Adding significantly to the total immersion experience of the Honors Program is the fact that IUHPFL students live with host families.  Throughout IUHPFL’s history, students have always lived with host families, and to this day the IUHPFL continues the host family model for many reasons:

• Though taking classes exclusively in the foreign language is beneficial, living with a host family forces the student to speak the foreign language with native speakers in real-life situations.  Such spontaneous and natural conversation inevitably contributes to the students’ linguistic progress. 

• Living with a host family enables students to experience the culture of the host country firsthand.  Whether it be via introduction to new foods or local holidays, or the experience of daily household activities and social customs, students are more likely to assimilate quickly to the host culture if they have authentic models for how to do so. 

• The companionship and emotional support that a host family provides can help to combat the homesickness students will inevitably encounter the first few days (or even weeks) of their study abroad experience.  Students can rely on their host families’ daily activities to keep them engaged and ‘in the moment,’ rather than thinking about how much they miss their customs, traditions, and daily routines of their life in their home country. 

What does it take to live with a host family?

To say that living with a host family is challenging is an understatement.  It requires a great deal of communication on behalf of the student and the host family.  It also requires flexibility and a willingness on behalf of the student to step out of his/her comfort zone.  No matter how different or similar a host family’s composition is from that of a student’s U.S. family, there will always be cultural differences and potential misunderstandings to overcome.  If students have an open mind, a willingness to make mistakes, and a sense of humor, overcoming such obstacles will be much more manageable.
 
Living with a host family and integrating oneself into the host family’s dynamic requires hard work, effort, and time—and is not the same as simply coming and going from the host family’s home when one pleases, using the host family’s home as a source of meals and a place to sleep. 

While being a part of the host family implies feeling comfortable in your host family’s home, it also implies following household norms, as well as participating in household activities, including meals and chores, as any other member of the family would.   In fact, IUHPFL host families agree to host Honors Program students under the assumption that the student shows a genuine interest in living with another family, and is communicative, open-minded and flexible. 

How are IUHPFL host families selected?

All of the IUHPFL host families on our eight Program sites have been vetted and selected by the on-site coordinator.  The host families are chosen on the basis of their willingness to help IUHPFL students assimilate to the host culture and learn the foreign language, as it is the Honors Program’s goal to find suitable host families that wish to invite a host student into their home as another member of the family.  IUHPFL host families receive monetary compensation for their hospitality. 
  
Am I up to the challenge of living with a host family?

The IUHPFL’s objective for the students’ host family experience is to come away truly having participated in and grown accustomed to the daily life of their host family.  If that objective is in step with your goals, and you are enthused by the academic focus of the IUHPFL and its Honor Code, then the Honors Program may be a good fit for you.  To be sure, take our thorough Self-Inventory to find out more about if the IUHPFL is appropriate for your goals, needs, and personality.    

If you are selected to participate in the Honors Program, an extensive dialogue regarding the host family experience and its specific challenges and rewards will take place at the IUHPFL Orientation for your Program site.