Expressions of interest in mentoring students

Use the buttons to expand or collapse the section.

• HELPS online conversations program

  Main purpose of the program

  • For international students to connect with each other as a group, online using Zoom.
  • To alleviate social isolation and to support international students in their confidence to speak English with others through online conversations.
  • To reduce anxiety for the student and provides more engagement with the university.

  What cohort(s) of students does it assist?

  • International students studying from home in isolation
  • May be Faculty based

  What you will do

  • Facilitate regular, online group conversation sessions for international students.
  • Encourage students to become more confident in their speaking, listening and informal conversation skills.
  • Facilitate non-threatening, informal conversation practice by encouraging an exchange of experiences about living in Sydney and studying or working at UTS.
  • To attempt to alleviate social isolation and student anxieties while they are learning online and waiting to return to their studies on campus.
  • No English teaching experience is required, though program evaluation has consistently shown students see improvements in their English fluency and accuracy.

  What sort of hours/weeks are needed

  • The HELPS online conversation program requires a minimum 1 hour per week.

  Can you take holidays from involvement?

  • Yes—you can communicate any times you can’t be available, with the students

  What training or preparation is needed?

  • There will be a guide for Conversation Leaders to assist them in facilitating sessions as well as resources and ideas available on Canvas.

  What connectivity/access is needed?

  • WiFi
  • Zoom connection on PC/Mac/Laptop/phone

• HELPS online buddy program

  Main purpose of the program

  • A staff member is matched with an international student to be a friendly contact person to chat with whilst they are studying from home in isolation.
  • It reduces anxiety for the student and at the same time provides more engagement with the university and improvement of their English conversation skills.

  What cohort(s) of students does it assist?

  • International students studying from home in isolation

  What you will do

  • Connect with an international student online, regularly providing a friendly contact point to listen and talk.
  • Help alleviate any student anxieties while they are learning online and waiting to return to their studies on campus.
  • Provide regular, non-threatening, informal conversation practice by exchanging experiences with student(s) about living in Sydney and studying or working at UTS.

  What sort of hours/weeks are needed

  · The buddy program requires minimum 1 hour per week for 6 weeks, however the frequency and the duration of your buddy interaction can be negotiated upwards by mutual consent.

  Can you take holidays from involvement?

  • Yes – students and volunteers can opt out of the program when needed through hiding their profile in the custom made online buddy platform

  What training or preparation is needed?

  • There will be a step-by-step guide on how to match and communicate with a student using UTS GRID, the buddy matching platform. Additional ‘how to’ zoom sessions are also being timetabled along with regular email updates and a discussion forum and communicate.
  • No English teaching experience is required.

  What connectivity/access is needed?

  • WiFi
  • Zoom connection on PC/Mac/Laptop/phone