Testimonials

My name is Daniela and when I decided to try an English language homestay in August 2011, I contacted many language companies, both English and Italian.

I chose Live and Learn Homestays because its proposal had the better price, many agreed excursions per week and the possibility of having a certificate of attendance - this was better than the other companies.

I'm sure that my experience rates 10 out of 10, because it was a great experience for me and my language has improved with my teacher's help.

Before my homestay course, I made many mistakes in English speaking; during that period my teacher corrected me every time that I made a mistake so I could learn and improve every day.

The additional benefits had been the professionalism of the service and the possibility of choosing the family.

In fact, the most important benefit is Lorna's professionalism as everything that she offered in her proposal really happened.

My advice is to rely on Lorna and to choose a family like the Garners!

The reason why I chose a Live and Learn Homestay was to improve my written and oral English. With a homestay English course you have the opportunity to live with a family and gain knowledge about the English culture; you also have the benefit of speaking English from when you wake up until when you go to bed.

My experience has been more than I could ever hope for. The family I stayed with have been amazing and so helpful with the language. The English lessons have been tailored to my needs. And the work has been planned around my interests; in my case it’s human rights.

Part of a homestay is to involve yourself with the family and I have had the opportunity to participate in many different trips. Like shopping in Birmingham and Manchester and more cultural places like Stratford upon Avon where I visited the birthplace of Shakespeare.

The family I stayed with was a perfect match for me. They were active and outgoing people who were easy to have a conversation with. They have made this a wonderful stay and now when I know it’s coming to an end, it’s almost like I don’t want to leave.

I can truly say that my English has improved and I feel much more confident when express myself in English.

One of the best decisions I have made!

In July 2011, I spent 1 week in Birmingham to improve my English and to have a football coaching experience.

Live and Learn Homestays was recommended to me by my English teacher, Domenico Vernava.

I would rate them 10 out of 10 because I was able to improve my English level and personal knowledge of Britain.

I think that this was the best way to improve my English; Lorna and my host family were very professional.

In just 1 week my speaking and listening skills improved; this was very important to me.

Live and Learn Homestays also helped me to find an important FA coach and I took part in an amazing football coaching experience. Furthermore I met a lovely host family who showed me a fantastic side of Birmingham. They had a very nice house and they were so hospitable.

I also spent an evening at the pub with Lorna and Domenico; I enjoyed it a lot!

If you would like to come to England to improve your English, I would advise you to choose Live and Learn Homestays for their professionalism and ability to make people feel at home. They will help you before, during and after your experience.

 Trust me and try it!

My name is Federica and I spent a week in Birmingham in August 2011.

I needed to improve my English quickly so I booked 20 hours of private English lessons with my host/teacher, Frank.

Before I booked my English course with Live and Learn Homestays, I contacted 2 other companies - EF and a smaller company.

I chose Live and Learn Homestays because the director, Lorna, was very kind and helpful; I also read her interview on the Network Milan website.

I'd give my host family 10 out of 10; they were fantastic and Frank was the best teacher I'd ever had. The family was always available to speak with me and they spent lots of time with me.

The house was beautiful and clean and they treated me as part of their family.

Lorna came to meet me to make sure that everything was going well; we also spent an evening together at a salsa club!

Even though I only spent a week there, I was able to improve my spoken English and work on my grammar.

I congratulate Lorna for doing a great job and suggest that she considers taking au-pair students and offering conversational English lessons via SKYPE; I'd be her first client!

If you're considering using Live and Learn Homestays, my advice would be to "Just do it!"

My only regret is that I could only stay for 1 week.

My name is Maria Teresa and I am a student from Rome, Italy. I wanted to improve my English quickly before starting my Erasmus Programme in Norway (August 2011).

I researched various homestay companies but chose Live and Learn Homestays because of Lorna's helpfulness and because they were excellent value for money.

I stayed in Birmingham for 3 weeks and had a fantastic experience. On a scale of 1 - 10 I would rate my experience as a 10 because my host family was adorable and I enjoyed staying with them.

