"Love foreigners as you love yourselves."
- Leviticus 19:34 NCV
International students are waiting for English Conversation Partners (ECPs) - someone to simply talk with and who will show them around.
Three of the biggest felt needs of international students, scholars, and their families are...
1. Improve English skills. They need a friend to practice their English with who will be a good listener and patient to answer their questions. (No special training is needed.)
2. Help understand and adapt to our culture. They need a friend who will help them to adapt to their new surroundings and culture.
3. Overcome loneliness. They need a friend who will invite them to participate in fun activities.
Take the opportunity to share God's love with students from across the globe meeting weekly, or two times a month for conversation.
Learn More about being a Conversation Partner
The Need
- The largest number of volunteers will be needed at the beginning of the fall semester at OSU, near the end of
August. However, students request conversation partners throughout the year. Usually we have a waiting list of students
and spouses desiring American conversation partners, so in most cases you can be matched quickly at any time of the
year.
Matching
- After training and application approval, you will be contacted with the name and email address of a student who has
requested a conversation partner. You should then contact the student and set up a time and place to meet that is mutually
agreeable. Note that it is our practice to match you with a student or international spouse of the same sex. We also try our
best to match you with someone of the same age and interests, although this is not always possible. If you have a
preference for any specific culture you may indicate that at the time of your application and we will do our best to honor
your request. The large majority of our students are Asian.
Time Commitment
- You will be matched with a student for one semester (4 months). Our hope is that a good friendship would be established
and that you would like to continue meeting with the student. However, both you or the student you may choose not to
renew your commitment or you may decide to meet less often
Contacting the Student
- Please remember that you are the “host” to a guest in our country and realize that it can be very intimidating for an
international student to make the first contact, especially using a second language. Please do not give up after one
attempt; try the student several times, and call them if your emails are not answered. If after these attempts you are still
unsuccessful, please contact the IFI office (294-2434) so that we can either facilitate the contact or rematch you with
another student.
More information is available here.
- I have an interest in a specific country. Can I be matched with someone from that country?
We will certainly make a note of your country interest, and will match you if there is someone available from that country. However, in actuality, 95% of our requests come from SE Asia: S. Korea, China, and Taiwan. If you could be flexible, that would be wonderful. We frequently have Asian students who have to wait 3 or 4 months for a partner. In the meantime, they lose interest, and we have lost the opportunity to connect with them. - How often am I required to meet with my student? Who sets up these meetings? What do we do at these meetings?
We ask that you meet with your student on an average of one hour a week. If the student is extra-busy, perhaps every other week for 2 hours would work better. I will give you and your partner each other’s contact information, and you will make your own arrangements as to where and when to meet. You will be sent suggestions for activities and conversation starters, but every individual partnership will have its own flavor. Just pray, and go with the flow! - My partner seems to only want to discuss her own Buddhist religion. What should I do?
By listening and showing interest! Ask good questions. Bring up similarities and differences. Invite her to church on special “religious holidays”. Ask the Lord for opportunities to discuss your faith naturally. Check out the resources on the IFI web site. Ask for our handout on Buddhism (or Islam, or other world religions). Be an unconditional friend and don’t push for a “decision.” - Do I need to be an expert in English to be matched?
No. You are a native speaker, so you will innately know when your friend is making mistakes, which you can gently correct. Do try to limit your use of idioms, unless you are using them to teach. Also, do try to use correct English and avoid too much slang! - I don’t like driving to campus. Can the student come to my house?
Most international students do not have cars. Even though some do, YOU are the host, and should be willing to drive to meet the student. Perhaps when your friendship has progressed, the student will be comfortable driving to your home. But we always ask the volunteer to be willing to make the sacrifice of driving to meet with the student on his/her “turf”. - I called and left a message on my partner’s cell phone, but she hasn’t returned my call.
Phoning is very difficult for most international students. You are still a stranger, and they are not confident in their English skills. Please, if at all possible, make your initial contact by email. Also, students are just as busy as we are; they may not be able to connect with you for a week or two. If they have not responded by the end of two weeks, and if you have tried at least 2 times to connect, please let the IFI Volunteer Coordinator know: . They will find out if the student is interested, and if not, match you with another. - I don’t seem to relate well with my partner, or she doesn’t seem to be enjoying our meetings. What can I do?
I try to match folks of similar age, marital status, and occupation (if I know it), or I match you with a person from a country you are interested in. If you have not gotten a comfortable match, just do your best for 3 months, and then please try again. I always have a waiting list, and if you can tell me what “type” of person would be a better match, I’ll do my best. In the meantime, you have served the Lord even though it might not have been easy.
Sign up below & print a Student Activities Flyer to share with your new friend!
“I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.”
(I Corinthians 1:14)
As we have met more students who are native English speakers from India and African nations, such as Ghana and Kenya, we realize that we must be creative and think of new ways to meet students' felt needs for friendship and help with cultural adjustment. Our desire to connect English speaking students with IFI staff and volunteers has birthed the IFI Buddy Partner (BP) program.
Being an IFI Buddy Partner will allow you and/or your family the opportunity to be matched with a student for three months to do activities together at least twice during the month. You would also be available to assist them with practical needs: taking them shopping, answering questions about the U.S. culture, and listening to their concerns as they adjust to their new home. Just like the English Conversation Partner program has done, it is our hope that this new opportunity will help volunteers build a bridge of friendship and lay a foundation of trust so that faith can be shown and shared in natural ways.
If you have contributed as an ECP in the past, we ask that you to pray about making yourself available to be used by God in a slightly different way
Learn More about being a Buddy Partner
The Need
- Most international students arrive in the fall, but we have requests to match students with a Buddy throughout the year.
Matching
- After you are approved as a new volunteer (you have completed a training and application, and your background and reference check reviews are approved), we look at our list of students waiting for Partners, and try to find a match with similar interests. The extent to which this is possible depends on who is on the list. If you are a single person, we would only match you with a student of the same gender and near your age. If you prefer a student from a particular country, cultural, or religious background, we will try to accommodate that if possible.
Time Commitment
- We ask that you or your family meet the student for an activity that you are doing or to meet for a meal at least twice a month. The activity should be at least 3 hours long. However, if you would like to interact with your student more often, that is encouraged! It is also encouraged that you try to maintain the friendship for at least 3 months. The student may periodically reach out to you for help with a ride to the store, or with a question.
Contacting the Student
- Please remember that you are the “host” to a guest in our country. It can be very intimidating for an international student to make the first contact. Please do not give up after one attempt. Try the student several times, and call or text them if your emails are not answered. If after these attempts you are still unsuccessful, please contact the IFI office (294-2434) so that we can either facilitate the contact or match you with another student.
More information is available here.
- Personal spiritual growth.
“Befriending an international student challenged me to be more intentional about sharing my faith in non-Christian contexts." IFI Volunteer
- Opportunity to learn about other cultures.
“I didn’t realize that Jordan was a monarchy until I met my friend from Jordan.” - IFI Volunteer
- Discussions about faith that can lead to decisions for Christ.
“I have organic opportunities to share my faith story.” IFI Volunteer
Sign up below & print a Student Activities Flyer to share with your new friend!
Join our English Conversation/Buddy Partner Volunteer List
International students are waiting for partners - someone to simply talk with and who will show them around. Grab the opportunity to share God's love with students from across the globe as an IFI Conversation or Buddy Partner! Meet weekly or two times a month for conversation.
