Resources for Engaging & Accessible Language Chats
The Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (CETLI) shares resources and strategies to help graduate students create engaging and accessible courses. These resources can also be adapted to a language chat session. Below are links to some strategies but we encourage our facilitators to make use of the wide range of resources and workshops CETLI offers throughout the year.
Sample Resume/Linked In Language
Looking for ways to showcase the transferable skills you use as a language chat facilitator in your resume or on LinkedIn? Take a look at some of the samples below and think about how you can share your experiences. You can always find more resume advice in Penn Career Services Resume Guide for Graduate Students and Postdocs.
Resume Examples
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Language Chat Facilitator, Graduate Student Center, University of Pennsylvania Sept 2024 - Present
- Facilitated weekly 1:1 conversational English sessions for 12 international graduate and professional students, enhancing participants’ confidence and proficiency in academic communication.
- Developed interactive activities to support vocabulary building, cross-cultural understanding, and peer-to-peer learning, leveraging current world affairs and social trends as conversation starters
- Applied strong intercultural communication skills to create an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere for students from 5 countries, consistently collecting and implementing feedback to better support diverse backgrounds.
- Coordinated logistics for hybrid and in-person sessions, liaising with Grad Center around scheduling and evaluation.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Language Chat Volunteer, Graduate Student Center, University of Pennsylvania Sept 2024 - Present
- Designed and led specialized language chat topics tailored to academic and professional contexts, helping participants prepare for presentations and interviews.
- Facilitated discussions involving PhD and professional students from more than 10 Penn schools, enhancing interdisciplinary dialogue and community building.
- Adapted facilitation style to accommodate mixed-language proficiency levels, ensuring all participants felt heard and supported.
LinkedIn Post Examples
Example 1
Proud to have spent this semester facilitating Language Chats for Penn graduate and professional students! It’s been incredibly rewarding to help foster a supportive space where students from around the world build language skills, confidence, and a sense of community. Looking forward to growing this program next semester!
Example 2
As a Language Chat facilitator for Penn’s Graduate Student Center, I had the opportunity to support international students as they practiced academic English and navigated cultural transitions. The lessons in cross-cultural communication and group leadership have been invaluable—grateful for the connections made and skills gained!
Example 3
This year I led weekly Language Chats for Penn’s diverse graduate student community, designing interactive sessions to encourage peer learning and cultural exchange. I’ve learned so much about adaptive communication and event planning, and have new places in the world that I now want to visit!
Example 4
Wrapping up another semester of facilitating language chats at Penn and feeling inspired! Some highlights: helping new students boost their English fluency, building a warm and inclusive group, and partnering with other campus leaders to expand our sessions. If you’re interested in joining or co-facilitating, let’s connect!
Example 5
Language is connection. Facilitating Language Chats at the University of Pennsylvania allowed me to see first-hand how small group support can make a big difference for our graduate community. Thank you to everyone who made these meetings so engaging and meaningful—here’s to more shared learning in the future.
Courtesy of Penn Career Services Graduate Career Initiatives
Facilitator Tools
We encourage you to use the icebreaker questions below - or your own - to help get the conversation flowing!
- What is your most used emoji? Why do you think that is?
- Would you rather have invisibility or flight as a superpower?
- Cats or dogs?
- Would you rather be invisible or be able to read minds?
- If you could be an animal, what animal would you be and why?
- If you could bring back any fashion trend what would it be?
- What’s your best scary story?
- If you had 25 hours a day, how would you use your extra time?
- If you could commit any crime and get away with it what would you choose and why?
- How would you spend a million dollars? How about a billion?
- If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?
- If you could change places with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
- If you could kill any fashion trend forever what would it be?
- If you had to delete all but three apps from your smartphone, which ones would you keep?
- What skill do you think everyone should have?
- What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
- What is your favorite item you've bought this year?
- What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
- If you could be guaranteed one thing in life (besides money), what would it be?
- Would you rather lose all of your money or all of your pictures?
- Would you rather be the funniest or smartest person in the room?
- If you could pick up a new skill in an instant what would it be?
- What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?
- What is your absolute dream job?
- How would your friends describe you?
- What would you like to be known/remembered for?
- What sport would you compete in if you were in the Olympics?
- Do you collect anything?
- If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be?
- What is your favorite time of day and why?
- If you could live anywhere on this planet, where would you choose to live?
- If extraterrestrials landed on earth and offered to take you with them, would you go?
- If you could go to Mars, would you? Why or why not?
- If you could have the power of teleportation right now, where would you go and why?
- Would you rather live in the ocean or on the moon?
- If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you want to have with you?
- What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?
- What is your favorite season of the year and why?
- What is your favorite holiday and why?
- What’s your favorite place of all the places you’ve travelled?
- If you could meet any historical figure, who would you choose and why?
- What is the meaning of your name?
- As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
- If you had a time machine, would go back in time or into the future?
- What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
- What’s your favorite family tradition?
- Who had the most influence on you growing up?
- What’s your earliest memory?
- If you had to lose all your memories which one would want to lose last?
- If you could choose any historical figure to be your imaginary friend, who would it be and why?
- If you could hang out with any cartoon character, who would you choose and why?
- If you could add a word to the dictionary what would you add and what would it mean?
- If you could choose your age forever, what age would you choose and why?
- If you were to change your name, what name would you change to and why?
- If you could meet any living person for dinner, who would you pick and why?