My English improved drastically thanks to my teacher, Frank. I also had lots of practise with my English conversation skills as everyone in the family was very friendly and made time to speak with me.

There were other benefits too - It was good to stay in Birmingham as I didn't meet any other Italians (so I had to speak English all the time). In London, there are lots of Italians!

Staying with an English host family taught me a lot about British culture, their habits and their customs.

I had the opportunity to visit lots of interesting places in the city and in the countryside and I have met some very interesting people too!

If you are thinking about booking an English course with Live and Learn Homestays, I would say - do it now!

Be prepared for a wonderful experience!

My husband and I were both pleased with the support that we received from Lorna prior to the stay, during the stay and indeed after the stay. Lorna was always available when we needed her and telephoned, and indeed visited, to ensure all was going well for everyone. We were sent sufficient information about the boys and were able to e-mail them and find out more about their interests prior to the visit. This enabled us to include activities in the daily programme to suit their requirements and make sure that they got the most out of their stay.

We received the payment very promptly after the visit and found Lorna extremely amicable and easy to communicate with.

Both of us would be delighted to work with Lorna again and would enjoy hosting further students.

We wish Lorna every success with her business and would recommend her to others who are interested in hosting students or indeed staying with a host family.

It was very easy to book my homestay. It needed only a little time and 2 or 3 emails to arrange everything. Maybe the possibility of paying with credit card would be a good idea.

The information about the host family were very good and all of th details that I needed were there.

My host family were wonderful. I think they suited me perfectly; the whole family was helpful all the time. I had very good lessons and lots of conversation.

Every day was full of activity (e.g. Ikea, Football stadium, watching English films, sightseeing tour city centre, shopping). I was never bored or felt alone.

It was very good value for money and I think that the same homestay is somewhere else more expensive.

Regarding to the contact with the director of the company, Lorna, I didn't miss anything. She called me at the beginning of the stay and we met last Friday. That's more then I expected.

Thank you for everything. The week was a great success and a true pleasure.
I want to come back next year.

We'd like to thank you about Thomas' homestay in January.

The accomodation was very nice, the family atmosphere very warm and Thomas liked Norma's cooking and relationship with Norma and her children.

We are sure Thomas will keep a good memory of his stay.

I' ve been thinking about my time in Birmingham since I got back to China.

The experience has become the best one I' ve ever had!

I remember the time I spent with you and Ed and the Warwick family.

I' ve learnt a lot of things which I even never heard about in China from the learning program and I really appreciate it.The trip to Stratford-upon-Avon is another wonderful memory.

You and Ed were perfect guides and I did enjoy the tour.

The homestay was unforgetable as well. Sharon and her sons were such good hosts and that make us feel like we are just at home. I will always remember their warm-welcome and fantastic help.

All in all, the time in Birmingham was awesome.

We miss all of you and thank you again for all the help you' ve given us.

Wish you all the very best in the future!

My name is Domenico Vernava; I am British and work in Milano Italy. Although my main profession is as an architect, I also teach English and have around 20 students of all ages.

Around　 2 years ago I was asked by　 a few of my students about home stay possibilities in England so I started making an internet search on possible companies that would service my request.

I contacted quite a few companies in England and to be honest I was disappointed by the feedback with one exception www.homestay-online.com.

I was sent an email by Lorna Allen, the Director of Live and Learn Homestays Ltd who said that she would be able to help me with my request, well to say the least I told her what I was looking for and in no time at all she furnished me with not just 1 but 3 different options as I was looking for accommodation for children and adults.

From then on it was easy I just filled in the form on the web site and Lorna did the rest. As you can imagine when parents send their children to another country they will be a little apprehensive but they were comforted knowing that their homestay family had been police checked and they, the parents, had internet and phone contact with their children 24/7.

I must add that Lorna made frequent calls and visits to the host family and also took photos of the children at their home and sent them to the parents, GREAT.

The value for money was excellent and the excursions offered　were varied and imaginative - from golf, archery, museums, canoeing in Wales, well what I can say. The students have been in 2009, 2010 and are already planning their next visit for 2011!