Live in a host family abroad and discover a new country!
Do you wish to get acquainted with a civilization and a culture different from yours? Do you want to learn a language abroad?
So, choose to live in a Host Family abroad! Immersing yourself in another culture, will quickly improve your language level and enrich your vocabulary.
That's why, Nacel is in charge of recruiting host families so that everyone lives a complete and unforgettable experience.
Host family - find out more
With our experience, we would like to explain the process of recruiting host families and some tips to help you make the most of it.
- Indeed, our host families are not randomly recruited. Each volunteer family receives a visit from a local coordinator who decides with predefined criteria, if the family meets the requirements or not.
- The criteria are the quality of care, availability, comfort, and willingness to welcome a foreign student. When we talk about a host family, this may be a couple with or without children and maybe also retirees.
- You can get the details of the host family between 3 to 10 days before departure.
- If you join your child at the last moment it is possible that you do not have contact information for the family before the last day before departure.
- You can of course contact the family before the departure of your child.
- Most of the time when we are invited to visit friends, we always take some presents as a matter of politeness.
- Therefore, we recommend that you provide a simple gift to the family.
- Remember to avoid food or drinks.
The local coordinator who selected the host family will take care of your child's placement after having seen his/her application form.
Therefore, it is important to complete it carefully, mentioning any potential health problems for example.
Finally, activities represent a cost to families, so the host family is not required to provide outings and activities on weekends. Maintain permanent communication, and direct contact with another culture, mentality, and lifestyle of a foreign family!
Host family and host family: why are they so different?
A "typical" host family with 2 lovely children: could be what comes to mind when thinking about what a host family is. However, there exist various types of host "families", generally depending on which kind of program abroad you're taking part in. We are often asked about the profiles of host families and this is a crucial factor to take into account when choosing your language course program.
Homestay Program
On the one hand, host families participating in the Homestay program welcome a teenager as a new member of their family so that interaction is intensive. They supervise the student and immerse him in their family and daily life. The family is eager to share a lot with the student and learn from his culture too, even if the level of integration in the host family life still depends on each host family of course.
They can either be a family with children or retired people. In this kind of homestay program, the student does not attend any language course, it's a pure immersion program generally for juniors during summer holidays.
Language School Program
On the other hand, host families hosting students attending a Language School Program offer room and board, it is a mere type of accommodation. Students of this language school program are usually young adults and must be quite autonomous since this kind of host family is not asked to organize activities for and with the student. Students organize their leisure time freely, go to school to attend language courses, and participate in optional activities. They go back "home" to rest, to study, to have their meals, and to sleep.
In this kind of program, students usually do not spend so much time with the host family during the day and prefer staying with their schoolmates or visiting the town.
In opposition to host families for homestay programs, there might be no intensive interaction with the members of the host family and it may mainly deal with daily issues and daily conversation. These host families can either be a family with or without children, a single-parent family, retired people, or a woman living alone, for example.
Our programs
Now that you've understood more about host families, how about thinking about the program you're going to choose? Below are the programs offered:
Or if you're looking to learn a new language differently by practicing activities and sports, check out our Summer Camps. Come with Nacel!
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