STUDENT GUIDEThis is a guide for students in the UTS HELPS Buddy Program.

UTS.EDU.AU/CURRENT-STUDENTS/SUPPORT/HELPS/

Last updated 22 August 2018Version 2.0

UTS.EDU.AU/CURRENT-STUDENTS/SUPPORT/HELPS/

CONTENTSWELCOME TO THE UTS HELPS SPEAKING PROGRAMS

WHAT IS THE UTS HELPS BUDDY PROGRAM?

YOUR ROLE AS A STUDENT BUDDY

GET STARTED1. Register on GRID2. Register for the HELPS Buddy Program3. Find a buddy

3.1 Tips on choosing a buddy4. Contact your buddy5. Get matched6. Meet your volunteer buddy! 6.1 An example of six meetings

6.2 How can my volunteer help me?6.3 Preparing for meetings6.4 Cross-cultural communication6.5 Conversation topics: what to talk about

7. Finish your meetings9. Continue with a new buddy

5

6

GETTING HELP WITH CONVERSATION SKILLS

FluencyVocabularyGrammarPronunciation

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

4

3

16

14

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Welcome to the UTS HELPS speaking programsস্বাগতম 歡迎光臨 Willkommen स्वागत Selemat detang ようこそ Maligayang pagdatingHoan nghênh 歡迎Aloha Bienvenue Salve ยินดีต้อนรับ Maeva Välkommen Добро пожаловать

Welkom Croeso ابحرم Hwan yeong hamnida ای دیدمآ شوخ Bem-vindo Vitame vás E komo mai

BUDDY PROGRAM CONVERSATIONS@UTSTALKFESTOur HELPS buddy program matches international students with students, staff and local community volunteers. It’s a great way to improve your listening, conversation and pronunciation skills in an informal, Australian way!

Talkfest is a weekly, fun-filled event that connects international students with local volunteers to promote cultural exchange.

This is a great opportunity to gain confidence in your language skills and become a part of a diverse community.

Conversations@UTS is a chance to practise your English conversation skills in a relaxed environment.

These two hour group sessions (day and evening) aim to develop your confidence in joining casual conversations.

WHAT IS THE

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UTS HELPS BUDDY PROGRAM?

In the Buddy Program, you can meet a volunteer for 1 hour per week for conversation practice.

Volunteers are UTS students, staff, alumni and people from the local community.

Your volunteers aren’t grammar teachers and they won’t help you write your assignments.

They will give you the opportunity to make a friend, learn more about Australian culture and practice your conversation skills!

Once I started talking, my worry disappeared.Student buddy

“ “

International student I feel like I got to know a little bit more about the world.Volunteer buddy

“ “UTS student

What past student buddies said:• “It was more like if we meet a friend.”• “The good part of this program is no

stress.”• “I know more information about UTS

and Australian culture.”• “I think it helped me to follow the

speed of native English speakers.”

What past volunteer buddies said:• “You help yourself when you help

others.”• “After this buddy program is over,

we’ll still keep in contact!”• “It helped me improve my

communication and networking skills.”

• “It is an honour to contribute in a small way.”

Your role as a

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student buddyYou are expected to:

You are not expected to:

• Join in the conversation – don’t wait for the volunteer to do all the work!

• Ask questions about language, culture, experience in Australia and the Australian workplace. Collect questions each week that you can ask your buddy!

• Discuss why you are doing this program. Do you want to improve your vocabulary? Your confidence? Your listening skills?

• Share your culture with your volunteer – some volunteers would also like to learn your first language!

• Do homework – this is all about fun, casual conversation!• Meet outside of UTS – it’s important to meet on campus

for your 6 buddy program meetings. After you finish the program, if you want to keep meeting that’s up to you!

• Do anything or talk about anything that makes you uncomfortable.

As a student buddy, you will meet with a volunteer six times for one hour across a session (approximately twelve weeks). While these meetings are a great chance to practise your English conversation skills, it’s important to understand the do’s and don’ts!

If you have any concerns, please email us at HELPSBuddies@uts.edu.au.

GET STARTEDYou can register a GRID account on the GRID website. Click “Join our community”. Please note this does not mean you have registered for the UTS HELPS Buddy Program yet.

1. Register on GRID

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2. Register for the HELPS Buddy Program

Watch this step-by-step video showing you how to register as a student buddy. After registering for GRID, you will have the option to join a hub. Click ‘HELPS Buddy Program’. • Student Buddy: If you are a UTS student who wants to

improve your English.• Volunteer Buddy: If you are a UTS student interested in

volunteering to help international students.

