Host Families
Would you like to open your home and your family to the experience of hosting an international exchange student? EIL Intercultural Learning, a not-for-profit cultural exchange organisation, has a variety of programmes which promote homestay experiences in Ireland. We are always on the look out for new families who are happy to open their home and their hearts to indviduals who have a genuine curiosity to learn about the Irish way of life and a desire to form meaningful relationships which we hope will last a lifetime.
What makes EIL different?
We believe that EIL is different from exchange organisations you may have heard about.
- EIL is a not-for-profit organisation that provides cultural immersion activities, through a range of different programmes for about 2000 people each year.
- EIL is not a language school or a student boarding agency.
- EIL was first introduced into Ireland in 1960 and today is one of the key members of the EIL Federation which is an international not for profit network with a presence in 20 countries around the world
- EIL is overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors all of whom are former participants on EIL programmes. These directors receive no payment for their work.
- EIL was recognized as a Peace Messenger organization in 1989 by the United Nations Secretary General.
- EIL places Child Welfare and Protection at the centre of all safety procedures and guidelines
- EIL appoints and trains coordinator who must live and work in your local community. This person is responsible for providing 24/7 support to the student, host family and school for the duration of the programme.
- EIL gives back to Irish communities in the form of Travel Awards and scholarships funded by The Trust for Education in International Living. Since it was founded in 1994 The Trust has assisted over 510 people at a cost of €380,000 to explore other cultures.
About us
What can you expect from EIL?
The EIL office in Cork City is just a small part of what makes up EIL. The day to day operations of the organisation are carried out by a full time team of 8 staff members who work hand-in-hand with dedicated network of local coordinators situated throughout Ireland. The EIL Network has hundreds of participating families as well as past participants who contribute to making EIL better each year. We commit to never leaving a family stranded in a crisis should there be one and will always be there to support and assist you in finding solutions. The local coordinator is available to help in your area of the country and we also operate an emergency number 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in cases of urgency, which is always manned by a member of staff.
EIL will:
- Screen students thoroughly to asess that they are suitably mature and motivated to participate in an exchange programme.
- Send family, school and community information to the student prior to arrival to help them be prepared before arriving to Ireland.
- Provide the host family with a complete student dossier so that you will have detailed background information before the student arrives.
- Meet each student shortly after they arrive in Ireland and through a workshop session make them aware of their support systems, programme rules and their responsibilities to the host family and school.
- Provide on-going support and advice to both student and host family throughout the programme.
- In the event of a dispute, mediate in an impartial way to try to help find a solution that everybody is happy with.
EIL will be organizing host family orientations starting in 2010. Please wait for details of the orientation date near you.
Featured family
John and Linda Wilmott and their two sons Craig and Jason are EIL's latest featured host family. The Wilmott's of Tramore, Co. Waterford have been the host family for Chiho Kim of Korea from January 2010 until June when he finishes school at CBS Tramore and will return home. Here they talk about how the experience has gone for them so far.
Why did you decide to get involved in hosting an exchange student?
Prior to our involvement with EIL, we had been hosting foreign students for 15 years. We did this each summer for a 4-6 week period. Last summer (2009) we were host to a French student called Elodie, she was on work experience for 6 months. We found this to be a successful and gratifying experience culminating with us staying with Elodie and her family, in France, for one week. Therefore, it seemed to us, to be a natural progression to continue hosting long term.
Has the experience been what you expected
As with any new experiences it is not always easy to know what to expect. Overall, there have been no surprises. We pretty much knew beforehand that Chiho, along with ourselves, would be a little apprehensive but we connected quite quickly. We are enjoying having Chiho here with us and look forward to the future months in his company.
What are some of the challenges your family has experienced while hosting
Introducing a student into a family, long term, has the potential to be a disruptive intrusion. As our children have grown up with the inclusion of students in our home, this was not a challenge as such. The challenge can occur when the children cannot gel with the new arrival. Chiho did not present a problem in this regard as he is easy going and very easy to get along with.
How has having Chiho living with you affected each member of your family?
We are quite a close knit family so introducing another individual into the mix just involved minor changes. We do share a lot of our time with Chiho but we still have ample opportunities to spend family time together. In this regard the children witness that the family unit is not finished, just temporarily altered. We are happy to report that no family member has been affected adversely in any way. If fact, we believe the opposite to be the case, we are benefiting from the additional member.
What do you see as the positives of hosting?
Firstly, we think that it is beneficial for our children to talk and interact with individuals from other countries and cultures. I believe, for them, this will make the world a smaller and less intimidating place. It also allows us to share our experiences and personalities. From this we can gauge how others from different cultures and backgrounds view us.
What advice would you give to a family considering hosting for the first time?
