Become a Host Family
Why become a host family?
If you have a spare room in your home and are interested in hosting International students, you might just be the kind of family our school needs! Hosting International students is a great way to build relationships with adults and children from other countries. Learn about each other’s culture as well as earn a supplemental income. And, if you have younger children or teens, great friendships have developed between teens and many have traveled to their students’ country to visit and meet their families too!
Who are our Students?
Our young students are teenagers, mostly from Western Europe (Spain, France, Italy etc.) aged between 13 yrs and 18 yrs who either join our junior summer camp for 2-3 weeks between the end of June and mid-August, or come as part of a group during the winter & spring, typically for 7-10 days as part of educational trips organized by their school/high school in their home country. During the week, they spend the whole day with us, taking English classes in the mornings and then participating in afternoon activities around the city. They generally return to their host families in the early evening, around 6pm. Typically on Saturdays, they spend the whole day doing an activity with us, and Sundays are normally reserved as a time for them to spend with their host families. Please note that our families hosting teenagers are required to provide a daily breakfast, evening dinner and a packed lunch on 5 days per week.
We also welcome adults throughout the year – professionals looking to improve their English for work, university students taking a break from their studies, recent graduates, adults looking to improve their English for their own personal benefit, and more. The average age of these adult students is 30 years old and they usually come for 2 to 4 weeks, sometimes longer. Our adult students are also primarily from Western Europe, but we also have students from Asia, South America and other parts of the world.
Our host families
– Live 45 minutes maximum from Downtown Brooklyn by public transportation
What would my responsibilities be?
Besides providing a bedroom and the required meals, our students are here to improve their English and spending time with their host family in the evenings is a huge part of their experience. When they are staying with a family, it is expected that the students are treated as one-of-the family. Whenever possible, encourage your students to join in with your life and conversation.
What if there is an emergency?
We have a 24 hour emergency number available for support with any important issues. Our emergency number is: 646-341-129
How much do host families get paid?
Please get in touch with our housing coordinator, Carla Ambler, to for further information on our current compensation for host families.
How can I apply?
Please click HERE to fill out an application form. We ask potential hosts to upload images of their home, especially the areas where students will have access to such as the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. This information helps us to screen families before setting an appointment to meet in person, which is the final step before we start placing students with a new host.
English Outdoors would love to have your support in giving these students the best accommodation experience while staying in New York to learn English with us!
To find out more about our programs, you can navigate this website and/or visit us on our Instagram (englishoutdoorsny) or facebook page (englishoutdoors) to view pictures of our various student activities. If you have more questions, please contact us at carla@englishoutdoors.org