• Staff Volunteer Buddy: If you are UTS staff interested in volunteering.

• Community Volunteer Buddy: If you are UTS alumni or outside UTS, such as an ABC volunteer.

Remember, you can edit your answers after you have registered by visiting ‘My Profile’, ,then clicking to edit various sections.

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Follow the registration questions. If you get stuck, refer to the tips by hovering your mouse over the icon.

3. Find a Buddy

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Watch this video, “How to find a volunteer buddy - UTS HELPS Buddy Program”, to see step-by-step how to choose a volunteer.

When choosing a buddy, you have two options.

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option 1: use grid recommendations1. Update your matching preferences under ‘Recommended for you’ by clicking ‘Update Matching Preferences’.

2. Then, GRID will show you volunteers based on your preferences (i.e. area of study, gender, availability and group size).

option 2: choose a buddy yourself1. Click on in the top navigation header to see all available volunteers.

2. Use the filters on the right-hand side to search for a particular volunteer, e.g. a volunteer that studies Engineering.

As we have lots of volunteers, it’s a good idea to use the filter box to find a match that’s perfect for you.

See “3.1 Tips for choosing a buddy” for more information about using the filter box.

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3.1 TIPS FOR CHOOSING A BUDDY

For more information about each volunteer click on “Full Profile” – you can learn more about their background; if they want language exchange; if they would like to meet 1 to 1 or with 2 students and when they are available.

Most volunteers help students practise their English conversation skills but some volunteers are also interested in learning your first language e.g. English/French; English/Mandarin.

You can find volunteers interested in language exchange using the two filters shown below.

Some volunteers will meet 2 students at the same time (you will meet as a group of three).

If you would like to meet 1-to-1, you can look for volunteers who are only available for 1 student.

If you can’t find a good match the first time, don’t worry. We have new volunteers coming into the program each week. You may also get an email from a volunteer who is interested in meeting you!

You can save your filters by clicking in the top-right hand corner in the ‘Find a Buddy’ section. After doing this, GRID will email you when a volunteer who is a good match!

Some volunteers are native English speakers; some are born in Australia; some are born overseas and have lived in Australia for many years or for a few years. All the volunteers register as fluent English speakers.

can’t find a volunteer that’s a good match?

are volunteers native english speakers or local australians?

language exchange

group size

Of course! You are never obliged to accept buddy requests you receive from students.

is it okay to ‘politely decline’ requests?

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4. Contact your buddyAfter you choose a volunteer, click on ‘Let’s Connect’ to make contact with them. Remember, you can only choose one volunteer buddy.

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1. Click ‘Connect with your Buddy’.

If the volunteer is not available you will see the message, “Cur-rently fully booked. Click here to remind me when this user becomes available.”

2. Send a message to the volunteer. Make sure to put in the best time and day for you to meet (highlighted blue).

That means they already have a student buddy so you will need to choose a new volunteer.

It is not recommended to wait for a buddy to become available as they will most likely remain matched for 3 months or more.

3. After editing the message, click “Request a Buddy”.This will send the message to the volunteer. After you send a message, the volunteer will receive an e-mail notifying them!

Is the volunteer “fully booked”?

5. Get a reply from your buddyWhen a buddy volunteer accepts your request, you will receive an e-mail informing you that he/she has accepted to be your buddy!

You can chat to each other via the GRID inbox. You can also plan your meetings or close your buddy match in your inbox.

You can access your GRID inbox by selecting “Open your inbox” or clicking on the mailbox icon in the top-right corner.

Wait a week if your volunteer doesn’t reply. Some volunteers will reply asap and some volunteers may take a little longer to reply. They may be busy with study or work.

If you do not receive a reply after 1 week, GRID will automatically close the match. After the match is closed then you can choose a new volunteer buddy.

You may get an email through GRID that explains the volunteer has not accepted you as a buddy.

There are many reasons for this, e.g. your volunteer’s availability may have changed or they may be looking for a different match e.g. gender, faculty or first language. Don’t worry! There are many more volunteers to choose from.

If your volunteer “declines” your request you can choose a new volunteer.

A screenshot of the GRID inbox is shown below.

From your GRID inbox, you can do many things: report a user, schedule a meeting, start a video call, and end a buddy connection (image below).

volunteer declines request

volunteer does not reply

If you cannot find a volunteer who is available, please send an e-mail to HELPSBuddies@uts.edu.au, and we will help you find a buddy.

