At the Homestay English Academy, 2008 was an exciting year for us all. Students from France, Italy, Spain, Russia and China studied with us. We also had a Spanish family stay for two weeks who have booked to return again in 2009, this time they are bringing another family with them. We all enjoy having such a broad range of students from so many different cultures, we have made some very close friends who often keep in touch and let us know of their progress and successes.
Here are some stories of a few of the students
Zoe - 'The French Explorer'
Zoe - 'The French Explorer'
We make a point of fully including all our students into family life and 2008 was no e
xception. We had an exciting trip to 'Monkey World' and 'Splashdown Water Park' with Zoe, Charlie and Livi, together with cycling, fossil hunting, cinema, cooking, shopping, studio art workshop and much more. We even climbed to the top of Shipton Hill one day with Zoe at the front hacking at the undergrowth to create a path as if she was in the jungle ! We made it to the top in one piece.Sophia - 'The Italian Ballerina'
Sophia and her mother Chicca stayed for an intensive English course and to enjoy the Jurassic coast. Giorgio also stayed for a short while before he had to return to Milano. Sophia and Livi did much together and both showed off their talent in music and dance. Livi plays guitar and saxaphone and Sophia is trained in ballet and modern dance. We enjoyed many evenings of dance and music together.
Chicca and Sophia were fascinated by the wonderful Jurassic coast and went fossil hunting on the local beaches on many occasions. They found some ammonite fossils that were over 200 million years old. Sophia and Livi did an presentation together on the jurassic period. This was a great achievement for Sophia as she did the whole presentation in English.
Paul and Johnson - 'The Chinese Pumpkin Carvers'
Paul and Johnson are both from China, they stayed with us on two different occasions, once in the summer
and again in the autumn. They were very interested in cooking and creative activities and made their
own pizzas' and created wonderful pumpkin faces for halloween. They also played tennis with the other students, it was a very cold day but they ran around for the ball alot to keep warm. They particularly liked playing bowling and going shopping in Bournemouth.
Chicca and Sophia were fascinated by the wonderful Jurassic coast and went fossil hunting on the local beaches on many occasions. They found some ammonite fossils that were over 200 million years old. Sophia and Livi did an presentation together on the jurassic period. This was a great achievement for Sophia as she did the whole presentation in English.
Paul and Johnson - 'The Chinese Pumpkin Carvers'
Paul and Johnson are both from China, they stayed with us on two different occasions, once in the summer
and again in the autumn. They were very interested in cooking and creative activities and made their
own pizzas' and created wonderful pumpkin faces for halloween. They also played tennis with the other students, it was a very cold day but they ran around for the ball alot to keep warm. They particularly liked playing bowling and going shopping in Bournemouth.Joanna - the 'Classic French Chef'
Joanna from Nantes in France stayed in October to do the exam course to help her with her baccalaureate. She made grea
t progress and her confidence blossomed. She took part in many different activities including tennis, bowling, cinema, shopping and was particularly good at cooking. She prepared a very traditional french meal of crepe with sweet and savoury filling. It was so good she left us the recipe so we could have also have a go.
t progress and her confidence blossomed. She took part in many different activities including tennis, bowling, cinema, shopping and was particularly good at cooking. She prepared a very traditional french meal of crepe with sweet and savoury filling. It was so good she left us the recipe so we could have also have a go. The Mask Making Group
One group decided to have an art workshop in mask making. It kept them quite occupied for a while and was great for developing English vocabulary in a creative practical task. Each student chose a different theme and produced a work of art as seen here.Musical Students at Work
All students have hidden talents and we like to encourage this what ever the talent is. We are fortunate to have had several musicians with us making lovely music. We also had many talent evenings where students show off their ability in singing (in English of course), dance and theatre. 
We had some very memorable times with all the students and look forward to many more good times in 2009.
Debbie and Martyn Pape - Homestay English Academy - 01-02-09
