French Host family and School Immersion in France

"Thomas enjoyed his stay in France and his French standard seems to have improved significantly as a result. The family with whom he stayed was friendly and hospitable and made an effort to ensure that he visited interesting places and experienced aspects of French culture. The accommodation they provided was comfortable and the food was good. We were particularly pleased that the family ate together every evening and Thomas was able to take part in their conversation and family time at the dinner table.
We are glad that we put Thomas into the programme and would recommend it to other parents of children wishing to improve their ability in a foreign language."

"Dear Nacel! How are you? I’m fine! Time ran so fast and I leave France tomorrow! I’ve learned so much during my stay here in France, either in Brittany or in the Pyrénées. Everything was fine. Thank you for caring on me during this time! Au revoir!"

Everything went very smoothly for Alex's return trip home.  She is still very tired but everything went well!  She had a FANTASTIC time with her lovely lovely host family- the Bousquets were especially nice to Alex and Helen was very kind and patient! .  We cannot thank the Bousquets enough for providing such nice care of Alex - she really experienced what it is like to live in France.  She especially loved playing the piano and going with their daughter to her piano lessons.  I do think her French improved - especially her pronunciation and common phrases.  She is excited to return to her French classes in School this Fall to continue her lessons.

As we are moving this year to Australia, we are so happy that Alex could have this experience during her last Summer as a teenager in the US.  I would highly recommend this program!

Sarina has had a wonderful time and Veronique even took Sarina to her great great-grandfather's grave in Normandy....so it's been a very special trip. Thanks for checking in. Cheers, Roweena

My 16y old daughter Debasri went from Canada to France for home stay program for a quarter of academic year. The best part of this program for her was to be part of the host family. We thank NACEL from the bottom of our heart for finding this wonderful family.

Despite the difference in language, nationality, race, religion , diet and many more things, Debasri became part of the family. We see tears in her eyes when she talks about them, that is the hard part. Hopefully, we will meet them soon.

We received confirmation of acceptance to the program several months before time for travel and the letters from host family put us at ease. Céline and Jojanneke from NACEL kept in touch with us throughout the process. We were quite anxious about travel between airport and host family. But it worked out fine as arranged by NACEL. - Maniti, Debasri's mother -

My name is Caleb and I went to Niort for three weeks.

I enjoyed my stay, especially going to school. The classes were really interesting, because there were a lot of classes that I don't have at home. The courses in question covered subjects that I do not learn at home, such as the Renaissance in history, or the gap years in English. I think the teachers were really nice, because they made a lot of effort to include me and make me feel comfortable. Finally, all of Timeo's friends (the boy in the host family) were really welcoming – they treated me like one of them.

During the weekends, I visited the region and surrounding towns, such as Nantes, Futuroscope, and La Rochelle. I liked these little visits because they introduced me more to French culture, and I learned a lot of history and saw beautiful landscapes. I especially liked Nantes.

You have to get used to the cultural differences, but I enjoyed it. For example, we spend a lot of time at home – not too many activities outside of school. The homework was not too long, so I spent some time without doing too much, while at home when we have free time on a tendency to spend it together. But it was interesting for me to get used to it, and I liked this immersion.

The host family was really nice and welcoming to me. For example, the mother cooked me a lot of French recipes so that I could eat French food. I went to boxing with Timeo, who included me in that, and I had a great time. They also introduced me to family friends, which I appreciated.

I think I made progress in the language. I think now I speak faster and more naturally. Sometimes during my stay, I realized that I was thinking in French, and not in English, and I think that was mainly the aim of the program. Currently in my French class I find that I speak much faster, especially when I talk to the teacher.

Dear Céline and Jojanneke,

Thank you for your support of Aaron on his homestay and high school immersion in France.  He is having the most amazing experience ever with his wonderful host family!!! 

The host family is extremely welcoming and accommodating!  We could not have hoped for a more positive experience for him!

Thanks again.

Warmest regards,

Lorinda K.