Home > Social Events
Learning Outside the Classroom
In ISI, instruction in the classroom is just the beginning. Students explore Evanston and Chicago and practice the skills they have learned in the classroom at the same time. Students interact with ISI faculty, American graduate students, and volunteers from the Community Council for International Students, a local organization that supports the international community at Northwestern. Students get to know one another and form a support network that lasts throughout students' academic careers at NU.
Recent excursions have included The Art Institute of Chicago, a guided walking tour of Millennium Park, an outdoor concert at the Chicago Botanic Garden, dinner in an American home, an architectural tour of the Chicago River, dinner out at local restaurants with American grad students, and more.
Read what former ISI students have to say about our social events:
"It was a lot more than a crash course in English. It took care of all the administrative issues that I doubt I would have managed to do by myself. We were taken to major social events to introduce us to the culture here. There were parties and dinners and picnics and a variety of outings to make us feel at home and enjoy the summer without getting homesick. Of course, we got to meet so many people different from ourselves, and we learnt new things about their country and culture. The classes we had also helped us to get acquainted to the way the language is used here, we learnt a lot of idioms so we would not be lost when people spoke them, and in all it helped improve our grasp of the language. So ISI was extremely helpful and was a very pleasant introduction to my new episode of life in USA."
"Social events offered us a good opportunity to speak with native speakers, and to know more about American culture."
"I learned some of the cultures and customs of America, while learned how to speak English during the events. I used what I learned in class in these social events."
"I enjoyed the social events, which were both fun and helpful with improving my English skills."
"We can communicate with each other in social events. And we can learn more about American's culture in social events."
"Social events were most fun for me. They help me to be familiar with America."
