Formal English Lessons	Your Teacher/Tutor will assess your English abilities and find out what you want to learn.  I will also ask about your interests, best/worst subjects in school, and how you study/learn best in your own language.  We will develop a programme that works for YOU.  Some students work best with a short lesson, then longer independent learning.  Others work best with lots of talking, and intensive one-to-onw learning.  You will have lessons that are interesting, and at your English level.  You will also learn about Canada and Canadian culture.
Reading	We have lots and lots of books and magazines that our Guests may read anytime.  Children's books are often very easy for ESL students to start with.  We also get two newspapers delivered to our house every day...the Nanaimo Daily News and the Victoria Times Colonist...and reading newspapers is both good for learning English and good for knowing what is happening in the world. Your Teacher/Tutor will also use the Internet to find interesting and appropriate material for students to read.
Helping Homestay Family with Daily Chores	Living in a language is the best way to learn to speak that language.  Be brave and ask lots of questions.  Ask to be corrected.  When you are helping around the house, ask the English for what you are using, or the activity you are doing.  Ask, ask, ask!  Don't be afraid if someone does not understand you...keep trying.  We want you to learn, and we want to help you.  So...keep talking.
Computer	Lots of opportunities to improve your English with the computer!  Your Teacher/Tutor may: set up lessons for you to do in a folder on the family computer assign research for you to do using the internet send you emails for you to answer If your own language is an Asian language, you will only be able to write English in emails...!
Field Trips	FIELD TRIPS are trips away from home to see something interesting... There are lots of places we can go and activities we can do which will be fun and help with your English: We are close to many beaches, and exploring the beaches, talking about what we are seeing, and doing homework afterwards about our beach visits is lots of fun. We can visit Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia.  There is plenty to see and do in Victoria...enough for many visits if desired.  Museums, Art Galleries, the Government Buildings, Parks, Beaches, Heritage Buildings, Shopping... Nanaimo, our nearest city, has lots to offer:  Shopping, the Museum, Art Galleries, Hiking Trails, Beaches.. Ladysmith, the small town just to the south of us, has unique Shops, Heritage Buildings, a quaint Waterfront, and some interesting Festivals throughout the year.  The Festival of Lights in November is worth being here for! Chemainus, a small town about 1/2 hour south of us, is famous for beautiful murals and heritage shopping. As a family we often hike, walk our dogs, go fishing, beachcombing, go antiquing..and our Homestay Guests join us most of the time.
MEDIA:  Television Newspapers	We have one TV, and often watch TV in the evenings.  Watching TV is hard work in another language, but with other people around, you can ask for help in understanding what is being said.  There are also many TV shows that have very little speaking and are easy for people who don't speak English to understand.  Occasionally we can also set a TV for Close Captions...tho I find that students then rely on reading the captions rather than trying to understand what is being said. We also get two newspapers each day...the Nanaimo Daily News and the Victoria Times Colonist..in addition to several free area newspapers.
Games	Some of our family love to play tennis...do you?  If so, playing with us and talking about your game will help your English! Some of us like to play card games...do you?  Another way to improve your English!