How ‘Family’ is your host family?: An examination of student–host relationships during study abroad

This research uses schema theory and expectancy violations theory as a framework to examine students’ expectations about homestay, factors that facilitated and constrained student–host interaction, and the construction of student–host relationships during study abroad. Through journaling, American students answered specific questions about their experiences living with a host family during an eight-week summer semester in Luxembourg. Participants indicated that they expected interactions to function, in part, like family. However, less than a third of the participants described their relationships with their hosts as family. Instead, the relationships functioned as friendships, guest–host relationships, or tenant–landlord relationships. A number of factors facilitated and constrained their opportunities to communicate with the hosts. Students’ expectations about the homestay also appear to be shaped, in part, by the language used to describe the arrangement. Implications for study abroad programs are discussed.