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SOCIAL EVENTSInstruction in the classroom is only one part of the ISI program. Our social events givestudents a chance to use the skills they are learning in the classroom in real-worldsituations. Several social events are scheduled each week during ISI to give students achance to get to know one another better, to speak with Americans, and exploreEvanston and Chicago. During these events, students interact with ISI faculty andvolunteers from the Community Council for International Students, a local organizationthat supports the international community at Northwestern.Students are expected to use English at all times during social events. This practice is anessential part of the immersion process; therefore, regular attendance at social activitiesis expected of all ISI students.Most events are free to students. We use public transportation to reach off-campusevents, including Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains, PACE suburban buses,and Metra commuter trains.Read what former ISI students have to say about our social events:"Social events offered us a good opportunity to speak with native speakers, and toknow more about American culture.""I learned some of the cultures and customs of America, while I learned how tospeak English during the events. I used what I learned in class in these socialevents."The following trips and events are just some of those scheduled to be included in thesocial programming of ISI for 2011:Art Institute of Chicago: Visit some of the most famous Impressionist paintings in theworld by Monet, Degas, and Seurat.Beach Day: Tour of the Sports Pavilion, plus relaxing, swimming, soccer, and volleyballon Northwestern's private beach.Coffeehouse Night: ISI students and staff meet for coffee, desserts, and performancesby students.Culture Night: ISI students share cultural traditions with one another and bring theirfavorite foods to a special feast.ISI Olympics: Students compete in teams in a series of student-designed games andsports.Ravinia Music Festival: A western classical music concert held in a beautiful outdoorpark setting.CCIS Dinner: Enjoy a dinner reception in an American home.Banquet: Celebrate the end of the program with ISI students and faculty at a banquetreception.“The ISI social events were also an opportunity to speak as well as to discoverAmerican culture. Not only were they an opportunity to meet the other ISIstudents, they really helped me to discover Chicago. I particularly appreciated thevisit of the Art Institute of Chicago. I went back since, and it gave me the idea ofvisiting other museums as well."We can communicate with each other in social events. And we can learn moreabout American's culture in social events."" These events provided me a lot of great opportunities to know the Chicago areaand to enjoy the renowned Chicago concert and art. During the events we havewith CCIS people. I got to talk with many native speakers, and they helped meunderstand the American traditions more deeply.”ISI 2006 students in downtown Chicago after the Architecture Boat Tour
INTEGRATIONIn addition to classes and social activities, ISI provides students with help in integratinginto American culture. We have two programs within ISI that provide integration help:Integration Issues Conference. The Integration Issues Conference is designed to helpstudents become familiar with the academic culture of an American university. The onedaymini-conference includes panel discussions, meetings with departmentrepresentatives, and presentations by ISI students.The conference begins in the morning with a series of panel discussions with graduatestudents, undergraduates and faculty from across the university. Each discussion centersaround one aspect of life in an American university, particularly those issues whichpresent challenges to international graduate students. Each panelist will briefly presenthis or her perspective on the issue, followed by a question and answer session, in whichstudents can pose questions to any of the panelists.In the afternoon, each student eats lunch with a representative from his or her owndepartment, allowing for further discussion of academic life within each discipline. Inthe afternoon sessions, students give short presentations on their own research interestsand receive feedback from their peers and instructors.“I felt very anxious on my first day in Evanston. I had such questions as, where is my department,where do I register, where do I open a bank account. I seemed so helpless and desperate. However, ISIwas like a considerate friend. It quickly gave me a campus map, took me to the international andpayroll offices to register and led me to open a checking account at US bank. With all of the worriessettled, I felt much better. In the Practica sessions, they gave us more helpful information, such as rentingapartments, getting to know our neighbors, shopping nearby and using public transportation to travelaround Chicago. Gradually, life became more and more comfortable.”“Although I’ve been living in the United States for about two years, the experience of academia was anew one for me and that is probably what the ISI program helped me with the most: not only inspeaking and understanding English, but speaking in front of an audience and in an academiccontext.”ISI 2005 Students painting a Northwestern University landmark: “The Rock”Practica. The "Practica" series presents practical tools for living in Evanston, with theopportunity to practice and expand everyday linguistic structures as well. Conducted bythe Assistant Director with occasional guest speakers, the sessions focus on the practicalside of integrating into American life. Topics include the following:How to find an apartmentApartment livingCooking, food shopping, and eating outWhat to do if you suffer from depression or stress and anxietyPersonal safetyTransportationRead what former ISI students have to say about our integration programs:“…the practical Practica sessions in the ISI program helped me a lot with beginning my life here inChicago area. The practicas about public transportation, shopping, safety and mental heath, all of thesehelped me familiarize with this whole new area and whole new life style. It’s very nice that you knowmore about the place you will live for the next five years and it is even nicer that know them in an easyand concise way.”
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