Please remember it is preferred that you hold buddy meetings face-to-face with your volunteer.

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Organising a meeting with your buddy can be done through your GRID inbox. Remember, you must meet on UTS campus.

To complete the Buddy Program, you are expected to meet six times for one hour across a three month period. Once you are approaching the end of three months, you will receive an e-mail from GRID.

You are free to meet in the UTS HELPS Volunteer lounge (CB01.05.01) during UTS HELPS business hours, or at a UTS cafe, such as Penny Lane (Building 11).

6. Meet your volunteer buddy!

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6.1 AN EXAMPLE OF SIX MEETINGS

# Date and time Location

1 22 July, 12.30pm B11, Penny Lane

2 27 July, 2.30pm UTS HELPS Volunteer Lounge

3 9th August 12.30pm UTS Library

4 18th August, 12.30pm UTS HELPS Volunteer Lounge

5 5th August, 1.00pm UTS HELPS Volunteer Lounge

6 12th September, 2.30pm UTS Library

Volunteers are not language teachers or grammar experts; they are volunteering to help you with your conversation practice.

They can model clear conversation and pronunciation skills and introduce you to some new informal vocabulary. You can also learn a lot about the best way to connect ideas by listening to the way they speak.

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6.2 HOW CAN MY VOLUNTEER HELP ME?

Think about what you need to practise – what would you most like to improve? What has helped you most in the past? How much correction do you want?

You may want to simply improve your conversation skills or expand your vocabulary; understand newspaper articles; get to know more about Australian culture or practise your pronunciation skills.

Bring any materials you think may help with conversation e.g. photos, newspaper articles, readings from your field of study, a notebook and a dictionary. Collect questions you would like to ask your volunteer each week.

6.3 PREPARING FOR MEETINGS

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The first couple of meetings are about getting to know each other. Some topics include:• Your cultural background and experience in Australia –

what is different in your country?• Your schooling, current studies and future life/career plans• Your travel experiences • Your reason for wanting to improve English – work;

residence; social; IELTS exam

Though it is a good opportunity for students to talk about their studies and clarify ideas, it is not a volunteer’s responsibility to edit written assignments. This may be in breach of the university’s plagiarism policies. For help with writing, students can come into the HELPS centre (CB01.05.01) and talk to our academic advisors. More information about HELPS here.

what to not talk about with your volunteer

6.4 CONVERSATION TOPICS: WHAT TO TALK ABOUT

• Your volunteer might be nervous just like you! Take the time to get to know each other.

• Talk to your volunteer if you want correction and tell them what you already know about your mistakes e.g. problems with verb tense; problems with pronunciation.

• Your volunteer may be able to help you learn a range of new vocabulary like informal Australian phrases. It’s helpful to write down some of your new words so that you can build a list of useful vocabulary.

• Over time, you and your volunteer might be able to identify common problems e.g. particular sounds, words or sentence structures. Remember this takes time and you and your volunteer are both learning about your mistakes!

• Stay relaxed and have fun!People from different backgrounds may be comfortable with different levels of interaction, formality, discussion topics or physical contact. Sharing personal stories may only occur over time once trust is built.

They may also have different perspectives and values and understanding their values are important to them without judgement is an important part of building cross cultural communication skills. At the same time, it’s important to try to avoid assumptions and get to know people based on what you learn rather than cultural stereotypes.

All HELPS staff, volunteers and students are expected to demonstrate tolerance, respect and patience.

6.5 CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

tips for talking with your volunteer

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When you have finished six meetings with your buddy, you or your volunteer needs to close your match on GRID. This can be done by clicking the ‘X’ icon in your GRID inbox.

7. Finish your meetings

8. Continue with a new buddyAfter your 6 meetings are finished, you can stay in the GRID platform and become available for a new buddy. Ensure that you have closed the communication thread with your previous buddy.

Only the first six meetings you have with your buddy are counted towards the Buddy Program. Any meetings beyond this are not considered part of the program, but you can keep meeting as friends.

If you are too busy to participate in the Buddy Program, please send us an e-mail.

The new GRID system includes a privacy statement that outlines how your information is used and stored. It also provides a safe place to interact with students before you agree to meet.

It’s important to consider your boundaries before the meetings e.g. sharing your contact details; sharing details about your personal and professional life and your availability.

To ensure privacy of information shared confidentially by both student and volunteer, consent of all parties – including the HELPS Volunteer Manager – must be obtained before any statements or photos are published or distributed publicly.

