By living with a host family you will not only learn the host family’s native language, but also many values such as tolerance.
Not all families are the same, of course. You can find from families with children, to single parents, older couples without children in the house … but all with the same common goal: To welcome and treat their international guests as one of the family. So people who pass through your house will be treated in the same way as your real children, if you have any. In addition, they will have a room that meets all the basic needs they may have.
Intense immersion in the language
First of all, just taking a trip abroad and staying with that native family allows you to learn a language by being immersed from morning to night in the native language and culture of the country in question. Apart from the fact that you’ll be taking college classes in one batch, and in another you’ll be with your family. In short, it is an intense immersion in the language.
You will learn the native language of that family in a fun and relaxed way.
Learning to speak English with a host family is like receiving intensive lessons from a native teacher (the family) in a relaxed way. The student will be able to share meals with their host family, participate in household chores and do activities together, all in the native language, which will help you progress without being overwhelmed.
You will learn without feeling like you have to study entire books to learn English grammar, irregular verbs and vocabulary. It will be much more effective than watching movies in the original version. Much more practical than theoretical. However, you will have classes in the centre you choose to study in, but the experience will be totally enriching, as you will also study at home without realizing it, talking to your host family.
Living with a host family is much cheaper than doing a regular program!
Secondly, this type of course abroad is much more economical than a program of classes in a language school, since it is usually much more expensive to study in a university or university campus, than in a host family, which sometimes does not have a price other than the student covering his or her own living costs.
You will learn a unique accent, whatever country you go to.
Even if you start at a beginner’s level, speaking a new language every day is, in fact, the best way to learn by acquiring a fluent level of the language and the accent used in the region in question. So, another advantage is that we can learn different accents depending on the country we go to: American English, Scottish English, Irish English, Australian English, etc.
Also, you will avoid the ease of speaking your native language by being surrounded by natives of your country in a backpacker hostel, a very widespread option among those who go to study.
In addition to memorizing the language with your host family, you will be able to gradually make yourself understood and make daily progress in intonation, accent stress, pronunciation in the language, idiomatic expressions, and get used to thinking in the language.
We can also, every day and at any age, ask questions to discover the family history or the social culture of the family that welcomes us, to better understand the history of the countries, and possibly their traditions (birthdays, meals, excursions, daily life and culture). Also, asking questions to satisfy your cultural curiosity will help you progress quickly in English, because you will be speaking it often.
Who better to explain the culture and the different customs of a country than its own inhabitants? By living with a host family you will discover many customs from the inside, which will will make your experience abroad much more enriching.
You will learn the language without even realizing it!
Not only will you learn English during your classes or your outings around the city, you will also speak English while you are with the family, i.e. from early in the morning to ask how you can help prepare breakfast, to late in the evening to say goodnight. You will have to force yourself to use the language whenever you want to communicate with your host family, and you know that nothing is better learned than when you have no choice or when you need to. You will learn without realizing it.
You will learn about everyday situations that may not be so familiar to you, useful phrases used in colloquial language, about the different times in another country for example for lunch or dinner, and you will have the opportunity to try local food cooked by your host family every day. You will be fully immersed in the country you are in and all it has to offer.
Here are some other advantages of staying with a host family:
- Do intensive courses adapted to the schedule you are with your family.
- To begin with, going abroad allows you to make friends and feel like you’re on holiday.
- Improve and prepare for an English test such as TOEIC, TOEFL or IELTS.
- Fluency in English is a plus for interviewers. It’s a plus on your resume.
- Work there: You can choose to look for a job to finance your stay, and learn other more technical lexical fields, at the same time you can combine it with the learning that you would have in the language course and with the host family.
A stay abroad can effectively improve our level in the language of our choice, thanks to the linguistic immersion we undergo. But if you want this immersion to be even greater, living with a host family is the best option, You will create very special bonds with your family and at the end of your stay you will realize how important this family has been in terms of learning the language, but also in many other aspects.
At YNSITU we will offer you all languages, in all countries, with this type of homestay accommodation. Try this type of English course in the UK!