When thinking about your study abroad programme, you should put careful consideration into your choice of accommodation. It is very likely to affect your stay one way or another and it helps to try and get it right from the beginning. You may feel horrified at the thought of staying with a “host family” but it could turn out to be just the thing you need to make your English study trip abroad the best experience you’ve had.

Most schools offer a variety of accommodation and these tend to be one or more of the following three options: a host family, a shared apartment or a student residence. These can vary depending on which school and which location you choose and they can also vary a great deal to one’s preconceived idea of what they are. Here’s a little summary of each:

Host Family:

Many people seem to think that staying with a host family will mean being forced to eat horrible food and being limited by the daily routine of the family and therefore not having the freedom you would associate with other types of accommodation. However this is not the case! Many hosts cook excellent food and that in itself can be a great opportunity to practise the language and learn about cultural differences. Why not offer to cook a meal from your home country one night? Sharing recipes is great for your English language learning and will help solidify a great friendship with your host.

The schools do an excellent job in matching the student to the host so it’s a good idea to give us plenty of information about you at the time of booking. For example, are you a smoker, would you prefer a home with or without children/pets, would you prefer to stay with a single person, a couple or a family, would you prefer to share with other language students, what are your likes and interests, would you prefer internet or your own bathroom? Many of these requests can be met as the schools handle a wide range of hosts. They are always well vetted and if there are ever any problems they are dealt with immediately and any necessary changes are made.

It is also the case that as a student living with a family you will be given a key to the home and can come and go as you please, we would just ask that you respect your host by letting them know if you are not going to be there for a meal. Host family accommodation should be seen as the optimum way to extend your use of English outside the classroom by practising what you’ve been learning that day, learning lots more and making a lifelong friend.

Shared Apartment:

Staying in a shared apartment (sometimes referred to as student house) is an ideal option for the younger student and for people who want complete independence. In a shared apartment or student house you would have your own bedroom and the facilities such as bathroom, lounge and kitchen are all shared. There are no meals provided and students are responsible for their own cooking and cleaning. The apartments are usually cleaned once a week. With this type of accommodation you would have a great opportunity to meet more students and to meet people from many different countries and cultures. The idea is that a good mix of nationalities are housed together so that English is the first language used, giving you a good opportunity to practise, but this is not always the case. It does however mean that there are usually other students around to help you with your homework!

In a shared apartment you would usually be sharing with other language students from the same language school as you.

Parties, of course, have been known to happen! So if you are a person that prefers a lot of peace and quiet, then a homestay may be the better option. Being self catering does mean you have complete freedom over what you eat so this can be an advantage for some people. Students will often take turns to cook a meal from their own country so that can be a great way to make friends and practise the language.

Student Residence:

Student residences do vary depending on the location you choose. Sometimes the schools will have their own accommodation building and call it a residence. Other times the residences will be owned by a university but offer rooms to language students, either just in the summer or all year round.

There is not a great deal of difference between a residence and a shared apartment. They are often bigger and have more rooms therefore hosting more students. You would have your own room (unless you request to share) and you would then share the facilities of the residence. Some residences have rooms with en-suite bathrooms though most would have shared facilities. Some residences provide meals while others will have a kitchen for students to use. There is usually a lounge with TV and sometimes an outside space like a patio, terrace or balcony.

A wide variety of students choose the residence option so you could be sharing with students of all ages and nationalities. As each residence varies quite a lot, please ask us to provide specific details when choosing residence accommodation in the location you are going to study.