Living with a host family vs. on campus for exchange

[Mythymeranout]

Surely it's possible to stay with a host family without having to work as an au pair? Or is money an issue?

Unfortunately, no.......and fortunately, no

[Mythymeranout]

What's your priority? To make friends and have fun in English or get the most out of the experience (in terms of learning Mandarin while living in China)? You can't do both.

Absolutely it is to learn mandarin. This is why it's so hard for me to decide. Living with a family is definitely out of my comfort zone but it makes the most sense for language learning. Even if I was speaking English to the kid, there would be Chinese TV, talking with the grandparents, the parents, listening to discussion over the dinner table.

I previously did a high school exchange to Japan for two months, and staying with the host family was amazing for language learning.

If there was an option to pay for a true homestay I would do that in a heartbeat but there isn't.

[Axon]

Well I'm still surprised to hear that it's sanctioned by the school, but then again my own experience is in a fairly small city and I'm guessing you're going somewhere on the east coast.

I would disagree that working as an au pair is the only way to reach your potential during immersion. I've learned a lot of Chinese from living with Chinese families, no question about that. Let's look at the type of language that I've learned:

Telling children to do things
Names for foods and how to prepare them
Many specific words related to things in a house and one's daily routine.

But even now that I'm actually capable of chatting with them more or less competently, they don't really do that. Unless your host family remains motivated to help you improve your Chinese, at home you'll likely be a silent observer for many conversations about daily domestic things. Other students at the university are far more likely to talk to you about themselves, their backgrounds, and their goals, and ask you about the same. Don't assume everyone's going to just speak English to you.

You really can take advantage of an immersion environment even if you don't speak a word of Chinese in your actual dorm room. The Tuesday Night English Corner at a university near my usually attracts upwards of 60 students, many from nearby universities that have their own English Corners too. Speak English for an hour and add ten WeChats and then see who's willing to chat with you in Chinese too.

In your international dorm, it may even be the case that Chinese (or Japanese) is the only language that you share with some students. In Indonesia I met a bunch of international students whose English was much worse than their Indonesian. At a university you'll constantly be in an environment that motivates you to improve your Chinese instead of plateauing with the phrases you need at a homestay.

[Chupito]

How about trying to find a place with Chinese- speaking roommates?

Disclaimer: I didn't have the best experience with local roommates during my own exchange (not in China and nothing story-worthy, they just had their established groups of friends that they weren't looking to expand and I was too shy/not sociable enough). A friend of mine stayed in the dorms the first session, then moved to a place with some friends he had made and that was much better.

[Christi]

I think staying on campus is fine if you have the right mindset.
I also went on exchange, to the UK so the situation is a bit different in that I knew English already, but from all of classmates I was the only one who had made friends with local students and didn't stick with my fellow classmates or other exchange students.
My classmates mostly hung out together, speaking their native language, or would hang out with other exchange students who usually spoke worse English than they did. I don't think ther English has really improved or that they really got to learn a lot of things about living in the UK.

If I were you I'd look up some language exchange or interest groups to join. If things like movie clubs are too complicated language-wise maybe you can join a chess/card club, join a gym etc.

You could also try doing some volunteers work, if that's allowed and if it's your cup of tea.
I did some volunteering and met some really interesting and patient people that way. People really appreciated me being there and took the time to talk to me and explain things.