Homestay Hosting Responsibilites

By Cristine Sphan

Most of the time, a homestay involves a student from another country who is in need of a stable and safe home to complete their studies while going to school somewhere in your city. Usually hosts of homestay students are a family with children, or another mature couple that has a spare room.

Depending on the age and what type of schooling or business the homestay student is taking, they may wish to stay for several months, or in some cases for several years.

Remember these important considerations here when deciding whether to commit space in your home for a homestay student to live. Hosts need to be educated on the potential costs that are hard to foresee, that may offset some of the income from the room and board they are receiving from the student.

Facing the Challenges

Clear communication is essential. This will always be your number one challenge depending on your students grasp of the language they are coming to learn. Using basic language and smaller words will make communication easier, avoid slang and more complicated phrases. At times, the student may not be able to communicate verbally almost at all, and if this happens, putting your words in writing is a good option, as accents make it tougher to understand a beginner.

Rules are put in place to protect both parties. The host should discuss with the homestay student some basic house rules while interviewing them and their legal guardian if necessary, so that everyone understands the guidelines. If there is a language barrier then you need to have someone explain the rules to them for you both.

Consequenses for breaking the rules should also be set in place. If the student comes home high on drugs for instance, is there zero tolerance for this? If these are communicated to both the homestay and also their legal guardian and/or parent then, in the event they are broken, you are afforded more leverage to remove them from your residence.

Is Privacy a Major Concern?

There is a trade-off when it comes to the amount of privacy you can have, and host a student. English needs practice to improve, so the student may try to engage you in conversation to put in use their new language skills. Some of the activities you may have to compromise on are TV programs, family parties, having friends and dates coming over to your place. This can be minimized if you are open to including the student in your activities.

Vacations are another area where you must take the student into consideration, it could cause a problem. Most homestays require you to prepare meals for the students and be available during meal times to have the student practice their English. You have a choice to invite the student to join you or work around it.

There are other factors to consider as well. It will take a lot of extra time to take care of the homestay, including cleaning and cooking and other interactions like conversing, this could take precious time away from your children or other family. This can be counteracted by including the student with the activities that you plan with your family.

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