How to organize a language stay for your child

Language stays for children and teenagers

Language exchanges for children and teenagers are exceptional adventures. The best time to learn a language is childhood! From primary school, it is possible to go on a trip to learn while having fun. Linguistic exchange builds character, promotes autonomy and develops children's sociability. From 5 to 17 years old, many language travel formulas are possible. In summer camp or classic stay, the programs include language courses and activities. It is therefore the discovery of a new culture, the essentials of a city and above all, sport, the outdoors and entertainment!

Nearly 150 organizations offer language stays, this sector being very lucrative. Every year, in fact, more than 120,000 children and adolescents under the age of 18 spend study holidays abroad to improve their level in English, Spanish or German, according to the National Union of Organizations for Educational Stays, languages and language training. English-speaking countries are, unsurprisingly, the most in demand: the United Kingdom (65.3%) comes first, followed by the United States and Canada (8%), Ireland (6.1%) and Malta (4.3%). Next come Spain (3.6%) and Germany (2.5%).

So how do you find a trustworthy establishment? What are the quality criteria?

Sort through the offers

To avoid falling into the trap of dishonest professionals who do not hesitate to widely disseminate misleading offers, learn how to sort out correctly.

Analyze the proposed formulas. First of all, be aware that a classic language stay generally lasts 2 to 4 weeks (most often during school holidays), with a host family, with a package including at least accommodation, lessons language and sports or recreational activities (visits, excursions, etc.).

Assess the quality of coaching

The stay is not limited to a simple organized trip, the supervision must be of high quality. The organizer of the stay for your child must be able to give names and titles, in particular diplomas and accompanying persons. But this criterion alone is not enough. "For more security, the organizer must not have more than 10 children in his care for the leisure part".

Also make sure that the trip organizer has an emergency number that can be reached 24 hours a day, before and after departure, with the assurance of being put in touch quickly with a local correspondent. He is the one who will help you if your child is sick or has a bad blues.

Check the number of children accommodated per family. Ask for the exact number of foreign children housed by the family and the accommodation arrangements (single, double or triple room). Also check that the home is close to where the lessons are held. Unless otherwise indicated in the brochure, confirm that he will be the only French speaker in the family. Otherwise, this progress in language risks being severely limited.

Choose a stay adapted to the character of your child

Before opting for a formula, think about what your child expects from this trip: relaxation, cultural immersion or deepening of the language? The most important point is to take into account his motivation and his character.

A shy child will, for example, be more at ease if he is placed in a college or a family with 3 other foreign children than in total immersion with a teacher. Especially if it is a first experience. “Otherwise, he risks isolating himself and not enjoying his stay”.

Conversely, if your child is determined, at ease in society and has a good vocabulary, the option of private lessons in small groups of 3 to 5 students is perfectly suited. Here, the teacher gives the lessons in the morning, at home, and takes care of the afternoon activities. In the evening, the children return to dine and sleep with their respective host families.

Security

Know that it is possible to ensure the seriousness of an organization by checking that it has one of the two labels present on the market. Their benefit: they guarantee a certain level of quality and safety.

Insurance: check that you are not already covered

This is the last point to check before departure! Cancellation, theft of luggage, repatriation, medical expenses. Before taking out the insurance offered by the accommodation organisations, check that your child is not already covered by your own civil liability insurance, your mutual insurance company, or even your bank card. In the latter case, be aware that he can benefit from assistance and repatriation services if the stay was paid for with your card (MasterCard or Visa Premier), depending on the advantages it offers. Better: other insurances, such as those protecting against theft, as well as the cancellation guarantee, can even be included!

If your child is going to a country in the European Union, get the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) at least 2 weeks before departure, from your fund. It covers medical expenses, guarantees access to healthcare providers and waives the cost advance under the same conditions as for insured persons in the host country. Without this card, you will have to pay for the care, which you can get reimbursed in France when your child returns.

HEBE Adventures: Your Perfect Choice for Homestay Accommodation in Ireland

Thus, it is essential to choose a good accommodation intermediary who has proven his quality and his experience in the management of English-speaking host families, those in Ireland in particular. Where does the role and mission of our company HEBE Adventures come from, which has been designed to meet the expectations of different parents around the world by improving the experience of learning the English language in Ireland.

HEBE Adventures is the reference site for language immersion, you will inevitably find host family stays in Ireland that suit you. The Hebe team is available day and night to accompany each host family and each child throughout the world. In addition, we have host families waiting for your child's travel period.  

Each host family in Ireland is carefully selected according to specific standards of reliability, friendliness and courtesy, with the aim of making the child's stay as pleasant as possible.   

HEBE Adventures is at the service of young travelers around the world to help them find a host home away from home, so that they can exercise the most effective language tool in the world in terms of learning English, namely continuous daily communication within an English-speaking host family. Even more, in case your child does not enjoy the language exchange experience with their current host family, it is possible to move and start enjoying their English language learning tool again with d other English-speaking families available on the Hébé platform.

The reputation of HEBE Adventures in the field of accommodation for English-speaking families thing is that she offers parents a unique package of services for their child, providing them with ongoing 24/7 support, coordination with host families in England who listen to their needs and a system intuitive notice review within the Hébé family accommodation platform.

So what are you waiting for to find the perfect host family for children? Hébé Adventures is at your disposal.