As a language student looking forward to your third year abroad, here’s something you should know: your third year abroad can only live up to expectations if you have the basics in place first. You need a plan if you want to avoid speaking your own language all year, find a decent place to live, and make lots of local friends.
And you can do that with a homestay. It can make your third year abroad the best year of your life. Read on to find out how.
Finding accommodation – It’s the biggest headache of all on a third year abroad. Many students end up staying in grotty places paying landlords they don’t trust or making temporary arrangements. A much better option is to book a homestay with a local family as soon as you know where you’re going to study or work. Local Lingoo host families provide a comfortable home, authentic meals and a friendly welcome. With Lingoo, you can even get to know them before you stay. True, a homestay does come at a slightly increased cost. But if you stay for just a few weeks, it’s valuable time you can use to find a suitable long-term solution. After all, it’s much easier to find somewhere to crash when you know your host city. Some hosts can even help you reduce costs (see below).
Gaining language fluency – Language students often end up living with others from their home country in university halls or shared flats. So they return home unable to speak like a native, when language learning was a key reason for going in the first place. A homestay with a local, by contrast, means you have to speak their language all day. It’s real-world, round the clock, language learning.
Befriending the locals – If you live with other students from home, it always restricts your social life. Let’s face it; it’s just easier to hang out with them. But by staying with friendly locals in their home, you learn the language as it’s spoken on the street from day one, make more friends, learn about the culture, and get a real taste of local life – things you just can’t get in the classroom.
Teaching English to your host – Many Lingoo hosts can provide a stay for free or at a reduced cost in exchange for you teaching them English. You don’t need a teaching qualification to do this. Some also offer work in their own businesses – from farms to shops and restaurants, which can also reduce your costs.
You can search here for a homestay here for free. It’s a third year abroad option well worth considering. Read more in our blog...
Lingoo is a language exchange and homestay club for, amongst others, young adults. Our online community provides inspiring language exchange holidays and homestays in the homes of native speakers all over the world.
Student exchange programs
Join the Lingoo international student exchange program and you can experience a new culture, discover ideas that open your eyes to fresh opportunities, learn a foreign language in an exhilarating way, and make new friends who introduce you to their community.
With our student exchange program, you choose your host based on their profile. So you can find a host not only in the country and location where you would like to study but who also shares your interests and has a young person in the family of the same age. And to make sure you have a great experience together, you can contact your hosts using our secure messaging system to get to know them before you book. So rather than arriving to stay with strangers, your student exchange program partner becomes your friend. Read more…
Teach English Abroad
Teach English abroad as a conversational coach. Live with your host family and teach them English for a few hours each week in everyday situations. You will teach English to both children and adults in exchange for your accommodation and all meals. Some host families may also pay you a small salary in your role as a conversational coach in English.
You can teach English abroad all over Europe and within a growing number of families in South America. It’s a really interesting way to spend some time abroad and it won’t cost you much more than your flight and some spending money. Read more…
Blog articles: From despair to teaching English as an Au Pair and beyond: What a difference a year makes!
Become a Language Au Pair
Plan an unforgettable gap year or career break travelling the world, staying in the homes of local people while you teach them conversation skills in your own language. As a language Au Pair, you don’t need a formal teaching qualification.
All you need is to be aged between 18 and 30, unmarried, without dependents, and possess an interest in people and a desire to help them improve their conversation skills. It’s a unique way to travel, get inside a culture, make new friends, and create memories that will last a lifetime. Read more…
Blog articles: 7 Benefits of Teaching English Abroad as a Language Au Pair