Homestay Guidelines
for Families
- By definition, a homestay student is not a boarder, but
rather should be regarded as a welcome guest, who, under the best of
circumstances, will become a temporarily adopted member of the family.
This means that homestay families assume certain responsibilities (see
below) and, in turn, receive a special blessing from the privilege
of hosting a student from another country.
- A homestay family will
provide
the student with the following basic amenities: a private room, which
meets safety, cleanliness, and privacy considerations, a bed (mattresses
on the floor are not acceptable), desk with study lamp, bedroom and
bathroom linens, dresser, closet, mirror, and a key to the house. A
private bathroom
for the student is preferred but not required. The room must be readied
by the time your student arrives.
- Provide an English-speaking environment.
- Provide the student and the homestay coordinator written "House Rules" during
the first week of the student arrival to his or her home. House Rules
may include matters such as smoking policy, house guest meal times, curfew,
etc. Please word your rules politely and include privileges as well as
rules so your student is not offended or intimidated by a long list of
do's and don'ts.
- Provide their student with food items to prepare a
continental breakfast—coffee/tea, cereal, fruit, bread (toast) and milk—and
a hot balanced evening meal.
- The homestay family shall treat the
student with respect, kindness, and tolerance, respecting their rights,
privacy,
and culture, including religious and political beliefs
- Include
the students in family activities. Families are welcome to invite
their homestay students to religious activities and meetings, but they
must
also honor
a student's right to decline this invitation without fear of being
treated less kindly as a result.
- Allow the student full use of
the household
common rooms, including access to television, telephone and living
areas.
Families may need to help the student understand how to
operate
household
appliances and what times are appropriate for their use.
- Provide
laundry facilities (washer, dryer, detergent), cleaning supplies
for the student
to keep their private living spaces clean, including private
bathroom, if applicable.
- Provide transportation for your student
to and
from class each day and pick up from scheduled ELI activities,
if your home is beyond a reasonable walking distance (more than 1
mile). Feel
free
to carpool with other homestay families who live near you.
-
Please
schedule a 'weekly meeting' with your student(s) in order
to keep channels of
communication open. The meeting can also provide an opportunity
to encourage the student to leam about more about American
culture, lifestyle, activities
and family life.
- Please always remember that most problems
come from communication and language-related problems. Never
forget that
your
students are new to this culture and our language. If
your student says or does
something that makes you angry, it is probably the result
of some misunderstanding. Be patient. Politely discuss problems
with your student.
Try to imagine
how difficult it would be for you to live in your student's
country without violating customs and without saying something
that might
be misunderstood.
- Inform the homestay coordinators if a student from
another program
is placed in your home.
- The homestay coordinator
should be
notified immediately of any problems between the student
and the family. If necessary, please request mediation by the coordinator.
- The
homestay
program reserves
the right to re-locate a student due to incompatibility
with
the student and the family. This will be done with consideration
for all
parties
to the best of our abilities. Please realize that
at times, changes to the student placement may come on short notice.
-
Neither
the
English Language Institute nor the University of
Delaware is liable
for outstanding
bills such as telephone bills or damages to the
home or property.
- Although
we expect the student to stay with the homestay
for the full session, we cannot assume that the student will not
choose to
move
out before
the end of the full session. Students are requested
to give the homestay two weeks notice before leaving.
