obvious that I was and still am in awe of the event. I strongly believe Indonesia’s regional representatives should begin taking the same approach as what I experienced on that day. This concrete example of a state representative’s connecting with her people shows one of the effective ways for a politician to build up people’s trust and confidence in the person for whom they voted.

Kelly Cassidy giving updates to attendees in Taste Food and Wine at West Jarvis Ave.

Big thanks to Pat, Rep. Cassidy’s Community Outreach Coordinator for inviting me to the wonderful event! (Photo courtesy of Yoes Kenawas)

*I wish to thank Rep. Cassidy’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Ms. Patricia Ewert, for inviting me to the event and for being such an inspiring community leader.

(SSP)

Still within the spectrum of fascination, I would like to discuss one of the many programs and facilities that Northwestern University (NU) offers its students for academic trouble-shooting. Help is always available as long as we go and ask for it. The brief account of my recent activities in the following paragraphs serves to give a clearer picture.

In my first three weeks in Evanston, the Equality, Development, and Globalization Studies (EDGS) program had designed an English as a Second Language (ESL) Intensive Course exclusively for the Arryman Fellows. The course was held on weekdays from 9 am to noon at the homey Buffett Center. Topics being covered were mainly about standard North American English in academic settings and casual daily life. Each attendee received the same amount of attention on our pronunciation, speaking/reading/writing/listening, and discussion skills. More importantly, information about the available resources for enquiries on academic writing, health issues, student life in the US, and sports facilities were also explained in quite a few sessions. I feel very fortunate to have had Kathleen, whose expertise is in speech pathology, as my instructor. She delivered every lesson with enthusiasm and clarity. Also, having Carol as my writing advisor was another advantage. Her being meticulous and firm in stimulating my thoughts to restructure my sentences was one of the many traits that I learned about being an effective instructor from her.

My meetings with Kathleen made me realize one key point: the intense amount of my exposure to North American pop culture is no guarantee for speaking the correct and standard form of English. Rather, my improvement in English relies more on my self-awareness of how I use proper English in my daily conversations and writings.

As a simple example, we may find it easy to memorize and sing English songs almost perfectly like a native speaker of English. However, when it comes to doing ‘elevator pitches’ in semiformal social events, errors occur frequently in terms of grammar or pronunciation, and stuttering. Hence, the first week of the course focused on word stress patterns and pronunciation. It was a memorable experience because I never knew learning English is so similar to learning Mandarin Chinese in comprehending its five basic tones until the day of my first meeting with Kathleen. The second week centered on U.S. academic settings. The four main themes were leading reading discussions, summarizing verbally, paying extra attention to plagiarism, and communicating with colleagues and advisors via e-mail. Last but not least, the third week’s concentration was on evaluating my writing assignments of the previous two weeks and preparing for a few tests that are compulsory for admission to The Graduate School of NU.