We all remember that first trip abroad. The butterflies were going crazy in our stomachs as the plane took off, and we knew we weren’t landing at home. The famous sites we’d only seen in books looked so different (and more magical!) up close. The food hit our taste buds in ways that challenged everything we’d ever known about food. It may have even been on this first trip that the big decision was made: we were going to be World Language teachers!
We had grand plans–visions, even–of giving our future students those same feelings, and we were beside ourselves with excitement!
Then we started teaching.
Holy Hannah, was our world not at all what we thought it would be! The highs were higher than we dreamt, and the lows were worse than we imagined. We had days where we laughed until we cried, and we had days where we just cried. Organizing trips abroad sank further down our To Do list as we wrestled with more “pressing” issues of parent phone calls, IEP meetings, and dealing with Johnny Never-Comes-To-Class.
We also realized our own privilege. We had the chance to go abroad, and and we never stopped. But we learned not all families are so lucky. We taught students whose families could afford family trips abroad every year, families whose parents worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, and everything in between.
So how do we provide rich, cultural opportunities for kids? How do we create cross-cultural connections and friendships? We partner with a hosting organization! Let me convince you why:
Reason #1: It’s a matter of social justice.
Providing hosting opportunities helps level the playing field. When families sign up to host a student from another country, they can arrange anything from one week to a school year, depending on the program. I have found the “sweet spot” to be 3-week summer placements.
The programs I have used do not cost the host families anything to participate, thus opening the door of opportunity wider than trips abroad. I always tell the kids, “You don’t have to pay to participate. You just have to ‘feed and water your host sibling’!” That generally gets a laugh, but it’s true! When students know this won’t be a huge financial burden, they are more likely to want to know more.
Many families cannot afford to send their students abroad on our trips, but they can afford to “feed and water” one more kid for a 3-week stint in the summer. This allows students of (potentially) lower socioeconomic status to join in the conversations about international experiences because they will have had something special: a host brother or sister.
Reason #2: It connects students to the world.
I am a proponent of teaching less about the world and more with the world. Hosting does exactly that. Kids and families create connections with a person instead of a book. It’s easy to dismiss other values, religions, languages, or simply ways of existing when those things remain concepts, but when it’s a person in front of us our hearts become involved.
Through hosting, we learn, and we wonder. Kids start asking questions like, “Why do we do it that way here?” and “Why is my host sibling taking a picture of that? What does it look like where they live that makes it so different?” They become globally and culturally curious.
One of the very first things students do when they are matched with their host sibling is exchange social media contacts. And they quite often remain in contact long after the hosting period, both with the host student and with that student’s friends! Suddenly, kids start telling me about exchanges they have in their second language on social media! They show pictures to their classmates, and they refer to their “friends in France” in a nonchalant, grown-up way. Other students get curious, ask questions, and make contacts. They want to host too!
Reason #3: It’s easy.
Hosting is among the biggest educational “bang for your buck” experiences I have ever used. It’s so simple, and the reward for kids and families is huge.
- Step 1: Contact a company that arranges host family stays, and tell them what you’re looking for (length of stay, time of year, country). The company will then work to find a group for you. I highly recommend Language & Friendship and Xperitas.
- Step 2: When the company has found a group, they will provide bios of the students coming to your area. Pass the bios out in class, and let students read about who is coming!
- Step 3: Email parents the student bios and information about hosting. Often, it’s the parents who will ask their kids if they want to do it! Encourage families to apply for a host student.
- Step 4: Most companies use the local teachers to do family reference checks and/or home visits, so you may be called upon to do that. Most companies provide a stipend for teachers who do this. (I would caution against a company that does NO reference checks or home visits.)
- Step 5: Provide a list of ideas to your families of things they can do with their host student. Break the list down into three categories: little-to-no cost, inexpensive, and “special treats”. Download my example here. (Note: some items are specific to my region)
Feedback from last year’s host families
We now have a life long friendship with her and her family in France. We have already spoken with them since they arrived home.
It is worth it. You will learn new things from them and they will learn new things from you to take back to their family.
Kids are just kids…everywhere – open, warm, goofy, funny, kind, sweet and lovable.
The girls are keeping in touch still and now are talking about my daughter going to visit France next summer. It’s like a second family now.
It was a great experience and 3 weeks are perfect. We completely loved having the experience and getting to see things that we take for granted though another persons eyes was pretty cool.
Getting to know someone from a different county was really a neat experience and learning that we have more in common then what we thought.
