Teach English in a Homestay in France for up to 3 Months

I, too, was very impressed with how well my background, interests and skills were matched
with my family. I was placed in a home with two wonderful working parents and two
girls, ages 7 and 11. Mom speaks and teaches High School English. They immediately put me at ease and brought me into their circle of family, friends, and social life. I even got the
opportunity to talk to and help with Mom's classes, The family accepted, supported and challenged my limited French, and I became a member of their family - and still am. I hope for always! Although I've traveled extensively, I had always dreamed of an immersion in
French family, and this was a super opportunity to experience so many aspects of
French family life in a small town. I loved every moment of it. The girls were very
active. We spent time swimming at Lacanau Ocean, sightseeing all over Bordeaux, Arcachon,
and all around the region, went on several vineyard tours all around the area, biked all around the area and more. There were days when I was on my own, and I took off by foot or bike exploring and fishing and sampling the nearby beaches. Teaching the girls English was great fun - and I learned even more to customize my lessons into games and around subjects that most interested them.

I highly recommend Greenheart, and this kind of opportunity for anyone at any age!

One of the biggest concerns someone might have about getting into this program is what the family will be like that you are set up with. I was really quite surprised at how perfect of a match my family was with our style and things we liked to do. We were both laid back and loved to travel and keep active. My family was a husband and wife where the husband was retired and the wife still worked. The student was just the husband as his wife actually was already fluent in English. Both were very active and we would travel somewhere every weekend and they loved sharing places with me. One of my favorite travels with them was when they took me to Spain to go canyoning. I was actually not familiar with it and it's when you literally jump off different areas of a canyon into flowing rivers. It was so much fun!

During the work week, the husband and I would take the dog for walks or go on bike rides and then I would come back to do lesson planning, do the lessons and that would then flow into appertifs before dinner and a long dinner where we would all just converse to get to know each other more or about current events, it was great! I did not turn on a single TV once the entire time I was there.

The lesson planning was what I found most challenging and tried to get creative. I found that games really helped enforce the lessons and were the most fun part of the lessons so I always tried to end the lesson with that.

My participating in the program was probably in a little more unconventional as I'm in the middle of a career break and changing careers. I'm not moving into any teaching profession but I thought this was be an incredibly unique way to really dive into another culture as travel is such a large passion of mine. I've done quite a bit of international travel so I also did not experience any culture shocks other than not finding all my ingredients in the grocery store to make dinner with :)

I still keep in touch with the family and I'm sure I will visit them again sometime in the future as I consider them wonderful friends and my french family.

Deciding to go with this program was the best decision I made once I decided I had my heart set on teaching abroad.
I was in regular contact with the correspondents of the organisation and even met up for coffee with them. I felt fully supported and completely safe throughout my sty, which was a massive comfort as a first-timer!
I cannot thank Greenheart enough for putting me with such a wonderful family. It truly was the time of my life. Apart from spending time at home with them, they took me on a skiing trip, weekends away to different areas of the country and really did treat me like family. Watching them progress in English was also one of the most rewarding things I've ever done and by the end of my stay, I was more attached to them than I care to admit!
One of the most unforgettable moments was the trip to La Giettaz Ski resort. These pro-skiiers had infinite patience with me as I frequented the beginners slopes, being out-stripped by toddlers on snowboards, until they'd trained me up enough to go further up the mountain.
The bonds formed and memories made on this program really are priceless. I was so pleased that I could help them with their English, though we really did help each other as my French escalated to new levels!
I honestly can't recommend it enough. It's safe and secure, and the best choice possible.

This was my first time traveling to Europe, let alone traveling alone for more than a week! I could not have had a better experience. The family I was matched up with was so amazing and so understanding. On one night I actually got sick, possible food poisoning (my body didn't react well to one of the new foods), and such an experience requires you to REALLY go out of your comfort zone to ask for help and thank goodness I did! That night I realized how much the family cared for me, making sure I was alright and doing so well making sure I was okay. There's nothing better than Greenheart's screening and matching program. I feel so lucky to have gone through this program and to have met my family. They took me to see castles, Bordeaux, Paris, and even introduced me to extended family (the mom's sister), just truly making me feel a part of it. I would definitely do it all again in a heartbeat!!!

Hello! I am a current sophomore at a university in the United States. I had a wonderful experience working with Greenheart! I was in France for a month with a kind family of three. I taught a 14 year old girl and spoke often with the parents. I advanced a lot in French and had a great cultural experience! I would strongly recommend going if you are interested in a language immersion, and a cultural-teaching experience. One thing: if possible, have prior experience with the language. If I didn't already know some French, this trip would have been very difficult and possibly isolating. However, it was great! I would strongly recommend this experience. There's nothing quite like it!

