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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