STUDENTS & COMMUNITY MEMBERS
In-Person Events
Wouldn’t it be cool if we could meet in real life?
My team and I think so.
Here’s where you’ll find information about upcoming meet-ups and workshops.
Since launching Speak Confident English in 2014, I’ve had the opportunity to meet my students all over the world — in Kyiv, Tbilisi, Paris, Riga, San Diego, Miami, New York City, Baltimore, and more.
These have all been 1:1 opportunities to meet students while traveling.
But THIS is the FIRST time the SCE Team and I are organizing a live, in-person event. 💜
Whether you’ve studied with us for years or you’re a member of our Confident Women Community, we know you’ve developed meaningful relationships. Getting the opportunity to meet in real life would be a dream come true.
And now it’s happening.
Women’s English Workshop June 30 and July 1
Washington D.C.
We are planning our FIRST live workshop in Washington D.C.!!!
This will be a 2-day event on June 30 and July 1.
The ENTIRE Speak Confident English Team will attend this event. 🙌 🎉
DAY 1 AGENDA
June 30
Welcome Session
We’ll start our first morning together with a relaxed meet & greet activity.
You’ll be able to meet/chat with all the Speak Confident English team members and get to know others attending the workshop.
This meet and greet activity will start with a training on introductions and small talk in English.
Morning Workshops
Traveling and experiencing English in a new city is exciting. We want you to have the vocabulary, grammar, and conversation skills you need to enjoy your time in Washington D.C.
During our morning workshops, you’ll have the opportunity to learn:
- Location-specific vocabulary
- Grammar structures for small talk conversations, asking for directions, and discussing new experiences
- Conversational skills to easily engage in small talk, communicate in local coffee shops/restaurants, and navigate directions
Within each workshop, you’ll also gain American cultural insights.
Learning materials will be provided in each workshop.
What you learn will also help you get ready for our afternoon scavenger hunt and our museum walks on Day 2.
Lunch
After our morning workshops, we’ll have lunch together.
This will be a time to also relax and chat with each other.
Washington D.C. Scavenger Hunt
After lunch, let’s explore Washington D.C.!
For this event, we’ll break up into small groups. Each group will be led by a Speak Confident English team member and will have a list of items to collect around an area of Washington D.C. or pictures to take.
For example, we might ask you to
- Take a group photo in front of a museum
- Find a Washington D.C. Metro Map and take a photo
- Have one person order a coffee or tea in a local coffee shop
As you complete items on the list, your group can check them off.
When all groups return to our meeting space, we’ll see who was able to check off the most items on the list.
Afternoon Discussions
After our scavenger hunt, we’ll have time to celebrate the winners.
Then we’ll get into smaller discussion groups with questions to help you reflect on what saw/experienced while walking around Washington D.C.
This is also an ideal opportunity to use what you learned in the morning workshops on location-specific English vocabulary and grammar structures for talking about new experiences, sharing impressions, and describing places.
Happy Hour
We’ll end the day with a relaxing happy hour to celebrate our first day together.
The happy hour will finish around 6:00 PM.
DAY 2 Agenda
July 1
Washington D.C. Walking Tours
Washington D.C. is famous for its Smithsonian Museums, which are free to the public.
Join Speak Confident English Team members to visit a museum of your choice.
We will have 3 options available.
You will have a meeting location and, before going to the museum, we will provide a brief learning session with key vocabulary related to the specific museum.
Members will have a 90-minute visit to the museum.
Lunch
After your morning adventure at a museum, you’ll return to our primary meeting location for lunch.
We will provide lunch.
This will be a great time to chat with others members and share your experiences.
Afternoon Discussion Workshops
In the afternoon, you’ll reconnect with your walking tour group and Speak Confident English team members to discuss what you saw and experienced at your museum of choice.
This is an ideal time to learn and use new vocabulary as well as grammar structures + conversation questions about new experiences.
Human Library Experience
To deepen your connection with fellow members, we’ll have in-person Human Library Workshops.
The aim of The Human Library is to create “a safe space for dialogue where topics are discussed openly between our human books and their readers.”
We’ll begin the workshop with training on
- grammatical structures used for open questions
- how to indicate active listening
- how to easily ask follow-up questions to continue a conversation
- transition sentences to move to a new topic
Then you’ll have the opportunity to explore in-depth conversation topics with a partner.
Closing Discussions and Reflections
We’ll finish Day 2 with time to reflect and discuss with refreshments.
Day 2 will end between 5:00 – 5:30 PM.
Have Questions?
Answers
Can't Attend?
We know it may not be possible for everyone to attend, even for those who want to.
