Hosting an international student
Have you been wondering what it’s like to host an international student in your home? Offering a warm, welcoming family environment and a safe way for students to immerse themselves in the English language and culture can be a life-changing experience for your family. Becoming a host family is a great way to expose your family to other cultures and make extra income. Why not use that spare bedroom in your home and forge a lifelong relationship with an international student today? Read on to find out what to expect when hosting an international student in your home.
Why do International students choose homestay?
International students from all over the world come to the US to study. These students attend local ESL (English as a Second Language) Schools, Community Colleges, Universities, and Art Schools. Typically, students choose to live in a homestay with an American host family because they want to better their English conversational skills and learn first-hand about American culture and local customs and traditions. Host families are the first point of American exposure to students when they enter the US.
International students also choose homestay because many schools do not offer on-campus housing for students, or schools that do have on-campus housing are not available for international students.
Homestay living is more cost-effective for international students than living in a dormitory or an apartment.
Newbie students to the US, especially those students with limited English language ability, tend first to choose to live with a host family because they feel they have more support and a home-away-from-home family environment. Living in a homestay with a warm host family can drastically reduce students’ homesickness! Hosting an international student is ideal for both hosts and students!
What is a host family’s role?
Hosting an international student can enrich a student’s understanding of local culture and customs and help students pick up necessary conversational skills and American slang. The most important aspect of being a host family is students developing meaningful relationships with their families that often last far beyond the duration of their language course.
Hosting an international student in your home is also ideal because it’s a great way to experience cultural exchange. It is also a way of developing lifelong connections and representing your community internationally.
How do I become a Host Family?
Most homestay programs will require a host family to submit an application, and then an in-home interview will be scheduled. The agency will visit your home and go over the program in depth. You may want to review the exact requirements each agency requires, and if you are interested in hosting with IHPS, you can find our requirements and additional information here.
Once you are approved to host an international student, the agency will work on making the best match for the homestay family and student. Before placement, we take into consideration both student and host preferences. The goal is to have both the student and the host family completely satisfied with the homestay placement.
Throughout the duration of the homestay placement, our local host coordinator will keep in close contact with you. If any questions or concerns come up, you will be able to reach a housing coordinator 24/7.
We know our new host families need additional support at the beginning of their participation in the homestay program, and IHPS Homestay is there to support you.
What are some of my hosting responsibilities?
We ask our families to provide each student with:
- A warm and welcoming home environment
- A private bedroom with a bed, desk, and closet. The room must have a window and proper ventilation. There also must be adequate lighting available.
- Towels and linens are to be provided by the host family
- A house key and local contact information
- Assistance in orienting a student around the neighborhood and showing them how to get to school the first day
- Invite students to participate in any family activities you feel appropriate. (Some ideas include; going to church, family sporting activity, simple grocery store trips)
If you provide meals for the students, please remember to provide healthy and nutritious meals. Our students know they are to prepare their own breakfast daily, and the host family prepares dinner on most days of the week. Lunch is usually not included.
What do we ask of our Homestay students?
In order to participate in our homestay program, we look for independent and open-minded students who want to learn about American culture. We explain to students that they are guests in their host family’s home, and they must follow any family rules and expectations. We require students to take public transportation to and from school and to their extracurricular activities. All of our students sign a Standards of Conduct to participate in our program.
IHPS will help by guiding you through your student’s transition to their new country and introducing you to other families in your community.
Our IHPS Homestay families have become lifelong friends with their students over the years. Many hosts have shared so many beautiful stories about keeping up with their students long past when they checked out of homestay. Many of our host families have visited their students in their home country, and attended weddings and college graduations of their homestay students.
Hosting an international student really can be a life-changing event in your family’s world. Sign up today to start hosting!