Whilst we love to hear our members’ feedback after their Lingoo adventures, it’s often interesting to tune into their backstories too. We talked to Matt, who signed up to become a language au pair last year, no looking back…
“In a couple of decades time, I’m pretty sure that on a personal level, 2016 will be recalled as one of my most memorable; to say it was a period of rapid transition wouldn’t come close! I’d recently graduated, landed a wow job that I hated (I quit), found my soul-mate (she quit) and wound up living back at Mum and Dad’s (always good for post-grad self-esteem, not). Whilst I was waiting tables to pay off a few debts and putting on a brave face, I was inwardly panicking and wondering what the hell to do next.
One well-meaner who took it upon herself to assist with my life-plan blues suggested I look into becoming an au pairwhilst I thought about my next move. Whilst the element of escapism was really tempting, I was initially dismissive on the grounds that there was surely too much risk. The pessimist in me predicted a host looking for a cheap dogsbody, a demanding schedule, a feeling of isolation, continued ‘no cash’ … oh, and maybe rotten kids.
Whilst there were plenty of online scare stories to back this up, it turns out all I had to do was google language au pair and it was quite a different story. Lingoo.com stood out, offering me something of a ‘no-brainer’ working holiday: In return for a few hours English teaching each week, or less formal English conversational training, a language au pair’s accommodation and meals would be covered. Better still, there would be no childcare involved, no chores and, in fact, very little risk it seemed; before I committed to anything, I could check out the host’s family, home, interests and language requirements, all as easily as checking out someone’s essentials on a dating site.
And so it was that I ended up in Spain for eight weeks last year, teaching English to hosts in Madrid who were relocating to the UK and needed the whole family, kids too, to brush up on their written and spoken skills. With a few initial nerves on my part (although I was pretty sure I had all the requisites, I hadn’t actually taught before), I couldn’t really have hoped for a more positive experience: eight weeks became 12, I made friends for life – both with my hosts and in my own social life - and I even earned a little on the side helping my host out with some business admin.
All in all, with some great feedback on the teaching, plus super-proficient Spanish on my CV, it was definitely a life-enhancing, mood-enhancing experience I’d recommend to anyone in that post-study, pre-career phase. If there’s one thing being a language au-pair taught me, it’s to follow your instincts and take a chance on a nothing-to-lose opportunity, especially as, full of the joys of Spain, I had the headspace and freedom I needed to think about my future and ultimately make my decision to do a PGCE. We all settle down and get on the career treadmill eventually, but the most important thing is to get on the right one. I’m hoping to squeeze in a few more adventures before I do just that; you’re only young once.”
Learn more about teaching English abroad to your host family.