As it is a new venture for the family, we would perhaps advise them to begin hosting for the shorter period. This will allow them to determine if hosting is what they expected. Also talk to each member of the family as this will firstly give them time to get used to the idea and also feel as if they are part of the process. Listen to what they have to say as this will allow time to deal with any questions or apprehensions, this will be to the benefit of all involved.
What advice would you give about Irish family life to an exchange student thinking about coming to Ireland?
The family unit in Ireland is held in high regard. As parents we try to provide a safe and loving environment for our children to develop. We try to teach our children to be kind-hearted, courteous and well mannered. We endeavor to provide them with as good an education as possible. We like to think a typical family home in Ireland is a pleasant place to be, a unit where foreign students will feel welcome and at ease.
Did you do anything special in the beginning, to help Chiho settle in?
We feel it is far more difficult for the student to leave the safety and security of their own surroundings than it is for us to receive them into our home. For our part we tried to make Chiho feel at home as soon as possible. We made sure he had all he needed regarding his accommodation and if he needed anything else, he should feel free to ask. The day after his arrival we took him on a tour of the local area, including his school, shops, and places of interest and so on. On his first day of school we accompanied Chiho to introduce him to the person that had the responsibility to show him around. Apart from that we just tried to allow him to slot into normal family life as soon as possible.
What has been your fondest memory/experience so far with Chiho?
We took Chiho to watch a game of hurling between Waterford and Dublin. As this was his first encounter with our national sport, it was great to witness his reactions to a crazy group of fearless Irishmen apparently doing battle with big sticks in their hands. It has altered the way he now views soccer, played by a bunch of girls (his words), forever. Chiho found the whole event enchanting.
Who can host?
EIL host families come in all shapes and sizes and represent the increasing diverity of Irish culture. EIL does not discriminate based on class, religion, race, occupation or colour. In addition to “traditional” families we also welcome families who are:
- Couples without children
- Single parents
- Adoptive parents
- Empty-nesters
- Blended Families
- Multi-generational families
In line with best practice Child Protection policies we are excluded from accepting Single Person households
What are our expectations of a host family?
- To be warm, welcoming and open-minded.
- Have a clean, comfortable, warm home.
- To always treat the student the same as another member of the family.
- Prepared to involve the student in all family activities including sharing daily meals together.
- Have the patience to provide encouragement and support to the student who often suffer from homesickness and culture shock during the early stages of the programme.
- Have a genuine interest in a cross cultural exchange experience. Students will want to share their culture with you as well.
- The commitment to host for the full duration of the students stay, including Christmas and Easter holidays.
- Be prepared to collect the student on arrival and bring them back to the airport on departure.
In return students are expected to:
- Be a responsible and caring member of the family.
- To make a genuine effort to integrate with other family members and participate in all family activities.
- Chip in and help with small jobs around the house.
- Attend school regularly and show consistent effort.
- Share his/her culture and customs with hosts and community.
- Be committed to the program and communicate in an open and honest matter with their host family.
Become a host family
First off, you need to ask yourself if you have the time and dedication to become a host family. Hosting is a commitment. If you have holidays planned for the year, will you bring your student with you? Just like one of your own children, they are a responsibility and they should be considered a “new addition” to the family.
What are your expectations? Students are not meant to be seen as the family housekeeper, au pair or live-in babysitter. They want to be treated as an active member of the family. They should have roles and responsibilities such as cleaning their own room, helping with the washing up, and helping at meal times. For some students of different cultures, this could be a challenge, but with patience and perseverance adaptation is usually quick.
Do you have a stable home?
Modern Irish working families have ups and downs and EIL understands that every family’s personal circumstances are different. But, keep in mind that hosting a student can be an added stress. Factors which could put a strain on your ability to host successfully include: If your marriage is under pressure, your job is insecure, or your finances are strained. Students can be very sensitive and do not want to be seen as a “burden”. Some families do not host every year, but take breaks when needed and this something we encourage to avoid “burn-out” syndrome. We want our families to look forward to hosting with new zeal and vigor for every student that arrives.
Vetting of host families
All families are visited and interviewed by an EIL local coordinator before they can be accepted for hosting. The purpose of this visit is to ensure that your home is a clean and comfortable environment for student. Exchange students do not necessarily have to have their own bedroom and can share a room with a host brother or sister but it must be a same sex arrangement. Each family will be interviewed to assess their motivation for becoming involved and their understanding of the commitment and challenges involved. In addition we ask each family to voluntarily agree to be Garda-vetted to ensure that no adult member of the family has a criminal conviction. For more information on this procedure please click here. While this procedure is currently voluntary we intend to make it compulsory from June 2010.
Contact you local coordinator
EIL can give you the contact details of the local coordinator in your area. If there is not a local coordinator where you live, you may want to consider starting up a new host community. EIL cannot place a student with a family who does not have a local coordinator living locally.
