With household budgets tighter than ever, an increasing number of families are looking for additional ways to earn extra income. Teaching English or another language to learners provides an excellent way to improve your household’s financial health, amongst other benefits. Better yet, hosting foreign students is something you can do as a family.
At Lingoo, we run our own program for those looking to unlock the many advantages of homestay hosting. In addition to connecting homestay teachers with students, we put host families in touch with guests looking to experience the world, outside of the confines of their own community and culture.
For those considering becoming a homestay host family, in this article we highlight the benefits of joining us at Lingoo as a homestay or language exchange host. Give it a read and see whether this exciting path is for you.
Introducing the language homestay
Language homestays provide immersive experiences for both host and guest. Immersive learning is one of the most successful ways to develop the skills needed to speak, write and read a second, third or even fourth language. Its authentic, everyday learning style is similar to how we all learned our native language. This helps students achieve fantastic results beyond improving their language skills.
Second language immersion education has been linked to various cognitive advantages in schools and has found similar success with students of all ages and abilities. With a homestay, both host and guest have the opportunity to expose and immerse themselves in an entirely different culture. Creating a trip of a lifetime for those learning and an equally unforgettable, eye-opening experience for those teaching.
The benefits of hosting as a family
The benefits of becoming a homestay host family are many. Just read this first hand insight from teenager Alice Canning who regularly hosts foreign students with her mother:
“I am 15 and my mother and I have had foreign students ever since I can remember. I think that it has helped me to discover the varieties of cultures and foods and I have learnt about other people's traditions, family life, customs, geography and history. I have really enjoyed talking with foreign students about table manners, weddings, schooling and so on. Often they bring gifts from their countries and sometimes cook a traditional dinner. They are mostly cheerful and good company and I have never felt that they were intruding in our personal life but sometimes they take a bit long in the bathroom!”
Hosting as a family provides a flexible, interesting andn exciting way to earn extra money, gain new experiences and make lifelong friends from all over the world. Becoming a homestay host family is also free when you sign up with Lingoo.
Becoming a homestay host family
If you’d like to unlock the benefits mentioned above, signing up as a host family is free and simple. You must however be able to provide a warm welcome, offer quality accommodation and food, and support your guests in finding additional language learning opportunities and cultural experiences.
You don’t have to have any formal teaching qualifications to become a host family. You should, however, be able to help your guests gain confidence when learning new language skills. Those with qualifications may want to check out our homestay teacher page.
Register with Lingoo and start building a standout profile today.
