Coming to a new country is hard, especially when you don’t know anyone. When you arrive at school, it can be tempting to only make friends with other people who speak the same language as you. Instead, you should try to make friends with people of many different nationalities – especially try to make English friends! This way you can experience more English things, and improve your English much faster. If you put in the effort when you first arrive, you will find it very easy to make friends from around the world! Here are some tips on how to make some new friends.

1. Say YES!

Saying yes opens up opportunities. The more you say yes, the more invitations from people you will receive to experience even more things. Trying new activities and new foods is the best way to experience the UK, and you will have more opportunity to practice your English. You will then become more relaxed in your surroundings and more relaxed in front of new people, which will make you more approachable and people will want to be your friend because you are fun!

2. Don’t be too shy!

Try to be as sociable as possible and talk to as many people as you can. The first time you do this it will be very nerve-wracking and it may be difficult to feel brave enough to talk to a stranger. But if they are new too, they’ll be just as nervous as you and they will be very grateful that you have made the first move. So go talk to them!

3. Ask questions!

You’ve made the first move and said hello to your new friend, so what do you say next? The easiest way for people to feel a bond is if you listen to them: ask them questions and find out what they like doing and what their hobbies are. You can ask questions such as:
• Where do you most want to travel, but have never been?
• What is your favourite book?
• How would your friends describe you?
• What is your favourite thing to do?
Do not talk about yourself all the time – people will find you boring and think you’re not interested in them.

4. Find out similarities you share!

The purpose of asking your new friend questions is you want to find out what you have in common. You may find that you share similar tastes in music, sports, fashion, TV & film, and many other topics!
When chatting to your new friend make sure it’s a two-sided conversation! They want to find out about you too, so let them know if you share the same opinion or interests, and have any interesting fact to share. This will make it easier to see if you have things in common!

5. Tell them about your country

People from the UK are fascinated by other cultures, so please share you customs and culture with us! Often cultural differences are the most interesting and funny. Likewise you may be interested in learning about UK culture and what better way to learn than from someone your own age. Learning about each other cultures is the best way to break down barriers and become close friends, because you will better understand why they think, say, and do certain things.

6. What extra-curricular activities will you do?

In school you will have the opportunity to do extra-curricular activities such as sports, art & crafts, engineering, horse riding, cooking, and many more! To maximise this friend-making opportunity, make sure that you choose the right activity. Don’t automatically choose the same ones that all the people of your own nationality are choosing. Choose something new to you that English people do such as fencing or cricket. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never tried it before, or even if you don’t really like it! Hopefully you will enjoy it, but even if you don’t, bonding over a shared activity is the most natural way of building relationships. If you talk about these activities it will show you common likes and dislikes you share.

7. Share things about yourself

A recent study published in the journal “Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin” indicated that sharing something personal about yourself with a new acquaintance can help you form a friendship much faster than normal. The study suggests that you can bypass forced small talk by using self-disclosure to build trust and understanding.

This does not mean that you have to share your deepest, darkest secrets with strangers. The purpose of sharing some personal information is to open up and help them see more of who you really are as a person, especially if you can share something that relates to your current situation. For example, you could tell them that the film you are about to watch is one of your favourites and that you’ve already watched it 15 times. Or perhaps you could mention that you’ve never tried the flavour of crisps they’re eating. They’ll feel like you trust them and will be more likely to open up as well.

8. Invite your new friends to do things

Once you have connected with someone, the best way to cement your friendship is to do something together. Depending on what shared interest you have, this could be playing a computer game together, watching a film or having a girly pampering session. Once you have discovered a common interest, ask your new potential friend if they would like to participate in this activity with you.

9. Keep trying

Even if you have loads in common with someone, and you invite them to do something with you and they say yes, you might not hit it off. Sometimes that spark just isn’t there. Don’t get disheartened, keep trying to make new friends. Just because it doesn’t happen with the first person, your new friends are waiting for you to find them.

10. Lastly and most importantly-have fun!

Don’t think making friends is a chore. It should be fun and exciting to make new friends. Humans are naturally sociable, so don’t worry, nearly everybody you meet will be happy to speak to you… start with hello! Don’t forget, a huge benefit of making many friends from around the world is that you can visit each other! Life is an adventure… enjoy it.