Your Local Coordinator
The local coordinator plays a vital role in ensuring that the programme runs smoothly. There are a number of functions that the local rep should carry out both prior to and during the students stay.
Before Arrival
Step 1. Prior to the students arrival the local coordinator will receive the completed application included in the application will be an academic record, reference from a teacher, photos and a Dear Family letter and information about the student that is vital for the host family and school to know.
Step 2. The local coordinator is responsible for placing the student with a suitable family using the above information. This family will then be given a copy of the information and should be made aware of allergies, etc. At this stage, the local coordinator will ask the family to complete a family profile form and submit photos and a letter to the student. Each family’s home should be visited prior to any student being placed there.
Step 3. The local coordinator is responsible for registering the student into a local school. We will ask for school details such as activities, subjects, etc. Each year we ask for a school prospectus to send each student before they arrive. Also, the school must be informed of the name, address and phone number of the host family. It is important that the school is aware that the student is expected to participate in everyday school life. An essential element of this programme is that the student participates fully in the academic and social life of the school just as any Irish child. However, if possible, the student should be introduced to their class teacher on their first day at school. No more than two students of the same nationality maybe placed at one school so that students have the opportunity to integrate entirely. A local coordinator with access to more schools has the ability to place more students in their area.
After Arrival
The local coordinator is expected to contact the host family and ensure that they are aware of the date and times of the students’ arrival and confirm transfers.
The local coordinator is expected to meet the student within the first couple days of their arrival and to explain their function to the student. At this stage an EIL staff member will also arrange an orientation date which all students in the community must attend. This meeting will answer a lot of questions they might have and prepare them for the next several months. The local coordinator also must attend in support.
The local coordinator will be expected to contact the student regularly and help them with any issues that may arise. Initially, the student should talk to their host family. But problems may arise and they may like to talk to an independent person. The local coordinator may have to act as an impartial mediator between the host family and student. On occasion the student may ask the local coordinator for advice in relation to school matters.
Likewise, the host family may wish to discuss issues with the local coordinator. It is important that the host family is aware of this also. Students have been moved on occasion, but we have found that regular informed contact and a listening ear to both sides can be very helpful.
The host family or student sometimes feel they never have a reason to contact the local coordinator but the local coordinator must still have regular contact, provide progress reports and be available should problems arise.
The student/host family occasionally contact the EIL office, but most of the contact is local. The local coordinator should always be the 1st point of contact for both family and student. EIL will expect periodic reports on each student and any issues that arise, we will need to be kept up to date.
FAQ
Questions
Where do the students come from?
Where are your host communities?
How long do student’s stay?
How old are the participants?
Is hosting voluntary or are hosts paid?
What happens if we can no longer host a student or if a student wants to move?
Answers
Where do the students come from?
We are open to accepting students on our programmes from any country providing they pass all screening interviews and meet our selection criteria’s. Our participants are mainly German, French, Italian, American, Australian, Brazilian, Japanese, Korean and Belgian. We have also had participants from Mexico, Austria. Poland and New Zealand amongst others.
Where are your host communities?
We have local coordinators in the regions of Ballyhoura, Castlebar, Carrigaline, Clonmel, Cahir, Cashel, Drogheda, Galway, Gorey, Kerry, Navan, Tuam, Tramore and Youghal. If you live outside of these areas, you may want to consider starting a host community near you and joining our team of Local Coordinators. Please call EIL to get the contact details of the coordinator details near you.
How long do student’s stay?
The majority of our students stay 15, 22, 26 or 40 weeks and go to Irish secondary school. They arrive at the end of August for the start of the school year and a second smaller group arrives at the start of January. Short-term programmes outside of the school calendar can occur as well, mostly during the summer months, usually involving stays of between 1 and 4 weeks. The local coordinator in each community is responsible for selecting which host family the participant will be placed in.
How old are the participants?
Generally, students are between 15-18 years old. We also get requests to find family placements for mature adults and University aged participants on weekend homestays.
Is hosting voluntary or are hosts paid?
We expect that the primary reason for hosting is not financially motivated. We do however realize that providing accommodation, heating, and food for hosting guests does come with a financial cost. We give our hosts a non-commercial hospitality allowance per week, normally sent at the end of each month. Please contact your local coordinator for more details
What happens if we can no longer host a student or if a student wants to move?
Students cannot just request to be moved to a new family. We have an obligation to the student and the host family to try and make sure all possibilities are explored to find a solution with the existing family before a move is decided. Many times initial unhappiness is due to homesickness, culture shock or communication misunderstandings. Your local coordinator is there to help in these situations. If we feel that the relationship between family and student cannot be repaired or improve, then we will move the student. Families also cannot just decide they no longer wish to host. Hosting is a commitment for the duration of the students stay. Only in special circumstances will we move students for any length of time.