How to Choose your Language Holiday Accommodation

Firstly, you need to understand exactly what your options are. With most language holidays there will be a number of standard choices, and your situation, goals, preferences and motivations will determine which one is right for you.

Homestay

This is when you live in the flat or house of a local family who are from the city/town/location you are visiting. You will be given your own room, usually a shared bathroom, and you will have the option of eating breakfast, dinner or both meals with the family. The families are very friendly and are keen to know more about the people they are hosting. This option is good value for money.

Choosing the host family option will give you the opportunity to practise the language you are learning with native speakers on a daily basis in everyday contexts. Eating and socialising with your local hosts will mean not only that you have to speak the language, but you will also learn new words by communicating with them. Schools will do their best to match you with a host family that match your requirements.

Residence

Schools often offer residence accommodation, particularly in the summer. Usually other foreign students studying at the school will be living in the residence so it is a good opportunity to socialise and meet people from different countries. In the residence there is private or shared bathroom and a shared kitchen. Residence can be extremely good value for money during low season but are often more expensive in high season when demand is much higher.

Shared Apartment

In this situation you will be sharing an apartment with other people from the school, and the common language will be the one you are learning. This creates a great situation for you to practise the language and also to make friends. This option is better for people who are very independent and prefer to come and go as they please and is often chose by longer term students. It is also usually good value for money.

Private Apartments

If your privacy is of paramount importance to you then it is better to go for the private apartment option where you will not have to share any facilities. Generally speaking, private apartments tend to be the most expensive accommodation type, but do have the benefit of ultimate privacy if this is something you want.

Make your Stay Great

In order to make your stay the best it can be then follow these simple steps and you cannot fail to have an amazing time:
– The earlier you book the better. Accommodation options can run out so book in advance.
– Tell Cactus any requirements you have at the time of booking a�� food allergies, pet allergies, and any preferences you have.
– Some of the accommodation may be a bus or metro ride from the school. If you want accommodation in walking distance to the school make sure you mention this when booking.
– Make sure you follow homestay etiquette. Let you family know if you cana��t make it to dinner, be polite and respectful. They are hosting you but you need to follow their house rules as you would do in anyone elsea��s home.
– Ita��s a good idea to choose the airport transfer option to ensure you get to your accommodation with no problems. The last thing you want to do is get lost in a new city on your first day!

Cactus language offers the following types of language courses:

Evening language courses: 19 different languages in 15 UK locations
Language holidays: worldwide immersion courses in the country of the language
Private tuition: tailor-made and corporate language training solutions throughout the world
TEFL: teacher training courses for both English and other languages all over the world
Online courses: for teacher training, English and French

To book any of our courses please call us on 01273 830 960 or email us. Our multilingual team will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

How to Choose your Language Holiday Accommodation