How Do You Choose A Good Homestay English Programme?

By Author: james
Total Articles: 6
Comment this article

Everybody is very busy these days and no-one has lots of “spare” cash so if you decide to improve your English by undertaking a homestay programme it is important that you make the right choice. The question is “How?”

The first thing is “How much time am I going to spend travelling between home and class?” The answer to this should be “None.” There are a good number of programmes now where you stay at the same place as you will study. This is beneficial for many reasons. Firstly, obviously, the time not spent on travelling. But also, if you are staying at the home of your teachers you will benefit from spending ALL your time with native speakers. You will be with teachers all the time. Some of the big Language Institutions/Academies offer programmes where you will stay up to an hour away from class. This means that you have to waste two hours a day on public transport, not the mention the added cost. This may suit you as you may like the time to yourself or use it to read/study/whatever but consider why do this when you can get up, have breakfast ...
... and get straight on with lessons? Then, without any messing about, have lunch and move on to the afternoon activities.

And what about these activities? With the larger schools and programmes, these are often already prearranged well in advance. With a smaller homestay programme the organisers can choose activities which are of interest to you personally. Not interested in history, fine let’s go shopping instead! If the activities are tailored to you likes, you will enjoy them more and as a result learn more from them. Also, with a smaller more personalised programme, you are more likely to be able to have dinner when it suits you and to say you’ve had enough and want to go home when it suits you.

Another major factor is class size. How many students will you be sharing class with. Again, the larger programmes will often offer classes of up to 15. This can be an advantage in terms of interaction with a number of people. It does, however, have its disadvantages too. If you are in a class of only 2 or 3 (or in many cases just you) you get a much higher level of attention from your teachers. They will be able to concentrate on your language needs, rather than sticking to a pre-designed script.

In the end, which type of homestay course you choose is up to you. One may suit your personality better than another. You may like the personal space that travelling time permits, you may not. You may feel less vulnerable in a larger class or you may prefer the more personal touch. The important thing is that you take all these things into consideration before you make your final choice. When all said and done it’s your time and your money – make sure you don’t waste either by not making a fully informed choice.