In cultural immersion programs, students or interns are put into homes of people of the target culture and expected to live as family members. The purpose is that they will learn the culture and language quickly and naturally, and emotionally "bond" with the local culture.

Many immersion programs, however, are so stressful that they disappoint the participants, the host families, and the program coordinators. Of course, this seldom appears in the publicity literature.

At the present stage of understanding, several factors definitely improve the likelihood of a positive experience for all stakeholders.

The first factor is clear, appropriate goals. The main benefit is almost always the impact on the lives of the participants as an educational experience. However, a real contribution is also feasible if they aim either to provide manual labour to a defined project or act in support roles.

It is usually unrealistic for short-termers in an immersion program to contribute meaningfully to the lives of nationals, because they don't yet have the cultural adaptation or language proficiency.

The second factor is good selection, of which there are at least three main criteria:

• Motive. Do students really want to learn or are they really out for a fun tourist experience?
• Temperament. Participants do best if they are emotionally stable, enjoy people, are committed to the immersion program, and are willing to learn without being defensive. Nevertheless, there is always a risk because people's reactions change when entering a very different cultural environment.
• Family situation. Immersion programs are easiest if the student is single, a little more difficult for couples with no children, quite difficult for couples with small children, and not normally recommended for couples with older children.

The third factor is a teambuilding experience near the start of the program, and preferably a mentor. Participants need to know that there are supportive people around. Although team members can include nationals, it is simplest if the group of participants form their own team. People need someone to talk to, ideally a mentor, but other team members can be just as helpful.

The fourth factor is cultural orientation beforehand. Students need to know what to expect and the basic ground rules of how to behave. This might include financial arrangements, including cost-sharing, banking, payments and allowances. The idea is to prevent tensions caused by misunderstandings about money by having clear procedures in place.

Fifth, participants also benefit from language at least to survival standard. Being able to communicate even at most basic levels can reduce frustration very considerably.

Sixth, plan the activities thoughtfully. It is difficult to forecast how much students can do when put into a different schedule in a different climate, but in principle, comply with the normal indigenous schedule as much as possible. Be careful of making unrealistic expectations.