Belaf
Language Study Holidays
Established 1975

site web francais

 Site web français

TESTIMONIALS

Here’s a small selection from the feedback we have received about our service:

Frederica’s visit to Lille was very successful......they are a lovely family and made her welcome in every way. Her French has become much more confident and she says the speaking and listening element of her lessons has become much easier. Many thanks for arranging it.
- SS, UK

Chloe has just returned from a wonderful two month stay with the family in Paris. Every email, every phone call was full of the hospitality of the lovely, kind family, the warmth of the daughters and her inclusion in their lives, the fabulous experiences (including skiing and visiting Normandy). Thank you for organising such a successful stay for her. She was never homesick, despite being far from her home. Her French, of course, has greatly improved!
- CS

The exchange went very well. Matthieu is a lovely boy and he and Dev got on very well........best of all, he will be sitting up and paying attention in French classes from now on. Thanks very much for arranging a very successful exchange.
- AD, England

Our son Daniel has had the exchange with the American family. He told us about the good times he had with the family.
- CD (German/American exchange)

Je vous envoie ce mail pour vous dire tout simplement MERCI. Léchange c’est très bien passé et nous allons continuer.
- PD, Paris

Just to thank you for arranging a wonderful exchange for my son. He has just arrived back from Bordeaux after a fantastic exchange. His French has improved enormously and he had a wonderful time with the family. They have invited him to go skiing with them in January. Thank you again for an excellent service.
- HK, England

Thank you very much again for arranging the homestay for my son this summer - he had a wonderful holiday in Dijon.
- RN, England

 

Nous avons eu beaucoup de chance d'avoir une jeune fille comme Pippa, qui s'est  parfaitement intégrée à  la famille, et a fait preuve de beaucoup de gentillesse.  C'était vraiment un plaisir.
 - MS, France [Pippa’s Homestay in France pictured above]
We can arrange French Homestays as an alternative to Exchanges.

Just to let you know that Alice had the most wonderful time in France. She reckons the W. family are ‘the best’ and since returning has not stopped talking about the family, all the relations and friends she met, and the places she visited. As she spoke French the whole time I’m in no doubt that her spoken French has greatly improved. I shall be recommending your company to others.
- KG, Denmark

Chloe had a marvellous time in France. Elsie’s family were most kind to her. She was a little reticent to speak French at first but by the time she returned to England she was not only talking but also thinking in French. My thanks to you for organising the trip.
- DL, London

Just a short note to say how much I enjoyed my exchange. It opened a whole variety of new friends who I intend to keep! Thanks once again for a fulfilling experience!
- Matthew, Wiltshire

I am impressed. I gave you an unusual situation, with a few complications thrown in and you came up with an ideal situation, with the pieces all in place and ready to go. Thank you!
- KP, USA

Richard is now back after a very memorable 2 week stay in France. The family looked after him superbly. They were very kind, welcomed him warmly, introduced him to many members of their family and helped him enormously with his French. Not surprisingly, he was intimidated to start with, but he’s returned feeling much more confident about himself and his French.
- KL, England

I have been meaning to drop you a line to say how much Rachael enjoyed her trip to Bilbao. It was a great success and she really felt her Spanish improved and amazingly said she wished she had stayed a further week!
- JH, England

The care both my children  received from their families was absolutely wonderful; we could not have asked  for more.
Our first experience of your  company has been outstanding, and I would have no hesitation in sending the  children again (just as well, as they keep asking if they can do it again, as  soon as possible!!).
 - MB, England

Thank you for organising the stay for Charlie in  Le Havre with the Lambert family.They were an absolutely delightful family and  he had a really good week.To find such super hosts at such short notice was a  tremendous service.
 - DH, England

From the Daily Telegraph:
Tim and Carole Browne, directors of Belaf UK, have been running homestay and exchange programmes in France, Germany and Spain since 1975. For a modest fee, they arrange for a student to stay with a family with similar interests and children around the same age.
They recently arranged for my own 14-year-old to spend 12 days with a wonderful family with four children, including a boy around his own age, at their home in Paris and chateau in the country. He was made to feel very at home; he was royally entertained and thoroughly enjoyed the delicious meals.
After a phone call home the first day asking "Mum, er . . . how long am I staying here?" he felt it took two days to settle in and then didn't want to return home. He is certainly more confident in speaking French and learned more about the culture.
- Jennifer Sharples
Read the full article here

Extracts from a Danish magazine:
After several fruitless searches on the internet I suddenly came across BELAF. As soon as I corresponded with Carole I felt sure she would be able to set Alice up with a homestay, and I was proved right. A few weeks after the initial contact we received photos of a very nice looking French family with four children who were happy to have Alice join them in their summer house not far from Cannes.
Alice had an absolutely fantastic time with her host family. As well as 3 of the 4 chidren, there was a constant stream of cousins and family friends visiting. This resulted in Alice being with a crowd of young people all the time. The family achieved the perfect balance between days spent just hanging out at the pool and going on trips to Cannes, Monaco, Italy and into the mountains. What Alice really liked though was the very relaxed atmosphere and not feeling like a tourist when going around with the host family.
On her return Alice talked non-stop for several days about her experiences, going into minute detail about all the people she’d met and the places she’d been. She was not sure whether her French had improved but knew that she had unintentionally picked up some slang expressions because the family had cracked up laughing when she had used them (e.g., ‘je m’en fous’).
A few weeks into the school year I met Alice’s French teacher (who is French) in the corridor at schoool. She greeted me with “Wow, what has happened to Alice’s French? It’s amazing. She’s chatting away in French in the class and the rest of them are just looking at her with their mouths open.” So there’s no doubt that her French did benefit greatly from the homestay but, just as importantly, she had one of the best holidays of her life and is already planning to return.
- Kate, Alice’s mum.

Thank you for arranging a wonderful exchange for my son.
His French has improved enormously and he had a wonderful time. Thank you for an excellent service.
- Mr K.

Juste un petit message pour vous dire que le séjour de Mathilde en Ecosse s’est très bien passé. Mathilde s’est bien entendu avec Victoria et sa famille. Nous sommes très contents de la réussite de cet échange et nous vous en remercions.
- CN, France

Josh got an A* in his French A level and is going to Manchester University to do French and Arabic.Thanks, in part, to you for hooking him up with the Gredigui family!
- Mrs R. 2016


 

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