Photos taken in the HELPS Volunteer Lounge will be used for promotional purposes – if you do not want your photo used when engaged in any volunteer lounge activity please let us know.

SOME FINAL NOTES ABOUT PRIVACY

can i keep meeting with my buddy from last semester?

what if i want to stop participating in the buddy program?

International students need opportunities to talk at length without too many pauses or hesitations. Talking with a buddy can help them develop the right speed and give them practice linking their ideas together well.

Your volunteer can help with your fluencyby asking you questions to keep youtalking. They will also naturally modelhow to start sentences and link themtogether well.

e.g. ‘apparently’; ‘because of that’; ‘what I mean is ..’

FluencyInternational students are trying to increase the range and accuracy of their vocabulary.• For study (academic vocabulary)• Within their particular field (nursing,

business, law etc)• Within the Australian context

(slang, informal language, casual conversation)

Your buddy can help you identify incorrectword forms e.g. ‘economy’/’economic’.They can also help you find the wordsyou are looking for and different ways ofsaying the same thing.

Vocabulary

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GETTING HELP WITHCONVERSATION SKILLS

Remember, your volunteer isn’t a grammar expert! When meeting your buddy however, don’t be afraid to ask for help on your pronunciation, verb tense, or ask about informal Australian language. Here are a few tips on developing your conversation skills.

GrammarInternational students are trying to reduce the number of errors and increase their range of grammatical structures. Help them identify regular errors without over-correcting them.

For example: Verb tense I go (went) to the beachSubject/verb agreement I go/she goesArticles the/a/an

Listening to your buddy talk will alsohelp you identify some of your commongrammar mistakes.

Tell your buddy when you don’t understand a word or phrase. If you have difficulty pronouncing a word or says a word that’s unclear think about what’s different. Some examples: • Was it too fast or too quiet? • Was the emphasis on the wrong part of the word? (e.g.

‘conTENT’ instead of ‘CONtent’)• Was it too flat? (e.g. they said ‘de ve lop’ instead of ‘de VE

lop’)• Was the end sound left off the word? (e.g. ‘pas’ instead of

‘past’)• Did they add a sound? (e.g. ‘pasta’ instead of ‘past’)• Did they leave a sound out? (e.g. for ‘accent’ they said

‘asent’ instead of ‘aksent’)• Was the vowel different? (e.g. ‘not’ instead of ‘note’)• Was a consonant sound different? (e.g. ‘wideo’ instead of

‘video’)

Pronunciation

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English pronunciation is difficult because the spelling of words doesn’t always help us with knowing how to pronounce them.

It’s not about having an accent – everyone has an accent! – it’s about being understood.

how can my volunteer help me with my pronunciation?

Ask your volunteer to write down what they hear. You can model the word or phrase and ask them to repeat it and compare.

• Rate of speaking - how fast or slowly we speak. • Volume of speaking - how loudly or quietly we speak. • Mouth movements - how much we open and move our

mouth when we speak. i.e. mumbling and not mumbling. • Word stress - the way we emphasis parts of long words. For

example, emphasise the middle part in the word “banana” – ‘ba NA na’.

• Sentence stress - in English we don’t put the same emphasis on each word in a sentence. We put more emphasis on the key words. For example we say - I SHUT the DOOR.

• Vowel sounds. There are 5 vowel letters in English (a, e, i, o, u) that we use for writing. When we speak however, we use over 20 different vowel sounds. There are 3 types of vowels – short vowels, long vowels and double vowels.

• Consonant sounds. These are all the other sounds in English such as /r/ and /n/ in ‘run’, /l/ and /t/ in ‘light’, /w/ and /v/ in ‘wave’.

english pronunciation is made up of...

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Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about the UTS HELPS Buddy Program.

Frequentlyasked questions

CONTENTS

1. What is the HELPS Buddy Program?2. How has the Buddy Program changed?3. Who are the volunteers?4. What are the roles of student and volunteer buddies?

1. Am I eligible to receive a certificate?2. How do I close a buddy thread?3. Can I keep meeting the same buddy from last session?4. What do I do if I don’t want to be in the Buddy Program

anymore?5. What happens at the end of the Buddy Program?

General Questions

1. How do I find/choose a buddy?2. Are volunteers native English speakers or local

Australians?3. Is it okay to ‘politely decline’ buddy requests?4. What do I do if my buddies don’t reply to my messages?5. What do I do if I want to change buddies?6. Can I have more than two volunteer buddies?7. What does it mean if the volunteer is ‘fully booked’?

