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Student Group Programmes

Contact Canada’s student programmes offer overseas students the perfect chance to immerse themselves in Canadian culture. Our English and activity learning programme combined with a homestay experience provide students with an ideal opportunity to interact and learn from Canadians about their country and community.

Upon arrival, students receive an orientation to homestaying in Canada and to the local area. After the orientation, students are introduced to their host family who then takes them to their new Canadian home. Host families provide students with a room and three healthy meals a day. On school days, the host family will help the student get to and from their classes.

English Programme
English classes are held from 9 am to noon each day. There will be one teacher for a maximum of 15 students. The aim of the English programme is to encourage the students to use the English they already know as well as to focus on the language structures and vocabulary that will help the students communicate with Canadians they will meet during their stay.

The English programme is based on the units outlined below. The teachers select the topics from among the six study units that will be the most suitable for the class they are teaching and which best relate to the students afternoon activities.
 

University and college programmes include an activity coordinator for all afternoon activities. The teacher normally accompanies the students as their activity coordinator in order to encourage the students to make use of the English & information taught in the morning class.

The junior and senior high school programmes include a cultural assistant as well as an activity coordinator. Cultural assistants are Canadian students close in age to the international students and assist students with their English & understanding of the culture by providing them with an opportunity to relate and get to know someone of their own generation while in Canada..

Cultural assistants of junior and senior high school age are only available during summer holidays (July 1 to August 31). Cultural assistants in their early and mid-twenties will assist the rest of the year.

Classroom Location

Classes take place in a public/private school, community centre, university, or college in the local area.

Activities and prices will vary from region to region and the list below is only a sampling of the activities available.
 

Introduction & Screening Procedures

Contact Canada’s Homestay Programme is designed for students interested in improving their understanding of Canadian culture. Our homestay programme gives students a very special opportunity to make friends and experience life as an active member of a Canadian family.

Great care has been taken in selecting families that will provide students with a safe, comfortable, and friendly environment during their homestay period. Contact Canada screens its host families very carefully by visiting and interviewing each family. All families are required to sign an agreement in which they promise to provide students with three healthy meals per day, and a clean comfortable bedroom. Our host families also agree to provide the support and nurturing that students in a foreign country require.

From PEI to Vancouver Island, Contact Canada has attracted hundreds of excellent host families to its programme since its establishment in 1990, and they have hosted individuals and groups from around the world.

Orientation

The orientation provides students with information on the programme, the local area, the host families and about life in a Canadian home. The orientation is important as it clearly outlines what a homestay is and ensures that students know what to expect from the programme. The orientation also gives the students a chance to meet the coordinator that will be available to counsel them if they have difficulty adjusting to the culture or suffer from homesickness.

Students will have 24 hour emergency access to a homestay coordinator during their stay. We have full-time coordinators who speak Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.

Farewell & Graduation Party

This party gives students an opportunity to share what they have learned in Canada, as well as an aspect of their own culture by presenting a traditional song, dance, or skit of their native country to their host families. The farewell party also provides a venue for the ‘graduation ceremony when the teacher traditionally hands out certificates of achievement to the students.

The sample programmes below provide outlines of programmes varying in length and location and also present a number of popular attractions from around the country.

Please note that all programmes begin and end on a weekend to accommodate the host family parents who are usually working during the week.

School agents and teacher organizers are invited to fax or e-mail for programme details and prices. Just send us a completed Programme Information Request form.
 

• 1 Week - Student Group Calgary English/Homestay Programme & Camping in the Canadian Rockies
• 2 Week - Student Group Toronto English/Homestay Programme & Visit to Niagara Falls
• 3 Week - Student Group Vancouver English/Homestay Programme
• Other Sample Educational Programmes

1 Week  Student Group Calgary English/Homestay Programme & Camping in the Canadian Rockies

Day Programme 1  SUN Airport meeting & transfer Orientation & host family introduction 2 MON English Class Picnic & Canoeing at Bowness Park 3 TUE English Class Mini Olympics with Calgary Students 4 WED English Class Historical walking tour with local students 5 THU English Class  Overnight Camping in the Canadian Rockies 6 FRI Full day Rocky Mountain Sightseeing Eve. Farewell Party 7 SAT Free time with host families 8 SUN Departure

2 Week Student GroupToronto English/Homestay Programme & Visit to Niagara Falls
Day Programme 1 SAT Airport meeting & transfer  Orientation & Host family meeting Homestay 2 SUN Full Day with Host Family  3 MON English Class  Walking Tr. of local area (Harbourfront Centre) 4 TUE English Class Sports Activities with local students  5 WED English Class Field trip to Ontario Science Centre  6 THU English Class Visit to University of Toronto or York U. 7 FRI English Class Cultural Activity 8 SAT Niagara Falls & Visit to local vineyard & winery 9 SUN Free time with Host Family  10 MON English Class Field trip to Black Creek Pioneer Village  11 TUE English Class Field trip to Chudleigh’s Farm & BBQ. Lunch 12 WED English Class  Cultural Activity 13 THU English Class Skydome/CN Tower/CBC & City TV. 14 FRI English Class Farewell Party & Certificate Presentation  15 SAT Departure

3 Week Student Group Vancouver English/Homestay Programme

Day Programme   WEEK 1 1 SUN Airport meeting & transfer  Orientation & Host Introductions 2 MON English Class Walking Tour of local area 3 TUE English Class Sports Activity 4 WED English Class Half day Vancouver Sightseeing 5 THU English Class Visit to a local university or college 6 FRI English Class Free Afternoon 7 SAT Free day with host family   WEEK 2 8 SUN Free day with host family 9 MON English Class Introduction to Canadian food & trip to market 10 TUE English Class Free Afternoon 11 WED English Class Cultural Activity 12 THU English Class Swimming 13 FRI English Class Free Afternoon 14 SAT Biking and hiking at Whistler    WEEK 3 15 SUN Free day with host family 16 MON English Class Horseback Riding 17 TUE English Class Introduction to Native Culture 18 WED English Class Ice Skating 19 THU English Class Nature walk in a rainforest  20 FRI English Class Free Afternoon 21 SAT Free day with host family 22 SUN Departure

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