Although the “homestay” has long been considered a key factor in the study abroad experience, it is one of the least examined components of foreign study. In an effort to explore this issue from various perspectives, this study targeted several programs in Spain and Mexico with interviews of host families, students, and housing directors. Each group's perspective on key issues such as adjustment, common problems, and the “homestay advantage” was probed via on‐site interviews and questionnaires. Results showed that the majority of the information reported by one group was normally corroborated by the other two, and all groups felt the homestay enhanced the study abroad experience.

Most foreign language departments encourage their students not only to study abroad, but also to live with host families to maximize linguistic and cultural exposure to the target culture. While there have been a number of studies examining study abroad from the student's and program's perspectives, the native perspective of the homestay experience has been missing. To helpful this void, 24 host families were interviewed in their home settings. The interview data were analyzed using the NUD*IST computer program to determine salient, recurring topics. This article discusses the study design and the major themes that emerged. It concludes with the hosts' recommendations on how students, programs, and the native families themselves can work together to enhance the homestay experience.

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This study investigates the role of task‐based learning in the study abroad experience in order to enhance interaction with the host family. Tasks were incorporated into a Family Interaction Journal and implemented under four evolving, though different, conditions over a 5‐year period. The conditions were: (1) home campus administered/student participated voluntarily; (2) home campus administered/student participated for voluntary credit; (3) abroad program administered/student participated voluntarily; and (4) abroad program administered/student participated for credit in conversation class. In each condition students were assigned to task/no‐task groups. Although there were no statistically significant differences on questionnaire answers for the two groups, the qualitative data consistently showed greater understanding of the family, increased language and cultural learning, and increased interaction for the task group.