Living with
a homestay family

Choosing to stay with a homestay family is a great way to extend your English learning experience beyond the classroom: you will be immersed in an English speaking environment all day, every day. You will enjoy your own single room and will share the house facilities with the rest of the family. Sharing meal times with your hosts is a great way to learn about Sydney’s way of life and learn about other cultures

Ideal for students who

  • Would like to experience cultural exchange
  • Would like to receive care and support from a host family
  • Want to maximize their studies and avoid having to shop for food and cook

Quality Standards

We have a dedicated Homestay Coordinator who ensures that our students are always well looked after. We regularly inspect homes to ensure that the high standards are maintained. We actively collect feedback from all students about their stay with their host family to ensure that they feel comfortable and welcome.

Homestay
Modern, Comfortable & Convenient Living

Residence Features

Single or double bed

A wardrobe

A dressing table or chest of drawers

Adequate lighting

A desk

Breakfast and dinner on week days

Lunch included at the weekends.

Internet available at extra cost

Bed linen and towels provided

Close to public transport

Stay Details

Locations

All homes are located close to public transport and usually 35 to 60 minutes travel time to the college.
You can get to ELC by public transport using our direction guide.

Meals

Breakfast and dinner are included every day. Lunch is also included at the weekends.

Internet access will be made available to students at the homestay but usually at extra cost. All students will have free unlimited internet access from our computer lab and WiFi service at school

Bed linen and towels are provided by the host family. Students usually wash their own personal clothing using the host’s appliances and with the host’s assistance. Ironing, handwashing or dry cleaning are in any case the responsibility of the student.

At the time of enrolment, we will need to know the students’ homestay requirements before we can arrange the placement. We will also give students the opportunity to indicate homestay preferences which we will try to honour as much as possible when finalising the match.

ELC may also be able to organise homestay placements for students with particular needs such as specific dietary requirements, executive homestay, or a room with a private bathroom.

Many host families only accommodate one student but some families welcome 2 or more international students. When that’s the case, we will make sure that there are no other students of the same mother tongue in the household.

Prices

2025 Fees

Homestay placement fee: $375

Single room: $425/w

Twinshare pp: $385/w

Extra night (all homestay types): $75/n

Public Holiday and Christmas surcharge: $110

2026 Fees

Homestay placement fee: $375

Single room: $430/w

Twinshare pp: $390/w

Extra night (all homestay types): $80/n

Public Holiday and Christmas surcharge: $110

  • Extra nights are charged at $75/n (i.e. not weekly pro-rata).
  • A $110 surcharge applies for arrivals on Easter Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas day and New Year’s day.
  • An internet surcharge of up to $10/w payable directly to the host may apply for internet access.

What our students say

Akiko Tanaka

Akiko Tanaka

Japan

Hello. My name is Akiko Tanaka and I am studying at ELC in Sydney.

I recommend this school to Japanese, because there are few Japanese students in this school. Instead, there are many European students and Brazilian students. At first, most Japanese students will be confused with different cultures. But after 1 month, you will see that you fit in perfectly with your class mates and enjoy studying English at this school so much! This school’s facilities are very good: you can use your computer at student lounges with Wi-Fi. Also, there are many computers at the library and the student lounges. It is FREE!!! The school receptionists and teachers are very friendly and kind.

I have decided to join the Work & Travel program too. After graduating this school, I’ll get some job information from the company. So I’m not worried about job hunting. Finally, I would recommend this school to Japanese. If you want to make friends with people from other countries, you should come to ELC.

Here are some pictures of myself at school and with my classmates, at the Blue Mountains as well as with the kids of my Homestay family! There are always things to do on the weekend!

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