It can be an exciting but scary journey to leave home and stay with a new family in an unfamiliar country. Cestar’s international high school in Toronto offers an amazing and safe opportunity for international students to leave home and learn abroad in a nurturing environment. Jump into this article to learn about why you should consider a homestay program in Toronto with Cestar High School!
While the whole homestay experience is exciting, we understand that the idea of staying with a family you’ve never met in a country you may not have ever been to can be intimidating. Cestar ensures that their host families are screened with full police checks and home inspections before your arrival to make sure that you will be safe and comfortable while attending international high school in Toronto.
Additionally, high standards are set for host families, who are regularly checked on during the student’s stay. Instead of staying in a dorm, where for the most part you are left to your own devices, staying with a host family will provide you with a more caring and wholesome experience during your time abroad. You will be cared for and create meaningful relationships that can last a lifetime.
Toronto is a large cultural centre in Canada, with the city’s population hitting 2.93 million as of 2017. If the Greater Toronto Area is also considered, the number rises to 5.93 million. With millions of people from different backgrounds, there are areas in the city that have settled down to resonate with certain cultures, such as Chinatown, Little Italy, Little India, and Koreatown—just to name a few.
The city is a centre for music, film, theatre, and television, and has some of the best museums and art galleries in the country. For example, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has pieces from Monet and van Gogh, and there are film festivals in the city every year, TIFF being the biggest. Staying with a family who has established themselves in Canada will open so many doors for you to explore the city, and to see more than just the tourist attractions.
Living abroad can be expensive, especially with how high the costs of living are in a city like Toronto. However, choosing homestay for your time in international high school in Toronto is probably one of the most affordable ways to live in a major city when considering living costs.
Your host family houses and feeds you, which already takes away most of the cost of living. You likely won’t have to pay for travel or to use the laundromat either, which you may need to do if you have an apartment. Plus, if your hosts know the city well, it’s likely that they know a bunch of fun free or low-cost activities you can do on your adventures, driving the costs of your experience down considerably.
To find out more about what Cestar’s international high school in Toronto will cost, click here.
Cestar High School welcomes students from all over the world. If you’re looking to come to Toronto for your international high school experience, but don’t know English very well, there’s no need to worry! English is one of the hardest languages to learn, especially if it is your second or third language. However, immersing yourself in an English speaking environment will help you learn the language much more quickly and effectively than just taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Completing international high school in Toronto will not only help you learn how to speak proper and refined English, but it will force you to practice every day so you will become fluent in no time.
One of the best features of Toronto is that the city is so diverse. Approximately 200 languages are spoken here! In the population of almost 3 million, 45% of Toronto residents speak in a mother tongue that is not English or French, Canada’s two official languages. So, if you get homesick and want to speak with someone in your native tongue, there be no problem finding someone you can speak to. And, with how many cultural groups that are settled in the city, you’ll usually be able to find your place with people from home. It can be tough moving so far away from everything you know, but when doing international high school in Toronto, home is never too far.
Cestar’s international high school in Toronto will provide you with all of the tools and services you need to be successful in your time abroad. You will be aided in course selection and if you decide to go to a post-secondary institution in Canada, university placements. Our staff works to ensure that there is constant open lines of communication to make sure you are feeling confident in your work and life here.
Additionally, we also offer multilingual support. In case you are struggling with English and are more comfortable speaking in another language, like French or Mandarin. We also provide college and university application counselling and IELTS/TOEFL English training—exams that students are required to take as an international student moving into post-secondary education. The tests check your English proficiency and are globally recognized as the world’s most popular English test. Doing international high school in Toronto and being immersed in the English language will help you excel in these tests, in combination with the training from Cestar.
The cultural shift from your home country can be a massive shock to the system. Cestar offers cultural adjustment counselling in order to help students feel at home during their stay. The school also helps with arrival orientations, bank account set-up, visa and study permits, and more. No matter what, you will be taken care of during your time as an international high school student in Toronto. Check out Cestar’s International Student Services page for more information about the services that will be provided for you during your stay in Toronto.
Taking the first step to travel abroad and go to an international high school can be scary, especially when you are on your own. But with Cestar, you will be guided every step of the way with the help of a wonderful host family, and the extensive resources provided to you by Cestar. With so much diversity in Toronto, you’ll never feel too far from home.
Look into doing Cestar’s homestay program today to embark on your next adventure!
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