written by ESL Students - for ESL students
at the International Student Conference in Vancouver
| Canadian friends | Volunteering | Living | Clubs | Free time | Credits |
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You
have come to Canada to learn English and experience the excitement of traveling
abroad. You can have many positive experiences if you make the effort.
It is natural to feel afraid at the beginning of a new life, but making
a step towards enjoyment is very important. It is important to start now
and make the 
most
of your time here. You will increase your experience, your confidence and
above all, your English. You will also have a good social life and make
more friends. Just go for it!
The best way to learn English is to meet Canadian or international friends. Canadian’s thought: friendly, kind, open mind, frank - and their tradition: every country’s people welcome!
Lots of ESL students stay in Vancouver but they
don’t have many Canadian friends. We would like to suggest how to make
a Canadian friends.
First of all, be brave and proud because you are
taking the first step in relationship. Find something in common. Second
trust your abilities and introduce yourself. Always be ready to give something
in order of your trust but don’t forget the possibility of mistaking, anyhow
you can learn from your mistakes. 
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What
is a volunteer? A person who can help others by donating his or her time,
out of good will. Some examples are: teaching languages, skills or hobbies;
preparing events; helping handicapped people, baby-sitting, helping old
people, preparing posters, etc.
How can I volunteer? Some ESL schools provide
information about volunteer jobs. Otherwise, you can go to the Vancouver
Volunteer Centre at 3102 Main Street or telephone 875-9144. They have a
lot of information on computer about volunteer jobs, so you can choose
anything you are interested in. Besides making new fiends, volunteering
gives you an unforgettable experience, and a chance to help others.
I was looking for an opportunity to make Canadian
friends, and one day I saw an advertisement about volunteer work. I phoned
them and they gave me information about it. Now I am working and I could
make a lot of Canadian friends. I am really enjoy it! 
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It’s
a good experience to live in homestay with your Canadian family, and live
the life they used to do it. In this way you can have the opportunity of
meet Canadian people.
I joined to my family to go to church, then they
introduce me their friends. Now I have very good Canadian friends and we
used to go out together. This is very good for me because they know how
to live in Canada and you can practice your English.
Also, if you cannot live in a homestay, please consider sharing with Canadians - not people from your country! You can easily find many ‘share accommodations’ in the Vancouver Sun or Province newspaper’s classified section. Or, to share with Canadian university students go to the UBC bus stop and look at the notices. Just phone them.
I lived with five Canadian students in a big
house for three months - I always could talk to them in the kitchen and
living area. We talked about everything and I learned a lot about English
and Canadian thinking!
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You
can join a club or course. You can find many at the Community Centre and
in the Yellow Pages telephone book. They will meet once a week or two weeks.
You can bring friends freely. The club opens to everybody. Because you
can meet Canadian friends in there and you should join a club as much as
possible.
If you join for a long time, you will meet other
Canadians who are introduced by volunteer. Or, go to a church in weekends.
You will meet a lot of Canadians, free listening and maybe free meal. In
this club, we will have different activities every week - common activities
- such as sports, music, dancing, food, movies, 
computer
games, going hiking, walking around downtown to know the city, rollerblading,
swimming, skiing, playing pool, exercising, snowboarding, skate, camping,
picnics, kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, tennis, party, Canadian multiculturalism,
and so on. Canadians love group activities!
RULES: You should only use English
For example, in my experience, I go to a rec
centre (community centre) to take a dance course once a week, just because
I want to learn, I really enjoy it. I’m looking forward to taking it every
Wednesday. And my friend who is Japanese is joining a sushi making class
- of course she already knows sushi but she can make many good friends
there!
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When
you have free time, don’t just meet your same country friends (only sometimes!).
You can just go to someplace where many Canadians are sitting, maybe Stanley
Park - Canadians always talk with strangers, you can too!
Our teacher taught us some sentence:
Student: Hello, How are you today?
Canadian: Uhm, ..[a little surprised at your asking] …fine, thanks.
Student: I
am visiting from [your
country] and I was wondering
if you could help me answer a couple of questions.
Canadian: …. [maybe they ask about what questions..] ?
Student: Well, I’d like to know why… [ask lots of why-questions about life in Canada]
and when you finish, :
Student : Well, I’ve got to go now. Thanks a lot for your time. Have a nice day! [and smile big!]
So it’s easy to make a Canadian friend. It looks like your country’s friend. It will be very comfortable. You can learn Canadian culture and free English, too.
If you were afraid you wouldn’t learn anything.
You just stay at home? Is it 
interesting?
I know, you have a motivation to do something. Don’t repress your feeling!
If you were brave, you would
get
anything you want!
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Written by ESL Student Leaders at the Vancouver International Student Conference in May 1998:
Chikako, Eric, Leticia, Gabriela, Javier, Casper, Sarina, Misuk, Min Kyeong, Yukimi, Eui Jeong, Thitiphorn, Ami, Kobra, Ji-Hye, Johnson and Joaquim.
Project by Paolo Rossetti - YMCA, Vancouver... We all wish you luck and great adventures!
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