Become a Host Family

Host families are at the heart of what IECT does. Read below and find out if this paid opportunity works for you.

Interested in becoming a host family?

Hosting a student is a great way to make new friends and find out about other cultures. It gives you a unique opportunity to act as an ambassador for Ireland and to show your young guests what Irish life and culture is really like. And of course these are paying guests, so you will be financially compensated for hosting.

Our students are mainly juniors, i.e. under 18 years of age, and come to Ireland to learn and practice English. Because of this, one of our most important rules is that you can only host one student of each mother tongue (for example, only one French speaker or one Spanish speaker). This rule is especially important for the longer summer stays in July and August. Occasionally, we have requests from friends who ask to be placed together, and in such circumstances you will be advised if it is acceptable to do so.

Students from IECT can be hosted in either a single room or sharing a twin-bed room. However, not more than two people should share a room and, as a general rule, there should be no more than three foreign students hosted by the family at any one time.

Your guests should have access to adequate wardrobe space in the bedroom for clothes and personal belongings and there should also be somewhere quiet that they can study if necessary. Bed linen should be changed once per week and towels should also be provided. A reasonable amount of personal laundry should be done for your guest, particularly for stays of 2 or 3 weeks.

Accommodation is always on a full board basis: breakfast, lunch (or packed lunch) and dinner. Your guest should eat with the family and not alone, unless for some reason he/she is late arriving home or needs to eat earlier than everyone else. Your guest has chosen to stay with a family because he/she wants to experience day-to-day life in Ireland and to have an opportunity to practice speaking English so it is important to make an effort to integrate her/him with the family. Please take time to speak with your guest, asking questions about their day, the activities or visits they undertook and encourage them to speak as much as possible, not just sit and watch TV or stay in their room.

As our students are under 18 years old, we recommend curfew times.

Benefits of Becoming A Host Family

• Cultural expenience for family
• Excellent Rates Paid

If you want to become a host family, please complete this application form and we will be in touch with you.