It’s a savvy and forward-thinking parent who recognises the value of learning a new language, or two. But many language students aren’t inspired by traditional textbook learning. And developing precious social skills head down in a language app is all but impossible. This is where an international homestay program is a no-brainer... right? Right!
But, it’s not always as easy as that. What do you do when your child doesn’t share the enthusiasm for the idea of the language homestay experience?
All is not lost. We’ve listened to some of our members’ homestay experiences and come up with some top tips to get your pre-teen or teenager to feel the Lingoo love. Here’s how to conjure your most subtle skills of gentle persuasion and open the doors of authentic language learning for your child.
International Homestay For Teenagers
1. Do Your Research
Before you wade in on the international homestay conversation, read up on the Lingoo homestay website. Over the years we’ve fine-tuned our website to answer every conceivable question you might have about the homestay process. Real-life homestay experiences can be found on our blog-site where you can cherry pick posts that speak to you and your child.
Host families and guests have contributed stories about their homestay experiences, so it’s certainly a good way to see that the Lingoo community is a friendly one. This means that by the time you’re chatting to your child about the idea of an international homestay, you’ll be ready and waiting with all the right answers!
2. Understand Your Child’s Reservations
A child’s anxieties often centre around The Great Unknown: principally what the homestay family will be like. And it’s completely normal to have concerns. This is probably one of your child’s first ventures out of their comfort zone after all. Investigate what specifically he or she is concerned about and talk it through. By reassuring rather than pressurising - and talking as and when questions arise - worries are often assuaged and sometimes even eliminated.
If your child is worried for example about what they will be eating during the homestay, explain that you can ask about the dishes in advance and also let your host family know any specific requirements. Add that the food probably won’t be as different as your child thinks and that children often return from homestays raving about what they’ve eaten!
Primary angst might be around sleeping away from home. Reassure them by looking at photographs on the host families profile of their home and the room your child will be sleeping in. And while your child’s away on the homestay, arrange to speak to them about their day before bed each night.
Of course, there aren’t many children who wouldn’t worry about how they’ll fare conversing in a new language. Reassure them that that this is how everyone starts out and that the focus is on culture and adventure, with language improvement an added bonus. Choose a homestay family who speaks a little of your own language if this could be comforting.
3. Consider Becoming a Homestay Host Yourself
Becoming a homestay host for young language students in your own home brings your child up within the ethos of the sharing community. They’ll also see the point of learning a new language and the ease with which someone new enters into the family fold. That way, the idea of your child travelling abroad to do the same thing will seem like the most natural thing in the world.
4. Start Them Young
Consider sending your child off on their first international homestay at a young age. Younger children often have a more positive mindset when it comes to trying something new - as opposed to teenagers who sometimes have a more fixed views. So why not harness the enthusiasm of youth and send them off on a new language adventure pre-teen.
Many Lingoo homestay host families accept language guests of all ages. And in terms of language acquisition, this can only be a good thing as research clearly demonstrates that the younger the child, the more easily a new language is absorbed and retained.
5. Getting Good Grades
One of the immediate benefits of international homestays is passing language exams. Most high school students study at least one additional language and often, children simply aren’t inspired by the textbook approach to learning.
And since opportunities to practise in an authentic way are few and far between, it’s often the listening and speaking elements which pose the greatest challenge in the classroom environment. Explain how immersive language exposure can help to develop listening and speaking skills, like homestay students taking a short-cut to exam success!
6. Friendships and Career Prospects
Adults often talk about how a new language ‘opens doors’ but this doesn’t always mean much to a child. So it’s important to fully explain the long term benefits of an international homestay to your child. Ask your child to imagine where and what they want to be in the future and then wax lyrical about how an additional language can lead to long-term friendships, adventures, travel opportunities and open up career pathways.
7. Get Your Child Involved
In terms of finding the right homestay host family for your child, Lingoo works very much like an online dating service. With your child’s input, you can search the homestay network to find a host family whose children are of a similar age, have mutual interests and maybe similar backgrounds.
Find out as much about the host families as you can. What do the parents do and what is their daily routine? Are there any pets? What languages do they speak? What’s the house like? Information helps to paint a picture and means less anxiety.
8. Explore A ‘Stepping Stone’ Approach
Why not think about your whole family embarking on a homestay adventure this year with your child going on an independent one next? There are plenty of host families in the Lingoo homestay network who can accommodate the whole family.
Your child could initially homestay with a sibling or you could explore the possibility of you - the parent - holidaying nearby. That way you will all get the chance to meet the host family before the homestay program commences. You could consider making the first trip a short one, with a view to building up to longer international homestay next time.
Above all, don’t forget to role model a love of languages and pat yourself on the back for introducing the idea of an international homestay program – one of the greatest first independent adventures you can have. The world is your child’s oyster!
It’s simple and free to sign up as a Lingoo language learner. So why not take a peek right now at our homestay network and see if you can spot any host families that might be a good fit.
Written by Lucy Shrimpton. Lucy is a France content writer, sharing all the cool, clichéd and curious things you ever needed to know about France and French.
