newsletter - host in france ! welcome to the ‘host in france’ newsletter n 3. it’s been yet...
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NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the ‘Host in France’ newsletter N° 3.
It’s been yet another good year for ‘Host in France’. Very few problems once again and the small ones that did occur were quickly resolved.
I would like to thank all of the host families for the time and effort they put into hosting. From the feedback I’ve received this year it seems that hosts thoroughly
enjoyed the experience and can’t wait for another offer of a guest
Liliane 60 years of age. Just a note to let you know that Lilianne has departed today and has been excellent company this week. She has worked really hard on her English and made concerted efforts to speak and use the things she learned during her lessons. She was happy with the excursions and we found that we had many things in common Malcolm said he was "freaking out" as there was another woman on the planet like me... She was very appreciative of everything we proposed and she was very amusing. We had a fantastic week with her.
HOW WE WORK I am still receiving occasional mails from registered host families asking why it is that I haven’t as yet referred guests to them. As mentioned in Newsletter n°2 , there can be various reasons for this. Your area of France, composition of your family, your family interests, whether you are able to offer English lessons etc… (Examples of the French requests I receive are spread throughout this newsletter). When I receive a request for a stay, I send a few host family descriptions that match the request. It is then the French guest who makes the final choice of host family. If you feel that you would like to update your host description with new photos, further information and new centres of interest, I will be pleased to hear from you. I’ll be more than happy when all the registered host families have a chance to host.
Pearl and Nigel, hosting Thomas 13 : It makes us feel very humble to have such lovely things said about us. To us, Thomas is not just a visiting student. To us, his parents are our adopted children, and Thomas, an adopted grandson. They are a lovely family, and we hope to meet their daughter, Pauline one day. Thomas gives us a lot of pleasure, and laughs ! However, we are under no illusion. One day, he will have better things to do, rather than stay with us. But, I hope that he will keep in touch with us during his life. We want to follow his life, as we know he will have a very interesting one. Looking forward to February!
Request for a hosting : Nous avons 2 filles de 13 ans (en 4°). nous souhaiterions vous les confier pour une semaine, chacune dans une famille mais à proximité l'une de l'autre, en même temps. nous habitons la provence. Nolwenn est plutot sport (athlétisme) et très nature. Eva est plutot photo et théatre.
Request for a hosting : Je suis la mère d'une élève en terminale L de 17 ans et demi. Je recherche une famille en Dordogne pour accueillir ma fille, Elisabeth, une semaine durant les vacances d'octobre. ce serait bien s'il y avait un ou une jeune de son âge dans la famille.
HOSTS LIZ AND MARTIN
Liz and Martin hosting Sylvie and her daughters
Having taught English in a secondary school for the last 18 years, we made the permanent move to our home in France at the end of 2015. We’d had some previous experience of hosting during my school holidays, with a view to doing more of this if we enjoyed it...and we do! Teaching English as a foreign language is very different to teaching English to 12 to 16 year olds in the UK, so it really helped me by undertaking a 4 week intensive TEFL course, which I managed to do in Paris. It was a tough four weeks but I’d highly recommend a residential course, as you get practical experience too. I had never even touched on business English when I was a secondary teacher, but my course helped me gain expertise in this area too. My advice to hosts re the teaching side, is to ask for prior info. regarding areas of English that students have difficulties with. It certainly helps with lesson planning! I always give students an A4 exercise book and each night I write a detailed lesson plan for the following day. That way parents can see what areas are being covered…and they also get to see the student’s work! However, hosting isn't all about the formal side of teaching. Far from it! Firstly, make sure your students are having FUN! My husband’s zany sense of humour is always an ice breaker and students settle quickly and feel relaxed. We ensure that we do something different each day once morning lessons are over.…airbrush art, visits to local places of interest, 10 pin bowling, go karting, walking the dogs at Fosse Arthur, treasure hunts, cookery, fun fairs, helping with our animals…the list is endless! We play in an Irish band and every student we've had has enjoyed getting involved on the beat box during rehearsals! My other half is a semi professional astronomer and one of the things that gives us the most pleasure is seeing a student’s face when he or she looks at the rings of Saturn or sees the moons of Jupiter through a big telescope for the first time. It's a truly wonderful moment. We recently had a young man who has undoubtedly discovered a passion for astronomy…and whose command of English improved greatly as he asked Martin question after question whilst observing the night sky! Find out what a student’s interests are…and capitalise on it. I got some great conversations out of one student by
discussing dinosaurs…and he even volunteered to give us a presentation, in English, all about them…we learnt loads! For us, the absolute reward when you host is seeing students come out of their shells during their time with us, eventually leaving with bags of confidence and smiling, happy faces, as they recount their experiences to their parents. When those same students want to be friends on Facebook and continue to be in touch…well…you know you've nailed it! Liz
Vanessa and Craig hosting Agathe, 14 Agathe is a lovely young girl & we will be sad for her to leave, we really have enjoyed her company & we hope she has enjoyed her stay with us. I am sure there will be tears when she leaves tomorrow.
