Our HELPS buddy program matches international students with volunteers for conversation practice. The volunteers are UTS students and staff members. Most buddies chat weekly in English but some exchange languages eg. English/Mandarin. It’s a great way to improve your listening and speaking skills in an informal, Australian way! The Buddy Program now meets in small buddy groups - register your interest below and we'll confirm the process for Spring 2026!
Tim: So my name’s Tim. I’m studying Biomedical Science. I joined the Buddy Program so I can feel like I was traveling while I was still in Sydney.
Tim: I get to meet people from different cultures, learn about their way of life, how to say hello in various languages.
Tim: We really just talk about anything. I just meet with Joy, we chat about our week.
Joy: So my name is Joy and I joined the Buddy Program because I feel that one, it's really good for me when I want to study something about Australian culture.
Tim: Occasionally we sort of exchange some cultural things.
Tim: Well she taught me about a Vietnamese nursery rhyme. It has some interesting origins and sometimes I teach her some Australian idioms which she might not have heard before.
Joy: Meeting a volunteer give me like some time to relax myself.
Tim: So if you are thinking of volunteering you definitely should.
Tim: It’s a great way to come out and help some people but you actually get a lot out of it yourself.
Tim: I’ve managed to steal some travel plans off people, meet some awesome people like Joy and just learn about a lot of different cultures. So definitely give it a shot!
How often will I meet my buddies? We ask volunteers to meet with you once or twice a week for at least 6 weeks.
Would you like to volunteer to help an international student? You can visit the HELPS Volunteers section for more information.
How to find a buddy
If you are new to the Buddy Program please complete this form to register your interest - we'll get back in touch with you soon with more info ! If you have any other questions please email helpsbuddies@uts.edu.au
Buddy Stories
Rameen and Restu
We first interacted in March 2022 during covid while Restu was on campus at UTS and I was doing my first year online from Fiji. We had our first video chat and exchanged a little about our lives and backgrounds. Restu gave me all the tips I needed for my arrival in Sydney later that year - from opening a bank account, to getting a job, to what Australia and UTS feels like. I knew a lot about the place before I was even there - all thanks to Restu! Fast forward to a year and a half later, on August 2nd, 2023, Rameen (now an on-campus student in Sydney) runs into Restu during Spring O'day at UTS!! It was a sweetly surreal moment for both of us because even though I had been in Sydney for almost a year now, we had never had the chance before to see each other face-to-face...
True Buddy
Rund and Kate feel like they are true buddies, not just language buddies. Rund had to move overseas to Jordan during COVID-19 and the buddy program allowed her to stay connected to Aussie life during her PhD at UTS. Kate had to move to Cairns from Sydney due to COVID-19 and this program has been one of the main reasons she's been able to maintain contact with Arabic speakers while not in Sydney. Both are interested in learning and practising each others' languages and also have other things in common, including their engineering-focused PhDs.
Want to practise your English with more people? Come to Conversations or Talkfest!