What are some top tips that I can use?

Top tips for a happy Homestay!

• Clarity and Empathy – Some of our students are very young; many are in a foreign country for the first time or away from their parents for the first time. All of them are communicating in a foreign language. Most anxiety is caused by not knowing what to do and how to behave.
• Mealtimes, bathroom use, washing, snacks, likes and dislikes are all best covered on the student’s first evening!
• Younger students especially may find it embarrassing to ask about things like laundry arrangements or when they can use the shower. For example, in some countries the plumbing arrangements mean that used toilet paper is put in a waste bin by the toilet. If you have a waste bin by your toilet for sanitary reasons, it might be worth explaining its use to students.
• Empathy is often about answering the questions they don’t have the courage to ask!
• Some students arrive with friends or make friends quickly; others don’t and really value feeling part of a family. This is more about feeling included than about communication! Some students seem withdrawn simply because they are too shy to become involved in the life of the house without encouragement.
• Getting to College – Students really appreciate being brought to College on their first morning. Best of all, is being brought on the bus or walked so that they have had a trial-run before having to travel on their own. For the younger students, collection at the end of the first day can relieve a lot of stress during the day!
• Phone Calls – When a student has just arrived, particularly one of our younger students, the opportunity to ring Mum and Dad will be greatly appreciated by parents and students alike.
• Collection and Delivery – Most adult course students arrive by train at York station and then take a taxi to your house. Being collected from the station at the start of their stay and being taken to the station at the end of their stay gives a wonderful first and last impression of their time with you.
• Cultural Awareness – This would take a whole book, but it is worth thinking about. Habits which seem normal to us seem very odd in some cultures. Equally habits we might consider very unappealing are, in some cultures, considered normal.