We are excited to offer a new language event open to all members of the Northwestern community, our Just Thinking Out Loud Livestream Listening event. This event is designed to help students with their English listening skills while focusing on a topic of interest and importance. Anyone the Northwestern community is welcome to join and participate.
- Free and open to all members of the Northwestern community
- Events are held online throughout the academic year (fall, winter, and spring quarters only)
- Advanced registration is required to access the session.
- Each event highlights a specific aspect of US English and/or American culture
- Participants are encouraged to engage with each other after the listening task of the event is finished
- Events are designed to focus on listening skills at any level of English proficiency
Fall Quarter 2025 - Just Thinking Out Loud Livestream Listening Event
- One sign-up form (click here)
- If you sign up for an event but your availability changes, resubmit the form. We will contact you based on your most recent availability provided in the online form
- ELP will contact you with ZOOM meeting information for events that you have registered for
- Format for livestream listening event for Fall Quarter 2025 -> 1 remote event (via Northwestern ZOOM)
- Note - This schedule is subject to change
- Livestream Listening Event Schedule for Fall Quarter 2025
| Date | Time | Event Name (format) | Event Description | Hosted by |
| 9/26/25 | 12:30-1:30 PM | Just Thinking Out Loud - Fashion & Style |
Join ELP's Speech Language Pathologist, Autumn Bryant, for ELP's first ever Just Thinking Out Loud event. Participants can leave their cameras and mics off as they join the Zoom to listen in as ELP's Speech Language Pathologist, Autumn Bryant, shares her thoughts on fashion and style.
Unlike other language tables, this will be a listen-in event as Autumn does the talking. You can drop a question or comment in the chat, including privately just to Autumn if you want, but you don’t have to, and you do not have to speak out loud yourself. This will be like listening in to a podcast, a livestream, or even the radio. Instead of the usual language table format, for this one-off event, Autumn will just think out loud, sharing anecdotes and opinions, so you can hear her word choices, phrasing, and other facets of her speech and language. This is a great way to passively take in how one native speaker expresses her ideas, while also hearing some new vocabulary related to clothes and shoes that you can use in future small talk and extended conversations with others. All are welcome! Please join us!!
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Autumn Bryant (ELP Speech Language Pathologist) |
Our Language Table series, Something to Talk About, offers a chance to meet other people for fun, informal activities and casual conversation. Anyone in the Northwestern community is welcome to join and participate.
- Free and open to all members of the Northwestern community
- Events are mostly held online throughout the academic year (fall, winter, and spring quarters only)
- Advanced registration is required to access the session.
- Each event highlights a specific aspect of US English and/or American culture
- Ask questions, share experiences and opinions with peers and ELP staff
- A supportive environment for speakers at any level of English proficiency
Fall Quarter 2025 - Something to Talk About Language Table Events Series
- One sign-up form (click here)
- Register for one, two, or all of the language table events for this quarter
- If you sign up for an event but your availability changes, resubmit the form. We will contact you based on your most recent availability provided in the online form
- ELP will contact you with ZOOM meeting information for events that you have registered for
- Format for language table events for Fall Quarter 2025 -> 4 remote events (via Northwestern ZOOM)
- Note - This schedule is subject to change
- Language Table Event Schedule for Fall Quarter 2025
| Date | Time | Event Name (format) | Event Description | Hosted by |
| 10/3/25 | 12:15-1:15 PM | Finding Your Voice: Speaking Clearly and Confidently in English | Join ELP's Language Pedagogy Specialist, Tami Wysocki, for a discussion about speaking clearly and confidently in English. What does confidence look like, sound like, and feel like? In this session, we’ll explore practical strategies for speaking English more clearly and with greater confidence in academic and professional settings. Through guided practice and discussion, you’ll discover ways to make your spoken English clearer and easier for others to understand. Join us!!! |
Tami Wysocki (ELP Language Pedagogy Specialist) |
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10/10/25
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12:00-1:00 PM
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Fall Holidays
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Join ELP's Language Pedagogy Specialist, Jen Alexander, for a discussion about the various fall holidays celebrated in the United States and around the world. Join Jen for a discussion about different fall holidays that celebrate this unique season. As the weather continues to change, we will look ahead at various holidays that many celebrate both in American culture and other cultures. Share your own experiences of how you celebrate fall/autumn in your home country or culture. We hope to see you there!!! |
Jen Alexander (ELP Language Pedagogy Specialist) |
| 10/17/25 | 12:00-1:00 PM | Family in the USA | Join ELP's Speech Language Pathologist, Mark Temenak, for a discussion about the family types and parenting. We are all human, and we have our own unique family backgrounds. This can differ within larger familial groups, towns, states, countries, and cultures. With this language table, Mark and Jen discuss and share similarities and differences between international and American views on a wide variety of topics including different family types, pre/mid/post pregnancy care and support, childcare, parenting, schooling, and many more! For current parents or soon-to-be parents, this will be helpful for figuring out how to navigate raising children and healthcare in the USA. If you aren’t a parent/guardian currently, hope to be a parent one day, or are just curious, you are more than welcome as well! Hope to see you all there! |
Mark Temenak (ELP Speech Language Pathologist) |
| 10/24/25 | 12:00-1:00 PM | Preparing for Winter | Join ELP's Assistant Director, Brian Hampson, for a discussion about how to prepare for the cold and snow in Evanston/Chicago. Winter is COMING -> Whether we like it or not and whether we are ready or not. For many people at Northwestern, it will be ANOTHER winter. For many people at Northwestern, it will be their FIRST winter in Evanston/Chicago. Join Brian to talk about winter and how you can prepare for the cold and snow. We will also look at potential shopping list items that you should consider buying if this will be your first winter in the area. Feel free to share your own questions about or love/hate experiences with winter! All are welcome to join! |
Brian Hampson (ELP Assistant Director) |