Homestay Student
Being a homestay host family can be a very rewarding experience. Below is some information that you need to decide if the homestay host family role will work for you. More information and specific guidelines will be in your orientation packet.
1. You will need to prepare meals according to your agreement. The most common agreement is providing an evening meal and having breakfast foods on hand for your student to easily prepare their own. Part of the fun is getting to know each other at mealtimes. Cooking together is fun as well. As a new homestay host family, you should plan not to be on vacation or traveling right after your student arrives. It is natural that they would be adjusting and you need to explain appliances and all sorts of things that will be different from their home environment.
2. Speak slowly unless your student obviously is very fluent in English. Studying from a book is not the same as having a native speaker chatting away at top speed. Often your student may pretend to understand so as not to be embarrased but always check understanding and be patient. They will be speaking English within a few weeks and you will reap rewards by being patient at first. Call USA for help from one of our native speakers at the first sign of misunderstanding or potential issues.
3. Include your student in outings. Take them to see a few things that make your city special. Remember they are young and don’t bore them with long stories but rather do a few things together where the whole family can enjoy. Let them help with a few chores. Show them how appliances work and tell them any rules your family has that are non negotiable such as locking doors or turning off lights. You will be given a list of rules in your homestay host family orientation packet and you can add any that are really important to you. If your student speaks a fairly common language, ie, Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish, etc., their rules will be in their language.
4. Give your student their own key to the house and help them figure out the best way for them to get to classes. These are very bright kids but they are in a totally new country so it is best to assist them in the first week or so until they “learn the ropes.”
More Homestay Host Family Guidelines
These are just a few things to think about to help you decide if you are a person who would enjoy being a homestay host family. Your orientation package will have a lot of information and we are always a telephone call or email away.
