CHS French teacher Jon Zimmer, center, with some of his Coronado High students in France
This summer, teenagers from very different parts of the world will be coming to Coronado to improve their English-speaking skills and learn about American life. The organizations that run these exchange programs are looking for local families to open their homes and their hearts to these students for a few weeks.
One group is coming from Japan from July 19 to August 9; the other, from France June 24 to July 14. Though each programs is run differently and has slightly different requirements, they have much in common. Both need host families. Both prefer that families speak English as much as possible, if not exclusively. Both offer hosts and students a wonderful cross-cultural experience.
The Japanese program pays host families $250 per week per student. The French program is purely philanthropic. The French program also requires the host family to have a child around the same age as the visiting student and to include him or her in family activities. You don’t have to have a teenager or even a child to host a Japanese student.
The Japanese program is also more formal and more structured. All of the students are first year students at Tamadai High School, ages 15 to 16. Hiromi Takai one of their English teachers, will accompany the students here. He speaks fluent English and has been to Coronado many times, according to Kathy Woiwode, who’s helping to recruit host families in conjunction with her son David, who teaches English at Tamadai High School. The students are already familiar with western culture, having spent February in Australia on a similar exchange program, Woiwode said.
Most of the daily activities for the Japanese students are structured in advance. On weekday mornings, they will attend English languages classes at Palm Academy with Donald Quinn, from Canyon Crest Academy. They’ll take field trips in the afternoons and on weekends. Plans are set for SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, Old Town and Disneyland, Concerts in the Park, and to Petco Park for a Padres game. There will, of course, be some time to include them in host family activities as well, Woiwode noted.
French students, who range in age from 13 to 18, won’t be attending class and will not have organized activities. Ideally they’ll do things with their host “siblings,” such as spending a day at the beach, riding bikes, taking in a movie, or just hanging out.
“It’ll be like having an extra teen, except one from a different culture,” said Jon Zimmer, Coronado High School French teacher. He is the hosting coordinator for Vistas in Education (VIE), the organization that is sponsoring the French students. Every year, Zimmer organizes a trip to Paris for his upper level French students through the VIE program.
“It’s always a wonderful experience for them,” he said. Now, he wants French teens to have the same opportunity. VIE has been running travel and family stay programs for French and Americans since 1976 and has extensive experience in organizing cultural exchanges.
“Each student and [prospective] family is asked to fill out a questionnaire asking about interest and lifestyles,” Zimmer said. “We do our best to match students to host families based on personality, temperament, age and gender.” For example, an outgoing French teen who loves to play tennis everyday won’t be placed with an American teen who prefers to spend all his free time playing video games.
David Woiwode, fifth from the left, with his students at Tamadai High School
Having guests from abroad has many rewards, not the least of which is getting to know some nice people and getting to know a bit more about the world outside of Coronado.
Last summer, two Japanese teachers stayed with Kathy and her husband Mike. “It was only for a week, but it was a wonderful experience,” she said. “They were generous and comfortable to be around.”
As is the Japanese custom, they brought gifts, including a scarf, art prints of geisha girls, origami, an obi and a silk scroll. They also cooked a Japanese meal that Woiwode said was “incredible.”
French students are also encouraged to bring gifts to their host, Zimmer said.
Zimmer, who’s been on the visiting side of the program, is looking forward to experiencing the hosting side.
“I have a tween, and there’s a 13 year old who is coming and I think we’ll take her,” he said. “Expect for bonjour, my daughter doesn’t speak a word of French and I don’t have any intention of speaking French either,” he said, as the goal is for the visiting students to be immersed in the English language and American culture.
If you are interested in hosting, or want more information about hosting, a Japanese student, contact Kathy Woiwode at 435-4622 or [email protected]. For information on the French program, contact Zimmer at (619) 657-3968 or [email protected].
Prospective host families are not limited to one program. Since programs run sequentially, a family could take in a French student for two weeks and a Japanese student the next two weeks.
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Gloria Tierney
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
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