Hi, my name is Manuel! I am from Spain and I am a Student Advisor at LTL. I’m now based at our Seoul School after living 3 years in Taipei.
Hi, my name is Mojca! I am from Slovenia in Europe and I work as a student advisor at our Shanghai school.No one knows what Beihai is about, except us! We know where to go, what to do and we'll have a lot of fun together!…
HOMESTAY IN BEIHAI
Living with a Homestay in Beihai is the best way to enhance your Mandarin proficiency
LTL stands for Live The Language and a big reason for this is our Homestay program which allows you to build on your Chinese outside of the classroom.
Studying Mandarin at our school for four or six hours per day is great, but to improve you need to speak Mandarin 24/7. This is where the idea of our Homestay came from.
Real Chinese Experience
Speak Chinese 24/7 – The homestay program in Beihai is the perfect accompaniment to our Language Program in China
Fabulous Food – Enjoy authentic Chinese Food and learn about Chinese Culture with every meal of the day
Learn Chinese Fast
Show off your skills – Utilise what you learnt in class and apply it with your homestay. They are there to help you
Speak, speak, speak – Ask questions, listen to conversations, watch and talk about TV. Your progress knows no bounds
Detailed Information About Beihai Homestay’s
The Apartments
All our homestays in Beihai are carefully selected so that your stay is as comfortable as possible. Apartments are modern and well kept. You will have your private bedroom and sometimes a private bathroom (otherwise shared).
NOTE || You will have access to all facilities at the homestay such as air-conditioning, washing machine, WiFi and kitchen utensils.
Homestay Location
We try to make sure our Homestays are in the most convenient location, meaning near the school and near amenities. Generally, your commute to school will never exceed 45 minutes.
If you wish to be located as close to the school / beach / centre as possible do talk to us. We will do our best to find a perfect solution for you.
Homestay in Beihai Prices
PLEASE NOTE || There are no extra charges or other fees. Registration fees, finding fees, peak-season fares – none of these are in our dictionary. Everything is as shown below. Honesty is the best policy.
HOMESTAY
Included:
- Accommodation for the duration of your Chinese course
- Bedroom (sometimes a private bathroom)
- Desk to work on
- All bills included (WIFI, heating, air-conditioning)
- Meals as provided
Further options available
- Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free
- Other dietary requirements like Halal/Kosher etc.
- Specially selected families for all age groups
- English: If you wish, we can find a family who speaks some English
- If you wish, we can find a homestay without food (10% discount).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Will I be OK in a zero-English environment?
Don’t be scared, embrace it!
One thing you will learn about China is that despite the daily, even hourly challenges, there is always a solution!
Download Pleco – this will solve most of these aforementioned issues in a heartbeat.
Gesture with your hands, point to things, take your time and don’t panic.
These are the situations that define your ability to learn Chinese. Going through these means you are learning. If you don’t you won’t.
Who washes my clothes?
This depends on the family but there are facilities to wash your clothes as anywhere else.
Your family will show you upon moving in.
Can I lock my bedroom?
Of course you can.
Can I bring another friend back with me to stay overnight?
No, this is forbidden.
Will I receive any information about my homestay?
We send you a package via email with information.
This will include some information about the family such as family names, how many family members, address etc.
If I wish, can I change my homestay?
This almost never happens but yes you can.
Speak to us about your concerns and we will either try and resolve them with you, or we can change the homestay completely.
Do you have any pictures of students at homestays?
Yes of course you can. Have a look at our homestay gallery.
Who are the host families and how do you pick them?
Homestays are the core part of what we believe in at LTL.
Because of this we take great care when selecting host families. We tend to get many applicants but only the best make the cut. This means a tidy and homely apartment, facilities for a student, great home-cooking, open families and so forth.
Now we have grown, a lot of our host families come from word of mouth from our current families, which is great because they are similarly like-minded.
Will I get a key for the homestay?
Yes, it will be provided by your homestay.
What if I want to party late? Is this allowed?
Sure you can but general polite rules apply.
Don’t come back singing your heart out at 4am. Don’t come back and make a racket with kitchen utensils. Don’t come back at 3am and use the shower.
You can do what you want but just use your common sense. Treat the homestay as you’d wish your own home to be treated.
Can I request smoking/non-smoking?
You can indeed.
When signing up you can select your preference in our registration form.
What about bringing the family a gift?
There is no requirement, but it’ll certainly be well received.
Although gift giving culture in China is different, presents from your home country or home town are always very well received by our host families.
Can I stay at a homestay and not study Chinese with LTL?
No you can’t.
The homestay program takes a lot of time and effort to prepare and therefore only students who study with LTL have priority for our homestay’s in China.
Do you have videos of previous homestay students?
We’ve got loads of those!
There are four above on this page or head to our YouTube Channel where you’ll find a wide variety of student videos including some on homestay experiences.