Conversation Partner Program Helps International Students Connect with Local Students
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By Mamin Khan | March 30, 2026
International students expect to meet American students and teachers and practice English. However, the reality can be different: faced with busy schedules, social anxiety and unfamiliar places and faces.
The Conversation Partner Program at the University at Albany is helping international students overcome those obstacles. The program, coordinated by Susan Gorga of the Intensive English Language Program (IELP), pairs up international students with American UAlbany students for weekly conversations and activities. The goal is to help them practice their English language skills while building friendships, connections and learning more about different cultures.
“Our students would have these plans that they were going to meet American, speak English and become fluent,” Gorga said. “But it’s hard to just go up to an American and start a conversation. It’s awkward.”
Some of the students in the IELP are exchange students from a different country
spending a semester in America. Others are there to improve their language skills before
starting at UAlbany.
Gorga said she created this program after noticing students were struggling to interact outside the classroom.
“They would stay in their rooms with their phones, they weren’t really getting out and doing
things,” she said. “And so, I wanted to kind of break that cycle.”
The program pairs students with the same partner for an eight-week session. To help initiate and guide the discussions, the students get homework worksheets to complete based on a
topic, such as music, food or their background each week. They also have lessons and homework about grammar and vocabulary in real conversations. Open-ended questions are asked so students can talk freely, encouraging collaboration.
“Now suddenly vocabulary is important, grammar is important, because they want to express an idea or they want to understand someone else’s idea,” Gorga said. “Now, all of the sudden, these things that I’m teaching have a meaning to them.”
Gorga teaches English language development, which includes vocabulary, grammar and listening and speaking skills. While language is a big benefit, the program also creates cross-cultural
understanding. Students often discover unexpected similarities between their cultures.
“There are a lot of things that are very similar,” Gorga said. “That’s one of the only things that I really want all of my students to learn. Sometimes international students come in with preconceived notions about what things are like, but when they talk they realize they enjoy most of the same food, music or movies. Suddenly, it breaks the barriers.”
Those conversations can break stereotypes and build friendships.
According to Gorga, many students start the program with nervousness and hesitation about
meeting a stranger. Over time, their attitude changes and confidence grows.
In addition to one-on-one meetings, students can attend a weekly on-campus Conversation Club on Fridays in the Barnes and Nobles reading room in the Science Library. The causal social
gathering includes language games and group discussions designed to encourage people to
interact with everyone.
Games like Taboo and Apples to Apples help students practice their vocabulary while reducing the pressure of having a formal conversation.
“The game sort of takes away the awkwardness,” Gorga said.
For many students, the connections that are formed through the program can make a major
difference when they begin studying at the university.
“One of the big reasons why I really like this is because many of them do plan to go on to the
university,” Gorga said. “They have now made friends with people at the university, so now they are not entering alone. They already know people in the university who can help them.”
One of Gorga’s favorite memories was when an American UAlbany student announced that she had been accepted into a study abroad program in Japan. Many Japanese students happily
surrounded her, telling her to stay in touch and inviting her to visit them when she arrives.
“Watching the outpouring of love,” Gorga said, “to me, it was why I’m doing this.”
According to Gorga, programs like these are increasingly important to globalize the world.
“If you’re coming from a community where you’re not familiar with having so many
international people around, it can be hard,” she said. “Here you become familiar? It’s an easy way to learn and to become exposed in a very positive way.”
Students who are interested in joining Conversation Partner Program or attending Conversation Club can contact Susan Gorga at sgorga@albany.edu for more information.