Hosting a Foreign Exchange Student
What an International Exchange Host Family Should Know
Sep 3, 2008
Hosting a foreign exchange student is like bringing a little bit of international flavor into a home. By being a host family in an international exchange program, parents of school-age children can bring cultural exposure to the entire family.
Thousands of high school students are placed in homes every year through large and small high school exchange programs.
Rotary International’s Youth Exchange Program, the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS), and American Field Service (AFS) are among the largest programs that arrange for high school students to study and live in a foreign country with a host family.
There are dozens of smaller and more loosely based programs that place foreign students into host homes every school year. Programs range from one- and two-year stays to brief group visits for a quicker exposure to another country and culture.
The Advantages of Hosting a Foreign Exchange Student
Many families who host foreign exchange students do it because they have children in high school who can strike up a friendship with someone from another country and benefit from the intercultural experience.
Some host parents are empty-nesters, childless working couples, single parents. whose children have grown up and left home, or have no children and want to provide a home for a foreign visiting student.
Foreign exchange programs are not necessarily looking for host families in big cities or near tourist attractions. AFS, an international non-profit organization that places thousands of students in 50 countries, says host families “can live on farms, in small towns, in suburbs and in city apartments.”
The Center for Cultural Interchange says it expects its host families to provide a warm and welcoming home for their students, as well as:
- A separate bed and a quiet place to study
- Daily meals with the family
- Some local transportation
- Open communication, encouragement and sound advice
- Treatment as a member of the family (chores, rules, privileges)
Before You Become a Host to a Foreign Exchange Student
Before committing to hosting a foreign exchange student, parents should get detailed answers to questions about all possible scenarios regarding their exchange student.
- What are the financial obligations? How much entertaining and sightseeing is a host family asked to pay for? Many host families choose to go above and beyond sightseeing, day trips and showing the student around their region of the country. The student most often has some money of his own to spend, but possibly not enough for what has been planned. The host family may have to foot some bills.
- What are the time requirements? Host parents are expected to take on all parenting duties for a visiting student. If a student is staying in a foreign country during a school year, the host parents are most often expected to get him to school and back, attend parent teacher conferences, help with school work, and get involved in extra-curricular activities.
- What if the host family children don’t get along with the foreign exchange student? Ideally, host family members and their foreign exchange student will get along famously, but occasionally there is a conflict of personalities. Host families should be prepared to adapt to an outsider in their home, with different customs and manners.
- What type of support does the agency provide to the host family? Once a student arrives in the country, there may be language problems, homesickness issues, and other matters that need attention or intervention by an experienced foreign exchange student agency representative. Before hosting a student, a host family should feel confident that they can reach help anytime during their student’s stay.
- Will the host family’s home be compatible with the student? A host family should find out as much about the student as possible to make his adjustment as smooth as possible. Will the climate be an issue? What about the family pets? Small details such as dinner times and household noise become magnified when a young person is far away from home.
- What if there is a medical emergency? A reputable foreign exchange program will have insurance coverage for the visiting student. A host parent will have to respond to a medical program as she would with her own children, by taking him to the doctor or emergency room.
Hosting a foreign exchange student can be a rewarding experience for host parents and children. Foreign exchange students and their host families often make lifelong bonds and the families have a connection to another country and culture.
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