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Homestay Guidelines for Host
Families A homestay includes a private room, three meals per day, and transportation to and from ELC on school days (Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m.) Homestay families are paid a stipend of $600 per month. However, if families provide partial services, the cost of rent must be lowered to offset the students’ expenses—the rent should be lowered by $100 per month for transportation and $200 for food costs. As a host familiy: ·
Just be yourselves. Keep your
hospitality simple and spontaneous. ·
Quietly introduce your student to
life as it really is in your home. ·
Immediately discuss important
family rules. ·
Try to give your student several
days to rest from the trip and settle into your
home. ·
Make time for quiet conversations
to get to know one another. ·
Be patient. Do what you can to make
your student feel like a member of the family. Don’t be surprised if your
student is quiet. ·
Try to speak slowly and give clear
instructions. ·
Written rules can help avoid
confusion and misunderstandings. · After the first few weeks, comprehension improves dramatically. Take time to clarify your family’s expectations and lifestyle. Family Rules: Explain as much as possible about day-to-day living in your household. · Does everyone eat together at certain times? · Do family members get their own breakfast and clean up after themselves? · What food items are for snacking? · Where do family members put dirty laundry? · Do you expect your student to take care of his or her own laundry? If so, show them how to run appliances.
Do not be surprised to discover that your student is accustomed to domestic help. It is entirely possible that vacuum cleaners, washers, dryers, and dishwashers are all foreign objects! Orient your student to these appliances. You might require a clean room for participation in family and school activities. Pre-paid calling cards are a good idea for international students. They eliminate host family bill collecting for overseas collect calls. Very early on, establish rules for telephone courtesy and a procedure for paying telephone bills. Telephone calls home tend to be more frequent at first and often decrease to about twice per month, barring emergencies. Things go smoothly if you make expectations clear from the very beginning regarding room neatness, television viewing, and so forth. Transportation In most major cities around the world, public transportation is easily accessible, reliable, and inexpensive. Students are used to getting from one place to another independently. Once they are here, they find that unless someone drives them, it is not very easy to get around. You are expected to take the student to and from ELC unless the student has his or her own transportation or you make other arrangements with the student. The price for transportation is included in the homestay cost and will be deducted if transportation is not available to the student. It is recommended that you discuss this issue up front. Help your student find public transportation or purchase a bicycle. Also, explain to him or her that carpools and rides are the common form of transportation here and that you may be willing to drive him or her and his or her friends to a move or other activity on occasion. Try to find a system that works for your family early on. Help him or her learn to plan his or her activities ahead to make it easier on everyone. Food It will be very exciting for you to share your culinary skills with your homestay student. If you do not usually cook, you will still amaze him or her with the wonderful variety of foods that are available. Your student may be quite surprised to taste peanut butter or to see a real pumpkin. Although this exploration can be fun, keep in mind that your student’s food and dietary habits are probably quite different from yours. You are required to provide breakfast and dinner for the student. The cost is included in the homestay cost and will be deducted if you do not provide meals or the student wants to provide his or her own meals. If your family eats out often, take this into consideration as this is included in the homestay cost.   English Language
Center
1015-C Waterwood Parkway Edmond, Oklahoma 73034-5325 Phone: 405-348-7602 Contact Us Online  |