After about a week there and already having been away from home for a month, due to other opportunities, my French host family began to feel like a home away from home. One thing that isn't mentioned in the websites description of teaching abroad in a host family is that their families just want to do life with you. They are welcoming you into their home to not only grow in their knowledge of English but to personally learn from you about American culture and your life there. The family will also share their traditions, life styles and daily norms with you to help you become better accustomed. Sitting down to eat both lunch and dinner together is a rarity in the States, but in France it is a daily time to come together and enjoy one another's company. I think at the table is where I truly learned the most French and appreciation for my host family.

I had a pretty unique experience tutoring English during my stay in France. (TL;DR at the bottom)

I was transferred between 3 families. The my first family, the host father and I had difficulty communicating. He didn't speak much English (which is what I was supposed to help him with.) And I didn't speak much French. So that made things difficult, however, I still felt like he wanted me to know what to do without him telling me. During half way of my stay, he suffered from a back injury, and wasn't able to continue. I got transferred to my second family with little difficulty, as it was the best for both of us. But I will tell you one thing. I really, REALLY missed his cooking.

I got transferred to my second family, but only stayed with them for a weekend so that I could transfer to my 3rd family, which is the colleague of the host mother, but in those 2 days, I formed a nice bond with everyone.

The 3rd family was where I spent the remaining 6 weeks in France. The family spoke English pretty well with the youngest son Simon,17, speaking the best, followed by the host mother, Camille; the older brother Remy, 19; then Pierre, the host father.

I didn't give formal English lessons as I did with my first family. Actually, the only thing I did was talk with them like normal, and corrected them when needed. If they came across a word that they were not familiar with, such as broom or mop, they would write it down. in a notebook they had. At dinner time, everyone ate at the same time. Whenever the father didn't understand something, either the host mother or Simon would translate. This would be necessary as sometimes we would talk about complex subjects. At some point they heard on the news about the shooting of Walter Scott, and a week before, I was talking about the racial issues of America, and police brutality, and my perspective of it, as I am a black male. So we got into some complex subjects where translating is needed.

Speaking of racial issues, France has virtually none. I can tell immediately that I was treated like a normal human being, rather than a perceived threat back at home, despite me being the only black person in town... both towns. When going to the stores, I did not get followed around. One day I was walking to the pastry shop, an elderly woman crossed the street in front of me and we ended up going in the same direction. I was about 15 ft. behind her. I was behind her for a good 5 minutes and NOT ONCE did she look back behind her. She saw me when she crossed the street, so she knew I was there, but I wasn't a threat. I was a person. Another day I was sitting on a ledge, and a woman put her opened purse RIGHT BESIDE ME and TURNED HER BACK. I could have easily taken something out of there, but of course, I didn't. Its just that a situation like that is unheard of in the US.

Most of the time I stayed at home, as I had school work and a freelance project to do, but I did have the freedom to go explore the town. I would have explored much more had I not any work to do. But I was given the freedom to explore the town and was also given a bike.

I went to some amazing places in France. I did go to Paris, Bordeaux, Dune de Pyla, St. Emilion, and Chateau de Blaye with my first family. My third family took me to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, some other middle aged sites (whose names escapes me at the moment), and even a pre-historic cave with cave paintings dating back to 30000 BC.

This venture was also very cheap compared to studying abroad. I take classes online, and my school has a study abroad program. However it was only 1 month in France for around $3500 and that didn't include the food expenses. With Greenheart Travel, I got to stay longer, and food and board was taken care of.

Overall, the experience was an amazing one. I think that it is very important to remember though that when you're traveling abroad, you're going to be staying with people. And people do have their flaws. I've heard of some experiences not being as good as mine. It does happen. But what also happens is that you can meet with some amazing people as I have. Keep in mind that your safety is important, and to keep Greenheart Travel in the loop, as well as the coordinator in your host country. You're not stuck there, and you can change if you absolutely need to.

TL;DR Amazing experience. First family didn't work out, 2nd and 3rd family became my new family and I immediately felt welcomed. I've been to beautiful places I never thought I would go, or even knew existed. Being black isn't a problem in France. Cheaper than study abroad option at my university. Worth it and considering doing it again.

I stayed in Tours for two months with this program, and it was a wonderful experience for me. The family I stayed with was completely welcoming, invited me to every event, included me in family gatherings, took me to local castles, and, most importantly, was completely patient with me as I attempted to improve my French. I got the chance to tutor two boys (11 and 13)m and we had a great time laughing at each other's language mistakes. Overall, I would recommend the program to anyone who wants to go on an adventure in one of the most beautiful countries in the world!