I’ve made a lot of Canadian friends in Vancouver. Before I came to Vancouver, I wanted not only to improve my English skills but also to make a lot of friends because I thought it helps improve my English. However, after I arrived, I was shocked at my poor English; therefore, I worked to learn English hard about four months.

I joined a conversation activity, pronunciation classes, reading classes, and grammar classes after ESL program. Moreover, I tried to eavesdrop on people’s conversation in buses and greet to bus drivers positively because I was not used to greet and talk to people I didn’t know. I mean I needed to get used to talk to people, in the meantime I learned English. After I got used to English and the Canadian life, I noticed that I didn’t have Canadian friends and I hadn’t enjoyed my life in Vancouver. I considered how I could make friends. The ways that to mind can be divided into five points. First, I tried to join some activities. I found the information from a community center.

Next, I considered using my special skills because I thought people would get interested in me easily. I chose playing soccer because I had been playing soccer since I was eight years old. As a result, I joined the soccer program. At first, nobody was interested in me and I didn’t talk to them very much. Third, I was patient and continued to go there. About three months later, they admitted my skill and understood my personality. After this, I showed my interest to them. I like eating and traveling, so I asked them about those things. In the meantime I learned their languages. When I didn’t understand what they said, I checked it out. Later on, I talked about it with them again. Finally, I remembered their names. Sometimes I practiced how to pronounce their names, and I wrote them on a paper. Before joining the program, I rechecked their names and then, I tried to greet them using their names with smile.

As conclusion, it was great successful. If I didn’t do these things, my English wouldn’t improve and couldn’t enjoy my life in Vancouver so much. Moreover, I would have been playing with only Japanese friends and international student. I also want to continue my progress and improve speaking English and enjoy the rest of my life in Vancouver.