Request for a hosting : Mon fils âgé de 12 ans aimerait vivre une semaine d'immersion durant les vacances de printemps 2017. Il souhaiterait une formule one to one mais dans une famille qui comporte 1 ou 2 garçons de son âge, et qui ont les mêmes centres d'intérêt que lui (dept 59)
Victoria and Harris, hosting Noe, 14 : "Noe is a lovely boy! He already has great English, he's interested, very motivated as you said and he is participating fully in our conversations which is really excellent, especially for someone so young. Noe is fitting in extremely well and I think we are going to have an excellent and very productive week together.
FAQ’S
I had it in mind to write some tips on hosting but when reading our previous newsletters, I realised that much of the advice I wanted to give you has already been written If you have any questions on hosting, many answers are contained in our previous newsletters, in particular : - pages 3 & 4 of Newsletter n°1 regarding :
-‐ availability to host -‐ vetting the guests -‐ your contact with your guests -‐ insurance -‐ English lessons -‐ why we ask for news during the stays we organise -‐ and a few « Must do’s »
- pages 2, 7, 8, 9 & 10 of Newsletter n°2 regarding :
- Teaching English - confirmations of stay - changing the dates for a stay - pick ups and drop offs - pocket money - authorisations - changes in your family composition, accommodation and availability
Request for a hosting : Élevé en TES au lycée Ravel à Paris, je souhaite améliorer ma pratique en Anglais pour bâtir de bonnes bases pour cette année décisive. Pouvez vous me proposer durant les vacances d'octobre une famille en région parisienne ou au sud de Rennes ? Mon principal centre d'intérêt est le sport.
Nick and Saro hosting Sacha, 14 : Sacha is a delightful young man, very polite and well humoured. He has been very busy with an English lesson each day and involving himself in our normal daily lives. We have been cycling and kayaking as well as visiting a couple of towns which he has enjoyed. His spoken English is actually very good, particularly when he is talking about a subject of keen interest such as football. My wife has said that he reads well and I understand his comprehension is improving quickly. He really is a nice lad and has a good sense of humour. Delighted to have him with us.
Our Hosting Experience
Alex and John
This has been the first year that John and I have welcomed students from Host in France to our home and it has been entirely a positive, thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience. Host in France has been professional, friendly, helpful, understanding and approachable at all times, so never mind us, I’d recommend THEM to anybody! We moved to Normandy, a beautiful part of France, 13 years ago, where we renovated the property, set up a smallholding and, now have three gites on site. The cottage guests of all ages are mainly English speaking, although not necessarily English, who love to talk and share experiences of the French and English cultures with the students as much as we do. We are also blessed with many good English friends and family who visit often. The three students we have had this year, all girls of 12, 16 and 18 years of age were absolutely charming and a joy to host and have staying here. We were keen to establish contact with their families initially to reassure them that their girls would be safe, comfortable, at all times contactable and in contact. With mobile ‘phones, this didn’t prove a problem at all, and in fact it was me encouraging them to ‘phone home.’ Bless ‘em. Kids huh? When they first arrived and had settled in, we talked to them to further establish their likes/ dislikes and interests. It also taught us a lot, about how best to assess, appreciate and accommodate their needs age wise, although being parents of a son and daughters it wasn’t hard. The little one had a teddy hidden in bed with her, the 16 year old didn’t want to look ‘uncool’ and the 18 year old was a fabulous cook and made us the best Quiche Lorraine I have ever tasted!
The days were structured but by no means rigidly so, and tended to go off in many different tangents, all with learning, always fun but also with plenty of opportunity for them to have rest if they needed it and their own space if they wanted it. They loved and appreciated the trips out, but happily, had all chosen to stay here partly for their love of animals. We have milking goats, dogs, cats, chickens, bees, alpacas, ride and drive pony, donkey, chinchillas and anything else that happens to wander in looking hungry. Each student was encouraged to get involved with life here as much or as little as they wished, but without fail they did so with enthusiasm, (as long as they didn’t have to get up too early). None of them knew how to shear an alpaca or milk a goat until they stayed here.
