Have you ever been a host family for language students?

[SpeedyGonzalez]

We're considering it as a way of getting a better house to rent. Would love your advice, especially:

• Would you recommend it? How is it having students in your home?
• What's it like dealing with the schools?
• How often do you have students?
• Do you sign up with more than one school if you want a bit more certainty re money?

TIA

If only you could see my face, Riven! Grim! Not sure I want to know the details...Was she able to get rid of him before the end of his official stay?

Phew! Hope you weren't traumatised by his presence...

can tell you all about it next sat speedy xx

ooh great mabs! see you then!

I work for a language school which uses host families...(have got 63 kids arriving tomorrow)

Whereabouts are you? If you are in popular language school places (Oxford/Cambridge/London/coastal or big cities) you shouldn't have any trouble getting students.

The schools usually have a co-ordinator who comes to inspect your house etc and then you get students placed with you.

All of our host families just have to provide a packed lunch for a fortnight, feed and bed the students (as it were ) It's not massively well-paid (I think ours are paid about £80 a week) but if you can fit more than one in, for a good few months of the year....other organisations place students for a whole academic year (EF is one of the groups that does this) so you have more of a fixed income.

Thanks for this info, Bucharest. I live in one of those places you mentioned. Also used to teach at a language school and so it's useful to find out a bit about the other side of things.

Rofl at bedding the students - the young male ones I used to teach always seemed a bit feral, so I don't think there's any chance of that!