• August 21: Facilitator Registration Opens
• August 28: Participant Registration Opens
• September 8: Facilitator Registration Closes
• September 11 - 15: New Facilitator Orientations
• September 15: Participant Registration Closes
• September 18-22: Participant Group Sign-up
• The week of September 25: Groups begin meeting for 30 minutes or 1 hour sessions each week for 8-weeks until the week of November 19
• First week of December: Final Reception

Do you like working with multilingual and international students and learning from others with different life experiences? Have you traveled abroad or are planning to? Are you interested in learning about other cultures? Join the English Language Support Office’s Speaking Groups Program this semester as a Discussion Facilitator! Read on to learn more.

What does a facilitator do? Facilitators commit for 8-weeks of a semester to help lead and organize small weekly 1-hour  or 30-minute discussions (you pick!) with international graduate students. This program brings together multilingual international students and scholars and fluent English speaking members of the Cornell community for language support and conversations about culture, academic interests, and campus life.

What are the requirements to be a facilitator? To be a facilitator, you need to be a Cornell undergraduate student, staff member, graduate student, post-doc, alumni, retiree, or faculty, should be fluent in English and have knowledge of US culture. The group participants are multilingual domestic and international graduate students from diverse programs, diverse linguistic backgrounds, and at diverse points in their graduate careers. The goal is to improve English speaking skills while making meaningful connections across campus in weekly small group discussions.

When do groups meet? Facilitators determine a one-hour or 30-minute time slot for their group to meet each week, post it to our sign-up system with their bio after an initial orientation, and then participants select a group slot that fits their schedule once the Group Sign-up Period begins.

How  do I sign-up?  If you are interested in becoming a facilitator, you will need to: 

• complete a brief registration form: Fall 2023 SGP Facilitator Application
• attend an initial orientation meeting (for all new facilitators); a mid-semester meeting, and a final reception
• commit for 8-weeks of the semester to help organize and facilitate small, weekly 1-hour or 30-minute discussion groups with multilingual domestic and international graduate and professional students
• each facilitator will create a group meeting time that works with their schedule
• maintain communication with your group and select a meeting place on campus for in-person weekly meetings or create Zoom links for remote weekly meetings
• See Key Dates above to learn when registration closes and groups begin meeting

Are you looking for more opportunities to speak English? Do you want engage in cross-cultural conversations with others and become more confident speaking English?

 Join the English Language Support Office’s Speaking Groups Program! All multilingual domestic or international graduate or professional students, on the Ithaca campus or at Cornell Tech, are welcome to apply.

What is the Speaking Groups Program? In this program, you meet with a small group of graduate multilingual students and a fluent English speaking volunteer from the Cornell community for informal conversations about culture, academic interests, and campus life. The goal is to improve English speaking skills while making meaningful connections across campus in weekly small group discussions.

When do groups meet? During the Group Sign-up period, participants select a group to join that fits with their schedule. Groups meet for one-hour or 30-minutes a week over 8-weeks during the semester. Zoom, hybrid, and in-person groups will be available.

How do I sign-up? To join this program as a participant, you will need to:

• complete a brief registration form: Fall 2023 SGP Participant Application
• commit to attending weekly one-hour or 30-minute (you pick!) meetings for 8-weeks. Meetings this semester will be both face-to-face or remote. Each participant will select a meeting time that works with their schedule after the registration period ends.
• See Key Dates above to learn when registration closes and groups begin meeting

For any questions or concerns, email the ELSO Speaking Services Coordinator Melissa Myers by clicking here.