Outreach for EducationUSA Advisors

EducationUSA advisors should work to create opportunities for international and U.S. students to interact and share their experiences to other students in the foreign country. This may include working with Study Abroad and International Student Offices, creating new programs, or simply connecting students.

Advisors can help study abroad students get information while they are abroad about the education system in that country and help build the relationship between the U.S. and that particular country. Student abroad students can then do outreach to provide feedback to international students studying in the U.S. Study Abroad students can present about the U.S. in general or about their U.S. campus.

Here you will find information to help with outreach:

1. Contacting U.S. Study Abroad Students
2. Contacting Returned International Students
3. Plan a presentation
4. Give a presentation
5. Evaluate the presentation

Step 1 Contacting U.S. Study Abroad Students

• Start with the Study Abroad Office at U.S. university or college campuses to find out if these offices have a plan in motion to connect study abroad students to international students in the country your center is located.
• Find out what types of programs that university has for international students.
• Offer to support or help study abroad students do presentations at your center about studying in the U.S.
• Request a list of contact information for study abroad students in that country so that you can help them connect to do presentations.
• Make an effort to introduce and integrate study abroad students with their international peers.
• Encourage study abroad students to share knowledge and experiences when it is relevant to class material.

Step 2 Contacting Returned International Students Go Back Top

Bringing international students and U.S. students together

• Contact international students that have used EducationUSA about doing outreach presentations to students who want to study in the U.S.
• Tutoring and language: U.S. students can volunteer to tutor international students in English and international students can volunteer to tutor U.S. students in their native language at advising centers.
• Language Exchange: Students can be partnered up for language exchange meetings.
• Social Events: It may be helpful to establish weekly events such as luncheons so that students are constantly interacting with one another.

Step 3 Plan a presentation Go Back Top

This information can be used by you personally if you are planning on giving an outreach presentation or be provided to a U.S. student or international student who has volunteered to give an outreach presentation at your center:

• On your own, contact returned international students and study abroad students to organize and speak during presentations promoting study in the U.S.
• Use the resources on this site to do the presentation yourself about the U.S. These resources include PowerPoint presentations that have been created as customizable templates for your own presentations about international study. You may personalize these presentations with your own information or by adding and removing particular slides as you see fit. There are five different presentations, targeting 4-year college/university students, students at community colleges.

Download our Outreach Presentation Plan. This is designed to help you plan your presentation.

Consider using one of our customizable PowerPoint presentations. These PowerPoint presentations available on this website have been created as customizable templates for your own presentations about your international experiences. You may personalize these presentations with your own information or by adding and removing particular slides as you see fit. There is a section of presentations you can use to presenting to students back home about studying in the U.S.

Warm-Up activities for PowerPoint presentations. Before beginning the official presentation, warm-up activities can be used to introduce students to the concepts of study abroad and cultural appreciation. The activities are available on this site under Additional Resources. They target all types of students.

Think about your audience. As you plan your session, think about who your audience is, how you will reach your objectives and how to keep your audience engaged. For example:

• Who will I be speaking to?
• What do they know about my topic already?
• What will they want to know about my topic?
• What do I want them to know by the end of my talk?
• Make sure that the location where you are presenting has the technology or other tools you may need (e.g., projector, internet access, etc.) Make sure that each team member can contribute to the planning and delivery of your presentation.

Use objects from the U.S. Objects from another country are indispensable for a quality presentation. At heart, this is a personal reflection and something the audience can see and hold is essential to keeping people interested. The object may include pictures, books, a map, or something the U.S. is known for.

Planning grade specific presentations. For example: Try to balance lecturing with Q & A and group participation. Break things down into 10-15 minute segments. Incorporate VKAT (visual, kinesthetic, auditory and tactile) communication as much as possible in your presentation.

Consult resources. A variety of resources are available on this site under the additional resources link. Here you will find additional resources for teachers which include book lists, classroom activities, websites, etc. targeting elementary, middle, and high school students. You will also notice additional resources for parents and students which include book lists, computer games, etc. also targeting elementary, middle, and high school students.

Be aware of logistics. In your correspondence with principals and teachers, make note of logistical issues for your presentation including time allowed for your presentation, number of students expected, classroom location, directions, parking availability and access to multimedia resources.

Step 4 Give a presentation Go Back Top

The following are guidelines for presenting outreach presentations. You may personally use this information if you plan to give an outreach presentation or provide this to a study abroad/returned international student who has volunteered to give an outreach presentation in your center.

Involve the audience by asking occasional questions. Hypothetical questions are best as they show the gap between cultures. Try to ask genuine questions to which you do not already know the answer and show interest in any replies. Leave time for the audience to think. Try to avoid answering your own questions or telling members of the audience that their answers are wrong. Audience members should feel a sense of accomplishment after answering questions, knowing that they have contributed to the presentation.

Pause occasionally to ask if audience members have questions for you. You can also pause occasionally to ask if anyone has any questions for you. If a question disrupts the flow of your talk too much, you can say that you will answer it later (but don't forget to do it!). Before you ask for questions, make sure you are ready to pick up your presentation again when the Q & A session has finished.

Use visual aids to make the presentation livelier and help audience members follow your presentation. Many issues are communicated much more clearly with visual aids than through speech alone.

The two most common forms of visual aids are overhead transparencies and computer slide shows (e.g. PowerPoint). Objects that can be displayed or passed around the audience can also be very effective and often help to relax the audience. Some speakers provide printed handouts to the audience to follow as they speak. Others prefer to give their handouts at the end of the talk, because they can distract the audience from the presentation.

Step 5 Evaluation of presentation Go Back Top

After the presentation is completed, it is important to provide feedback to the presenter so that they can further refine and improve their presentation for the next time. Review the overall success of the presentation as well as planning issues, collaboration with contacts/ advisors, and other logistical issues.

You can download our presenter evaluation form here. These evaluations can be used by any faculty who will be present at the outreach presentation.

After a presentation, EducationUSA advisors should maintain strong communication with study abroad/international advisors and/ or student presenters to encourage collaboration in the future. Given that school and student demographics, interests and resources often change, it is important that presenters be encouraged to consider ways to make their presentations more innovative, attractive and relevant to a particular audience.

We hope you found this information helpful. We welcome your questions, comments, and useful resources you’d like to share! Please contact us at .