Language Stays vs. Exchanges

Language Stays or School Exchanges?

If you have the choice, which to pick?

First of all, language stays focus entirely on the students' Spanish. Exchanges are rarely language-based but rather depend on the school curriculum (maths, biology and so on) or the substitution of the latter with game-playing more suited to a day's than two week's lessons; two weeks because exchanges involve one week at home and one week away which can rather eat into vital curriculum time.

Language stays offer a unique chance for kids to study Spanish far more intensively than at school and they themselves notice the results.

Being a host mother requires skills, training and a certain disposition.

While exchanges certainly provide an instant pool of teenagers of the age and stage of participants, this does not necessarily mean they will get on, or be particularly at home in each others' families. Successful hosting of young people with limited language ability, while seemingly straightforward, actually requires landladies of certain skills and disposition: a good welcome, clear and slow diction, endless patience and careful line-drawing between friendliness and discipline, between paella and hamburgers. Funnily enough often ladies with grown up children are better at it than ones with teenagers. And on the rare occasion that a homestay at ISLA is not working and not fixable, changes are considerably more painless than when in free but reciprocal arrangement

Language stays cost more than exchanges, don't they?

Yes, but not always as much as you'd think. One teacher once told us "Our kids' parents actually think they spend less sending their kids as paying guests than they did hosting their children's exchange- between treats and trips it does mount up". Naturally a language course costs money whereas being tipped into the lessons of a high school doesn’t but, as mentioned earlier, the return on the time investment is incomparable.

Put yourself in professional hands (that will hold yours for the duration of your stay!)

For busy teachers it is tempting to throw the school trip at a tour operator and have done with it. Why bother then to do it yourself? Apart from the fact that it will turn out a lot cheaper, there are quite a few reasons:

First planning a language stay with ISLA is an enjoyable and collaborative experience and creates a warm "tú a tú" which culminates in the group's arrival in Salamanca. Most tour operators work with several countries and dozens of schools so it is almost impossible that the person you deal with will have personal knowledge of your destination. ISLA’s team of organizers, monitors and guides are consolidated full-time professionals who know their job , ISLA, Salamanca and Spain very well. While tour operators occasionally send guides, the latter are usually out-sourced part-timers and thus their results can be a little hit and miss, particularly if it is their first time in the city. With ISLA you have a 24 hour telephone number which is answered by someone who is 5 minutes away from helping you in person and knows where to go in the case of an emergency. But happily this is something that you almost certainly won’t be taking advantage of!