Read what they say about Live and Learn Homestays

Testimonials

Video Testimonial from a French Father (in English) May 2010

Video Testimonial from a French Mother (in French) May 2010

My opinions about my homestay and learning experience.

It was a wonderful experience and I have many reasons to be glad about it.

First, the great availability; before the trip, I received all the information I needed from Lorna and it came quickly!

The information was both comprehensive and clear.

I could see that the company, Live and Learn Homestays, was located very near to my host family and this was an important factor for me.

During my homestay, all family members were ready to assist me on all matters and at any time.

With regards to my English lessons, Lorna (my teacher) was able to assess and understand my needs and weaknesses and she devised a programme to help me to improve my English skills.

I was also impressed by the company’s professional competence.

Both Lorna and Sharon (my host) were skilled at teaching English to foreign students.

The lessons were interesting and never boring; I found them varied and very useful.

Also, whilst living with my host family, I received lots of helpful advice about my English.

The family environment was very friendly and everyone made time to talk with me; they were also very patient with me when I struggled to find the right words or found it difficult to understand what they were saying!

Sharon and her sons were interested in what I had to say and I was pleased to be staying with a family that had so many different subjects to talk about.

We had many lively discussions over meals!

I also loved the fact that the family involved me in their activities such as walking, bowling, watching TV, meals at home and in a restaurant.

To summarise in a few words - with this company I found exactly what I’d hoped for.

I’m happy to have met these people and to have had this experience with Live and Learn Homestays

Thank you!

Mauro Cartello, Asti, Italy August 2010

Was my 1-month-stay and travel successful or not?

Jumping to a conclusion, my answer is yes!

Travel is TRAVAIL in French. So every time when I travel abroad, I have trouble with communication in foreign language; English. Nevertheless, my travel abroad was successful and I can keep motivated to travel again and again.

This journey is at the top of my list of favourite journeys since my retirement.

Success in travel depends on how everyday ends up. I was able to enjoy my 3-week-homestay that my home-stay agent, Lorna from Live and Learn Homestays Ltd. arranged for me.

Judging from my past experiences, the host family is key to home-staying. For 3 quarters of my journey I was home-staying, not only the accommodation but also heart and mind of the host family was superb!

I spent the rest of my itinerary quite contentedly, assisted by the host family.

Lorna took my stay into good consideration keeping in touch with me as travel-counselor. It was helpful to me and was a nice part of my itinerary.

I hope it isn’t incidental for me to be happy this time.

Thank you.

^{Itsuro Nishida, 15th}^{June 2010, Kyoto. Japan}

I needed IELTS help in specific sections of the exam so needed private tuition. I was very pleased with the company and service received, as I achieved what I wanted with the final grading of 8.5 IELTS in the exam which surpassed my expectations.Ongoing contact with Lorna was very good. Lorna is very committed to her work and clients and continually asked for feedback as to how my studies were progressing. The teacher was very flexible and experienced and it was very easy and comfortable for me as she came to do the tuition at my home.

Israeli born pharmacist, Miya. May 2010

My experience with Live and Learn Homestays LTD

I booked my course by LIVE AND LEARN HOMESTAYS LTD in Birmingham. I was very surprised over the good service I've had with this little company.

Before I had asked two language schools in Switzerland, but they were not able to find a good possibility for learning by a tutor at home in England or Ireland.

For me it was clear, I wanted to live and learn by the family at home, I wanted a private bathroom. And also Internet with my own notebook.

I also asked for a quiet place where I could do sport as well. And I wanted to see pictures of the house and family.

I searched over the Internet and I found a lot of lovely sites. There you could see good examples from teachers, but first you have had to pay a fee of £150 before they do anything.

On one site, it was not possible to make a registration. I sent emails and there wasn't a response.

Finally I found one evening the Internet site from LIVE AND LEARN HOMESTAY LTD

http://www.homestay-online.com/

Then suddenly it was all very easy. In a short time I had all that I wanted.

I had a good Teacher in Redditch, a very friendly family, a quiet place, I could do my running. And there I've had done excursions with my teacher. I enjoyed my three week studying / holiday very well. And I improved my English very well. I took 15 hours a week. For me it was never boring.

And the Director from LIVE AND LEARN HOMESTAY LTD herself phoned at the second evening for ask me If it's everything OK and then also at the end of my stay.

If there are some questions left, you can send me an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

See some of my pictures of Birmingham!

I'm from Switzerland, I spreche deutsch, je parle français, parlo intaliano and hablo espaniol.

Toni (March 2010)

Back in July, I recommended Lorna and her company to a German colleague. His 16 year old son was struggling with his English at school . I told him about what Lorna does and suggested that it might be a possibility. Now, after having met the father again, I can say that Lorna's concept works and must be supported. His son's English grades improved after only a 2 week stay with one of Lorna's 'host families'.

The father showed me the end of course report. It explained very clearly the problem areas the tutor recognized and what was done about them and further recommendations. What is also worth mentioning is that in the placement process, Lorna uses a matching system to find the most appropriate tutor / host family for the student. In this case, the student had an interest in music, so Lorna had the ideal combination of a qualified teacher married to a musician.

What also came to light, mentioned by the student's father, was that the host family integrated their guest, showed him the local sights and took him to restaurants or take aways. The latter has the consequence that the student refuses to go to an Indian restaurant in Germany because they are not as good as those in England!

Lorna is committed to her business and to her customers. She picks up the students from the airport and brings them back. The attention to detail, the whole process involved has shown me the professionalism her business reflects which is enhanced by a warm human touch, so very necessary in an learning environment.

Franck Peters

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 woud recommend her to others who are interested in hosting students or indeed staying with a host family.

C. Campbell, host tutor