WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK ON?

  • Interpersonal Communication: Use different approaches to facilitate interactions with others to meet desired goal, facilitate social communication, or resolve conflicts.
  • English Speaking Communication: Learn general English language skills for communication or to prepare for specific communication tasks (e.g., conference presentations, department presentations, job talk, interpersonal interactions with various audiences, etc.)

Learn More about Consultation Types

The Interpersonal Communication Consultants offer one-on-one appointments to all graduate students who need strategies for effective interpersonal interactions, e.g. handling important discussions with professors, peers, and others, making small talk in different settings, using appropriate verbal and nonverbal strategies, selecting best approaches for conflict management, and more.

The consultants operate within three dimensions, helping graduate students in the following ways:

Goal-oriented 

  • Identify the goal of the interaction,
  • Discuss different ways of using questions and statements to guide the interaction,
  • Identify ideas to prepare for the interaction, e.g., the opening and the closing,
  • Prepare and practice possible scenarios.

Approach-based ideas

  • Use a structured approach to any discussions,
  • Identify and use effective approaches to conflicts,
  • Prepare and practice steps for conflict resolutions,
  • Use statements and/or questions to initiate social communication,
  • Use threading strategies to maintain social communication,
  • Identify verbal and nonverbal approachability cues to maintain social communication.

Verbal and nonverbal codes

  • Use words in specific language functions (e.g., requesting, giving, or receiving feedback, giving or receiving apologies, or indicating assertiveness),
  • Identify words and utterances that may result in misunderstanding,
  • Use appropriate nonverbal codes (e.g., haptics, proxemics, vocalics, or kinesics) to complement verbal communication,
  • Identify cross-cultural differences in verbal and nonverbal patterns,
  • Identify cultural norms and personal actions that may influence the interaction.

The English Speaking Consultants offer one-on-one tutoring to international graduate students who need to improve their general English language skills or to prepare for specific communication tasks (e.g., conference presentations, department presentations, job talk, interpersonal interactions with various audiences, etc.).

This two-type model for English Speaking Consultations will provide you an overview of the different steps.

The consultants operate within three dimensions, helping international graduate students in the following ways:

 

Language needs awareness
  • Diagnose oral English communication difficulties and understand own needs for language improvement,
  • Discuss oral communication issues in a culturally sensitive environment,
  • Identify cross-cultural differences in oral communication patterns,
  • Locate and effectively use resources for independent and/or guided English speaking practice and development.
Speaking and pronunciation
  • Identify individual vowel and consonant differences between first language and the English language,
  • Use of correct vowel and consonants for effective oral communication,
  • Use thought groups, intonation patterns, word stress, focus, and/or volume appropriately for effective oral communication,
  • Use of appropriate speech patterns in English to enhance overall fluency,
  • Use different communication strategies to maintain and repair oral discourse.
Listening, lexicogrammar, and pragmatics
  • Use strategies to listen effectively to successfully respond during oral communication,
  • Expand and use English lexicogrammar to improve overall fluency during oral communication,
  • Differentiate implicit and explicit meaning of utterances,
  • Use appropriate utterances for various situational settings.

Non-Disclosure Agreements

To ensure the confidentiality of all graduate students and postdoc scholars, all CCE consultants sign non-disclosure agreements agreeing to keep private all information and results they view in a consultation.