This article examines the level of support provided to assist international graduate students with the use of small talk to facilitate their social interaction and integration, with a specific focus on the gap between the help they need and the help they get. It is based on a larger phenomenological inquiry which examined the challenges faced by Chinese graduate students in Canada when making small talk in English as an additional language. In that study, ten participants were interviewed about their small talk experiences, including the support they expected and received from peers, faculty members, and institutions. The study was theoretically informed by the concept of community of practice, which describes how newcomers learn in naturally occurring established communities. It was found that all participants expected and wanted institutional and peer support, but their level of satisfaction with what they received varied. All four universities attended by the research participants offered services designed to help international students, but uptake was a problem. It is recommended that institutions put more effort into developing, promoting, and monitoring programs designed to support international students.