Writer: Juri A.
Editor: Aika M.
Translator:Ezekiel K.
Because of its name “international”, many students enter TIU with the expectation that there will be many international students and that they will speak English with people from other countries on a daily basis.
Did you make friends with E-track students at TIU? I guess not many students can say “Yes, I have made many international friends” because it is harder than you expected. However, I also see some J-Track students who enjoy talking with E-Track students on campus. What are the differences between people who have many E-Track friends and those who don’t? In this article, I would like to introduce some tips for making friends with E-track students.
1 Join a student internship or club
SLI (Student Leadership Interns) is a university-sponsored internship program on the TIU campus 1. The internships are a mix of E-track and J-track students (with a few exceptions), where students use English and learn skills that will be useful in their job hunting in the future. In addition to these benefits, you will also have the opportunity to interact with E-track students.
Club activities and clubs are also open to E-track students, giving them a chance to interact with each other. Clubs with vast numbers of international students are E.S.S. and TEDxTIU. There are also international students in other club activities, so participating actively in a club is a good idea.
2 Taking courses that are offered for both J-Track and E-Track students, or taking E-track courses.
Although not widely known, J-track students can also take classes with E-track students. If you feel overwhelmed and find it challenging to take E-track classes due to your language ability, we recommend that you first take a class for both E-track and J-track students, such as Cross-Cultural Communication, Contemporary Global Issues and Japan, and Business Negotiation. Mixed classes are rare, but you will have the opportunity to work on assignments and have discussions with E-track students in a teamwork environment, so you will inevitably have conversations with them. The teachers also take care of the students, so anxious students can comfortably participate in the classes. Both classes require a TOEIC score of 700 or higher.
3 Actively participate in exchange events
Are you familiar with cross-cultural exchange events? The cross-cultural exchange events are sometimes hosted by a GTI teacher and sometimes by an SLI internship. Although it depends on what kind of event you join, participating in these events is the first step to making friends with international students. Campus Globalization, to which the author of this article belongs, also holds regular workshops for E-track and J-track students to interact with each other. Even J-track students who are not good at English can comfortably speak up and challenge themselves in this program, so try a CG-sponsored workshop!
How was this article? I believe there are more opportunities to make friends with international students. The only person who can color your campus life is you! Try any one of these and start a great new semester!
Times Of TIU 