This is the FIRST in-person event of what we hope to be many. We want to continue planning opportunities for us to meet in real life.
We will continue to share updates on this page as new events are planned.
What is the total cost of the Washington D.C. Workshop on June 30 and July 1?
This is our first in-person event and we know many of our students will be traveling to attend.
For that reason, we are keeping the cost of this event low with only a $40 USD registration fee, which will go toward the costs of catering and the event location.
In addition to this fee, you may have additional costs for:
- Travel (airfare, train tickets, driving)
- Meals (breakfast and dinner on the days of the event)
- Accommodation/Hotel
And any additional plans for visiting the Washington D.C. area outside of our 2-day workshop.
More Questions?
If you have a question, please email us!
We want to answer every question.
You can send us an email at: [email protected]
Important Details
Plan Your Trip
Why Washington D.C.
The Speak Confident English Team is a virtual team. We live all over the world and have never met in real life!
Our team will have our first in-person retreat in Washington D.C. This will be the first time we meet in person. We can’t wait.
And we want to celebrate this unique opportunity with you by hosting an in-person event with our students as well.
👉 This is a unique opportunity for our students and the ENTIRE Speak Confident English Team to be together. 💜
Plus, Washington D.C. is a marvelous city to visit.
It is home to the Smithsonian Institution – the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 19 museums and the National Zoological Park — all of which have FREE admission.
Moreover, the city is rich in culture, food, monuments, history, music, and more. It’s a very walkable city.
Learning Materials
Before our in-person event, you will receive learning materials created specifically for your visit to Washington D.C.
This will include essential vocabulary for your visit, grammar structures used to talk about new experiences, and common conversational questions, including small talk questions.
We’ll also include extras such as Washington D.C.-focused podcasts and more.
Additional learning materials will be provided during the event.
Lodging/Hotels
For this meet-up, we will host all of our activities at an event space in the Logan Circle neighborhood in Wahington D.C. It’s a very walkable and vibrant area.
If you’d like to be within walking distance of our meet-up, a hotel in the Logan Circle area is recommended.
We will provide a list of recommended hotels to those who register for our Washington D.C. Workshop.
MEALS
During the 2-day event, we will provide lunch and afternoon refreshments.
We will also host a Happy Hour event on June 30 from 4:00 – 6:00 PM.
Travel
If you will travel to attend, there are 3 airports in the Washington D.C. area.
Two airports include public transportation into Washington D.C. via Metro.
- Reagan National Airport (Closest to Washington D.C. + Metro Access)
- Dulles International Airport (Metro Access)
- Baltimore International Airport
Local Map + Recommendations
For those who register, we will provide a local map for you with the location of our in-person meeting.
This will also include recommendations for
- Coffee shops
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- Shopping
- Places of Interest
Registration & Cost
👉 Note: See information on HOW to register below.
To join us for this Washington DC Workshop, we will accept registrations until April 15.
We recognize many of our students will travel to attend this workshop.
For that reason, we want to keep the registration costs low.
To help us plan for how many members will attend and make arrangements for
- Our workshop location
- Meals and refreshments
We ask for a $40 USD registration fee.
This registration fee will:
- Secure your spot to attend our Washington D.C. Workshop.
- Contribute toward the cost of 2 lunches, afternoon refreshments, and a happy hour event.
REFUND & CANCELLATION
If you secure your spot and then need to cancel, we will provide a refund up to 30 days after you pay the registration fee.
We will reserve a meeting location based on the number of members who reserve a spot to join us.
If you cancel more than 30 days after your registration, we will not be able to provide a refund.
How to Register
On this web page, you’ll see a button that says “Click Here to Reserve Your Spot Now.”
Please click that button to register and proceed with your payment.
After you register, you will receive a confirmation email. You will also get regular emails with updates on our workshop including our learning materials, workshop location, hotel recommendations, and more.
What's Included
For our Washington D.C. Meet-Up, the following is included:
- Learning materials
- Workshops + planned activities
- Lunch + Refreshments
Events will be scheduled
- 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM on June 30
- 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM on July 1
Reserve Your Spot
We can accept up to 20 members for this Washington D.C. meet-up.
If you would like to join us, we ask you to reserve your spot with a registration fee of $40 USD. This helps us to reserve a meeting venue of the appropriate size and order meals/refreshments for the number of confirmed participants.
This fee will reserve your spot and contribute toward the costs of lunch + refreshments for both days.
CANCELLATION & REFUND DETAILS: After you reserve your spot, you have up to 30 days to cancel and get a refund. After 30 days, we will no longer be able to provide a refund.