Homestay accommodation providers are preparing for the summer holidays. No, they’re not packing their bags and booking transport to take them to the airport. You’ve guessed, it’s the other way round! Young international students will be arriving by complimentary car or coach from the airport and unpacking their bags for a short stay in hosted accommodation while studying on summer English Learning courses.
As the academic year draws to a close, the annual exodus begins of international students who vacate their rooms to return home for the summer vacation. It means that host providers will either be planning to redecorate the room for the start of the autumn term or more likely, showing their new wide-eyed student guest into their ‘home from home’ for the next few weeks.
Summer English language courses usually run from June to August and are usually much shorter, from around 1 – 8 weeks. However, more than half a million people of all ages arrive in England throughout the year to learn to speak the language on different courses provided by language schools, colleges and institutes of education. English learning courses offered by a hosted accommodation scheme have also seen a phenomenal rise. The number of international students learning English in the UK has doubled over the last ten years, according to one recent UK student statistics report. So too, the average length of stay was up, by nearly four weeks for junior students.
Brilliant for students in their teens
This means that students, who tend to be of a younger age group anyway, often only need a temporary place to stay. It also means that homestay accommodation is the ultimate, flexible service as hosts are more able to provide a room when needed at different times than other types of accommodation suppliers.
For anxious parents of youngsters away from home in a different country for any extended length of time, a homestay solution has to be the best, most secure option. It’s also brilliant for students in their teens who just want someone to take care of all their accommodation and travel arrangements. That’s where a host organisation steps in!
Right from the word go, a British Council standards approved homestay scheme goes to great lengths to ensure a student is placed according to their individual preferences, background and interests. Another crucial factor is be as close as possible in travelling distance to the school where the course is being held and, most importantly of all, great meal plans. No, the menu is not filled with pizzas, burgers, and chicken nuggets and chips! Whether a student is full or half board, breakfasts, evening meals and lunchtime sandwiches are all catered for with a variety of healthy, nutritious, and tasty meals.
Snack and drinks waiting for a hungry young traveller
From the moment a young international student arrives in Britain, all the arrangements kick in. A host scheme with dedicated managers will arrange for a car, people carrier or coach to collect a young homestay guest or party of guests from the airport and ensure they arrive safely at their new ‘family’ home. The host will have already fully prepared the room, which will be clean, bright and modern with all the desk and cupboard space they need – and with an internet connection for using their laptops when not charging a smartphone or tablet!
Upon arrival, there’s bound to be snack and drinks waiting for a hungry young traveller! After the host has shown their young student their room, it will be time to unpack, get a tour of the house and be told all about using bathroom / showers, and laundry days. That’s right, once a week, all laundry is taken care of so there’s no worries about finding clean clothes to wear every morning.
Studying during the summer months can be full of extra fun too – especially if there’s good weather! A top quality international host scheme will provide a programme of exciting and memorable experiences of British cultural life in whatever part of the country a course is being held. A student has the opportunity to enrol on an inclusive programme, which combines homestay accommodation, learning English and sightseeing visits to some of Britain’s most historic places, from Stonehenge to Wembley Stadium, or Shakespeare’s birthplace to the London Eye.
As one of the foremost and reputable providers in the country, Hosts International offer a progressive programme of daily English lessons, provided by trained EFL teachers for 16-18 year-olds of all ability levels at summer school during the normal holiday period. It’s a perfect mix of homestay experience which makes learning English the summer holiday of a young international student’s lifetime, so far!