Immersion is the best way to learn a new language. For those passionate about learning a new language, it unlocks a number of great benefits. Just one of the routes to a successful immersion experience is by staying with a homestay teacher or host family. With homestays, you travel to the host country and spend time with native speakers to hone your language skills. The question is, how can you truly put your skills to the test during your trip overseas?
Become a part of the family
When staying with a homestay teacher or host family, you’ll have a prime opportunity to learn the day-to-day conversational skills that don’t come naturally in classroom based teaching environments. This makes getting involved in the everyday lives of your host family or teacher important. From doing chores to eating meals with them, becoming a part of your homestay family provides a hands-on way of learning the conversational skills you need to make your new language a valuable asset.
Head to the market
In almost every foreign country you’ll find a bustling marketplace scene. Fast paced and vibrant, markets provide a captivating insight into a host country’s culture. They also present a chance to throw yourself in at the deep end and put your language skills to the test. Speaking a new language can be daunting, and you may never feel 100% ready:
“Firstly, remember it is OK to make mistakes and that you should embrace them. This sounds obvious, but when it comes to language learning we often aim for perfection and feel as though we are not ready to speak until we have ‘enough’ words or grammatical knowledge. The truth is you will never feel ready, and instead it is important to use the knowledge that you do have to communicate what you can.”
Heading to a local market is a simple way of testing your language skills. Furthermore, attending with your homestay teacher or a member of your host family will give you that extra support you need to conquer any scenario with confidence.
Join a local club
Speaking with natives as often as possible is a surefire route to mastering your new language and conversing naturally. You’re certain to find a number of local clubs that you can join in your chosen host town or city, giving you the opportunity to meet with native speakers from varying backgrounds and with differing dialects.
Try it out at every opportunity
Although it’s been found that learning 10 basic words and phrases, including “hello”, “thank you”, “yes”, “no” and “do you speak English?”, is enough to get you by in countries where you don’t speak the language, a homestay provides a fantastic experience to learn lifelong language skills. Pushing yourself and putting your new language skills to the test at every opportunity during your homestay is a chance to learn, perfect and try again in a comforting, confidence-building environment.
Ready to search for your perfect homestay host? Start here.