The students were very keen to learn and each had aspirations to use the English language in their future occupations. We encouraged and tutored them in conversation, reading and writing and watching DVD’s that inspired discussion (Downton Abbey was excellent for this). We also introduced them to essential colloquialisms and sayings such as ‘a nice cup of tea’ (or cake)
to which the answer is ‘ooh lovely’. It was so funny to get e-mail after the ‘rentrée’, that the new English teacher ‘didn’t even know what Eton Mess was!’…. The horror! Who are these schools employing? In fact they mostly loved the English menus, but none of them liked gravy, even on a Sunday roast dinner, although they loved sage and onion stuffing. John and I feel very grateful to have been chosen by Host in France and our students so far and look forward to being part of many further happy learning experiences. Alex
Victor and Andrea hosting a mother and her chlldren aged 16 & 12 : Christine, Pauline and Mathieu are here. They are a lovely family and we are getting on very well. It is very hot so the pool is welcome. We visited Aubeterre yesterday and will be going to Brantome on Wednesday. This afternoon Pauline and I are going to bake some cakes.
WHAT FRENCH PARENTS ARE AWARE OF POCKET MONEY The money the parents pay for the stay is to cover food, lodging and time spent with the guest to help him/her improve their English. Pocket money is to cover payable activities (public swimming pool, visits etc) A minimal amount of 50 Euros must be given to the host family on arrival. If no money is given, the host family will understand that the parents do not wish their child to participate to payable activities. (We advise that you discuss the matter with parents and let them know of your plans and approximate costs before arrival – see Newsletter n°2 ARRIVAL and DEPARTURE The stays we organise are usually from Saturday to Saturday. Host and guest (or parents) are to agree on the hours of arrival and departure. PICK-UP and DROP OFF Host families often accept to pick up and drop off their guest from/to the station or airport. If the station or airport is not nearby, the guest will have to cover the expenses : petrol, toll and parking. PERMISSIONS French parents are to let the host family know of permissions they give their child/children. We remind you that we ask for the presence of an adult member of the host family at all times during the stays we organise, unless agreed differently with the guest’s parents (we advise that you ask for a written authorisation). MOBILE PHONES and COMPUTERS More and more host families are complaining about an excessive use of electronic devices (mobile phones, computers). We ask French parents to discuss this problem with their children and to ask that they obey their parents’ and the host family’s rules on the matter.
Request for a hosting : je recherche un sejour linguistique pour mon fils agé de 15 ans très timide qui rencontre de grandes difficultés en anglais .Nous habitons Valbonne . Que pourriez vous nous conseiller en séjour assez proche des Alpes-Maritimes par exemple du 25 octobre au 1er novembre et/ou du 17 au 24 décembre ? Un enfant dans la famille, même un peu plus jeune, serait l'idéal. Request for a hosting : Femme de 60 ans.Niveau débutante ++(4 ans de cours conversation anglais en club,renouvellé pour 2017. L'objectif de ce séjour serait de prendre de l'assurance...
Hosting & my experiences
TRACY
When I first read a ‘Host in France’ advert looking for English Hosts I suddenly instantly thought “I could do that”! Registering was a simple process and very soon I was starting to receive guests. At first it was a little ‘strange’ having them arrive on the doorstep with suitcases but after two or three guests it became second nature. Hosting has been very rewarding, in lots of ways. The most fundamental reward is seeing each guest’s progress throughout their stay and when waving them goodbye at the end of their stay having witnessed a complete transformation in confidence and ability to casually converse in English. This is truly wonderful to see. When guests visit me I try to make their stay as interesting, exciting and knowledgeable as possible.
If it’s at all possible I like to make dreams come true! For example; a recent guest had a dream to gallop a horse along a beach. I managed to fulfil this dream for her and we shared this amazing dream together. We rode beautiful Camargue white horses in a Natural Park along the beaches, sand-dunes and wetlands. We saw Camargue bulls, Flamingos and bird species whilst being surrounded by stunning nature with an amazing sun-set. This was a very special moment indeed.
HOST IN THE UK
HOSTING IN THE UK During the time since Host in France started organising stays for French guests I have received more and more requests from French adults who wish either to do a stay in France or in the UK. In order to answer the requests for stays in the UK, Anthony has created a new UK business. Anthony would be pleased to hear from any families you know who might be interested in becoming a UK host family for adult French guests. (It will of course be essential that at least one adult member of the host family is home during the day). Please do forward the website link to family and friends. Thank you : www.hostintheuk.com Anthony