By on January 6th, 2016

3 Surprisingly Cool Things About Hosting an International Student

If you have a spare room and you live near one of the many fine colleges and universities in California, Arizona, or Florida, you should really think about becoming a host family for an international student. Why? Well, there are actually a lot of really cool elements and experiences that come with hosting international students that you may not have thought about before.

Learn About Another Culture and Language

First of all, a lot of the students who travel to the universities we partner with are coming to the US to learn English as a second language. At the beginning of their stay, they may only be able to communicate basic things, but you can help them learn more English while they teach you a surprising amount about their own culture and language where they come from.

By the time they leave, they’ll have picked up a lot more English, and you might be surprised at how much of their language you’ve learned. You might even find yourself looking into classes and materials to keep learning your own second language. In fact, because you get to choose which students you’ll be open to accepting, you can actually base your choice on the languages you’re most interested in learning.

Teach Your Kids About Other Cultures

The younger children are when they’re exposed to different cultures, languages, and customs, the more open-minded they’ll be as adults. Kids who experience foreign cultures when they’re younger are also more likely to keep up with news and current events because they already have a personal tie to places other than the US. You don’t have to be a globetrotter to give your kids those international experiences, though. You can bring interesting people from all over the world to your own home and help your children learn about the world we live in first-hand.

You Can Choose When You Want to Host

Opening your home up to international students doesn’t mean you’re going to have students living with you all the time, and it doesn’t mean you have to accept exchange students when you’re busy, planning family vacations, etc. Because you get to choose when you’ll be available, you can opt for times when you’ll be most able to help and interact with the student(s) staying with you.

If all this sounds interesting to you and you think you’d like to host an international student, apply to become a host family today!