Awkwardness and Complexities on English Language and Communication
The Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
Release Date: 04/29/2019
The Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
We were scheduled to come back in early March and then the pandemic struck. We are physically distancing and staying home, so the Homestay Kitchen had to re-work the podcasting schedule to fit a new routine. In the meantime, let's check-in with you. How are you doing? Erin is the multi-tasker extraordinaire working from home while maneuvering all five of her kids which includes two students. Mary is also navigating working from home while everyone is also home, so finding a new routine is challenging.
info_outline End of the Student Homestay ExperienceThe Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
It's coming to the end of the year and some students may be leaving or some students may be heading home just for the winter break. Either way, when it's time to drag the luggage out and dust off that passport, we need to start thinking about our pre-departure rituals. What is it like when your student finally leaves? What strategies are you going to put into place when it comes to saying goodbye?
info_outline Boundaries and Rules During Homestay ExperiencesThe Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
Boundaries. We've all got them or we should all have some in place. There are limits and rules to all sorts of things during a homestay experience. Boundaries around the house, food, laundry, safety issues, and even personal boundaries. What are they and how can we enforce them?
info_outline Dealing with HomesicknessThe Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
At one point or another, whether you as the host knows it or not, your student will get homesick. Sometimes it'll show through their emotions or difference in actions. Or sometimes, it only happens when they are hidden away in their rooms, when the lights are out trying to fall asleep. When do you intervene and what do you do to alleviate homesickness?
info_outline Long Term Students vs. Short Term StudentsThe Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
So what defines a short term student and a long term student? Mary defined a short term student as being anywhere less than 6 months, but after she said that (and even after we finished recording this episode), we were still debating what differentiated a long term student from a short term student. Any way you look at it, hosting short term students and long term students can be very different experiences. In this episode, Mary and Erin go toe to toe on the pros and cons of hosting long term students versu
info_outline Experiences of Being a New Homestay Host from Jennifer LongworthThe Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
In today's episode, Erin had work to do, so Mary got to chat with Jennifer Longworth from Lexington, Kentucky. A new host parent who's only hosted a total of 3 times for very short periods and all from Japan. We talk through what it's like to be a very new host and what were some of the most surprising aspects of hosting. And it wouldn't be right to talk to our fellow neighbours to the south without pointing out a couple of differences from our countries, like hockey for us and southern food for her.
info_outline Food & Meals for Your StudentsThe Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
How do you meal prep for your students? What do you incorporate into your meal plans for them? Food is a big factor when it comes to homestay experiences. Not only the culture of different foods to eat and explore, but also how we eat and when.
info_outline Fearless Communication Skills and Owning Your Moxie with Heather ThompsonThe Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
One of the major challenges of hosting international students is to navigate the language barrier. Communication is key to any relationship, so how do you have the confidence to speak your mind when your student doesn't speak your language? At times you need to be fearless and in today's episode we chat with Heather Thompson who shares this grit with a side of humour.
info_outline 10 Steps of Culture ShockThe Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
Culture shock can come in many different forms, not just language for international students. From food, to hygiene, and even the way people dress. It's not about what each culture is doing right or wrong, but about how things are done and are acceptable in different countries. Culture shock can be entertaining and fascinating to new students at first, but then it could also lead to confusion, feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and disoriented, which could induce homesickness. So what is this cycle and what sign
info_outline Cultural Expectations with Master Homestay Host Tatiana RobertsonThe Homestay Kitchen: Cultural Connections with International Students who Study Abroad
When you decide to host international students in your home, it's not an easy decision, especially if this is your first time. And even if you have hosted before, sometimes you've got to weigh the pros and cons. There are so many details that could be overlooked and really, you don't know what you don't know. So we tapped into the knowledge of Tatiana Robertson, who has hosted short and long term students from all over the globe for over seven years.
info_outlineHow do you say something in North American English versus British English? Throw in an accent and you can very well have an extremely funny scenario.
In this episode, we get into the difficulties of learning English and how you need to see the humour in embarrassing situations. When your student enunciates a word differently, this could result in miscommunication. We provide plenty of examples of how saying a word slightly different can lead to some very awkward situations. But we do it all in stride with plenty of self-deprecating humour.
What are some of your favourite regional English words? In Canada, one of our favourites is a toque. If you need a winter hat, you'll know who's the Canadian when they ask for a toque. Share your words with us over email at [email protected]. We can't wait to learn some new ones! Thanks for sharing!
Key Points From This Episode:
- We talk about being afraid to make mistakes when using English.
- Pronunciation errors and how we mishear.
- Mary tells her favourite story about her Dad.
- Erin shares some of the words her students are scared to say.
#remembertosmile - The time one of Erin’s students had a bad cold.
#itsrudetosniffle - What is the plural of platypus?
- More pronunciation errors - meanings in multiple languages.
- We talk about how to handle compliments.
- Erin’s Italian student’s most embarrassing story.
#thatonetimeinmathclass #ownyourmistakes - The time Mary’s cousin got mad at her.
- What is a spanner?
- Mary gives us a new name for “hoodies”. It’s super cute!
- We discuss prairie terms for mealtimes. Erin gets super confused and doesn’t know when to eat.
- Teeter totter or seesaw? What do you call it? Erin reenacts why they both make sense.
- Find out why Erin’s Italian student wants to put a GoPro in Erin’s car.
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