Choosing a Buddy

Meeting your buddy

1. Where and when do I meet my buddy?2. How are the six meetings run?3. How can my volunteer help me?

4. What should/shouldn’t we talk about?5. How should I prepare for meetings?

Completing the buddy program

1. Does the Buddy Program involve any social events?2. Is there a UTS HELPS Buddy Program Facebook group? 3. I’m an international student and I want to be a volunteer

buddy. is my english good enough?4. Where can I find more information?

Other FAQs

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The Buddy Program matches international students with a volunteer who is more confident with English to practise conversation skills; learn about Australian culture and/or exchange languages eg. English/French.

The Buddy Program is now accessed through our new matching platform called GRID.

2. HOW HAS THE BUDDY PROGRAM CHANGED?

Volunteers are UTS students and staff; UTS alumni and people from the general community including the ABC.

3. WHO ARE THE VOLUNTEERS?1. WHAT IS THE HELPS BUDDY PROGRAM?

You will be able to choose a buddy on GRID and/or be chosen by a volunteer. Refer to page 7, “Finding a buddy”.

1. HOW DO I FIND/CHOOSE A BUDDY?

If your buddy is unresponsive, consider choosing a new one or contact us.

4. WHAT DO I DO IF MY BUDDIES DON’T REPLY TO MY MESSAGES?

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Ref to page 5 for more information about your role as a student buddy.

4. WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF STUDENT AND VOLUNTEER BUDDIES?

CHOOSING A BUDDY

Refer to page 8, “Are volunteers native English speakers or local Australians?”.

2. ARE VOLUNTEERS NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS OR LOCAL AUSTRALIANS?

Of course! Refer to page 8, “Is it okay to ‘politely decline requests?”.

3. IS IT OKAY TO ‘POLITELY DECLINE’ REQUESTS?

Changing a buddy can be done by closing your current communication thread and choosing a new buddy. Instructions on how to close a communication thread can be found on page 13, “7. Finish your meetings”. If you would like to change buddies, you must inform the your buddy first. .

5. WHAT DO I DO IF I WANT TO CHANGE BUDDIES?

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We ask you to meet your buddy here at UTS for at least 6 meetings. You are only insured while you are on UTS premises.

You can meet anywhere at UTS eg. cafes or a quiet place on campus. You can also meet in our HELPS Volunteer Lounge on level 5, with tea and coffee available.

1. WHERE AND WHEN DO I MEET MY BUDDY?

MEETING YOUR BUDDY

Communicate with your volunteer buddy to work out where and when you chould meet. Aim to complete your six meetings within three months. Ref to page 11, “6.1 An example of six meetings”.

2. HOW ARE THE SIX MEETINGS RUN?

It’s good to discuss expectations between you and your buddy. Ref to page 11, “6.2 How can my volunteer help me?” and page 14, “Getting help with conversation skills”.

3. HOW CAN MY VOLUNTEER HELP ME?

One of the purposes of the Buddy Program is to give international students the opportunity to practice casual conversation! Tips on what you can discuss with your buddy can be found on page 12, “6.4 conversation topics: what to talk about”.

4. WHAT SHOULD/SHOULDN’T WE TALK ABOUT?

No - as we have a limited number of volunteers, students are only able to meet with one volunteer at a time.

6. CAN I HAVE MORE THAN TWO VOLUNTEER BUDDIES?

Ref to page 9, “Is the volunteer ‘fully booked’?”.

7. WHAT DOES IT MEAN IF THE VOLUNTEER IS ‘FULLY BOOKED’?

Neither students nor volunteers are not expected to prepare for meetings. Refer to page 11, “6.3 Preparing for meetings”.

5. HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR MEETINGS?

Ref to page 13, “What if i want to stop participating in the buddy program?”.

4. WHAT DO I DO IF I DON’T WANT TO BE IN THE BUDDY PROGRAM ANYMORE?Only volunteer buddies are eligible to receive a certificate.

After completing six meetings with your buddy, it’s important to close your buddy thread. This gives you and your buddy the opportunity to be matched with someone else. For instructions on how to do this, refer to page 13, “7. Finish your meetings”.

2. HOW DO I CLOSE A BUDDY THREAD?

Refer to page 13, “Can I keep meeting my buddy from last semester?”.

3. CAN I KEEP MEETING THE SAME BUDDY FROM LAST SESSION?

1. AM I ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A CERTIFICATE?

COMPLETING THE BUDDY PROGRAM

As a volunteer it’s important to complete your goals in GRID and our evaluation survey so you can receive a Buddy Program certificate. The Buddy Program can also accumulate volunteer hours for other UTS award programs such as BUILD.

5. WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE BUDDY PROGRAM?

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3. ARE THERE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO VOLUNTEER AT UTS HELPS?

There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer at HELPS, including becoming a conversation leader, a peer advisor or Talkfest volunteer. If you would like more information about our volunteer programs, check out our website.

4. I’M AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AND I WANT TO BE A VOLUNTEER BUDDY. IS MY ENGLISH GOOD ENOUGH?

Many of our volunteers are international students. Generally, we recommend international students to have an IELTS higher than 7. If you are unsure about your English speaking ability, send us an e-mail and our Volunteer Coordinator will meet with you.

5. WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?More information about the Buddy Program can be found on the UTS HELPS website.

Can’t find an answer? Send an e-mail to HELPSBuddies@uts.edu.au.

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Yes - updates are regularly posted in our Facebook group. You also have the option to post questions or suggestions! Only students or volunteers participating in the Buddy Program are able to join this group.

You can join the Facebook group here.

2. IS THERE A UTS HELPS BUDDY PROGRAM FACEBOOK GROUP?

OTHER FAQS

As part of the Buddy Program you can attend Talkfest; a weekly social event where you can meet other Buddy Program participants and develop communication skills.

Bring along your buddy to one Talkfest and it will count towards one of your meetings! To register for Talkfest, go to the HELPS webpage.

HELPS also run thank you events for volunteers who give so much time to this wonderful program. Email invitations will be sent to every Buddy Volunteer.

1. DOES THE BUDDY PROGRAM INVOLVE ANY SOCIAL EVENTS?

TERMS AND CONDITIONSPlease read these terms and conditions carefully before participating in the UTS HELPS Buddy Program. These terms apply to both students and volunteers. By participating in the program, you agree to be bound by these terms.

Participation• I confirm that I am 18 years old or older. Any participant who is under 18

years of age should contact the HELPS Volunteer Coordinator.• I have read the Buddy Program guides. I also agree to abide by the UTS

Student Charter (UTS students) and UTS Code of Conduct (UTS staff, alumni and community volunteers).

• I understand that students can choose volunteers and volutneers can choose students in this program. At certain times within the semester, it may take longer to find a buddy.

Meetings• I agree to meet my buddy on UTS premises for a minimum of 6 meetings.

You are only insured while you are here on UTS premises. If meetings continue or are conducted outside of UTS they are no longer considered to be part of the HELPS Buddy Program. Buddies are also not expected to meet more than 6 times unless they would like to.

• I understand my buddy and I can decide where on UTS campus to meet. Some people go to a busy café and others prefer a quieter place on campus, like the UTSHELPS Volunteer Lounge on level 5. You can also meet up through GRID using video calls if you are both comfortable with that but we encourage you to meet in person whenever possible.

• I understand some volunteers will meet 1 student and others will meet 2 students. The volunteer has the option of meeting 2 students at the

same time for 6 meetings as a group of 3 or they can meet with each student separately for 6 meetings each. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to record 6 meetings with each student if they decide to meet them separately.

• I understand the Buddy Program is for conversation practice only. Though it is a good opportunity to talk about assignments to help clarify ideas, it is not a volunteer’s responsibility to edit written work. This may be in breach of the university’s plagiarism policies. For help with writing, students should come into the HELPS centre and talk to our Academic Advisors.

• I understand asking someone to wait for longer than 15 minutes in case of delay is considered unreasonable. At the first meeting discuss how you want to keep in touch - through the GRID platform or by exchanging phone numbers and email addresses, if agreed by all buddies.

Completing the Buddy Program• If I want to stop my meetings I understand I should contact HELPS. It is

important to also confirm with your buddy that you can no longer con-tinue. If needed, HELPS can contact your buddy for you.

• If I am a volunteer buddy I will be entitled to a Buddy Program certificate after I have completed the online evaluation and recorded 6 meetings in GRID (using the GOALS page). Certificates are only issued to volunteer buddies.

Contact UsAny concerns or queries can be directed to the HELPS Volunteer Coordinator or HELPSBuddies@uts.edu.au.

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2018 UTS HELPS VOLUNTEER GUIDEFor more information about UTS HELPS programs, refer to our website (www.uts.edu.au/helps).

UTS HELPS, Sydney 2018Building 1, Level 5, Room 25(02) 9514 9733