studying abroad

Thebenefitsofstudyingabroad

“Studyingabroadisaboutsomuchmorethanimprovingyourown

future-it’saboutshapingthefutureofyourcountriesandoftheworldwe

allshare.”MichelleObamamentionedinthespeechinPekingUniversity.

ItisobviousthatMichel’swords,whichencouragedstudentstostudy

abroad,arousaheatedtopic—lievedthatoveras

studycanbeafrustratingandsometimespainfulexperienceduetothe

hoverasstudyhas

itsdrawbacks,theadvantagesofstudyingabroadaremoreweighed.

Actually,overasstudyhasalotofbenefits,includinglf-improvement

andinternational-contributions.

Firstofall,llknown

thatoverasstudyoffersanopportunityforstudentstolearnnew

snobetterandmoreeffectivewaytolearnalanguage

thantobeimmerdinaculture,whichistheoriginofthelanguage.

Moststudentschootostudyabroadnotjustbecauthe

enceofoverasstudyis

knowntoallisthatlearningisnotjustsittinginthe

classroomandlisteningtotheteacher,justasDonnaFarhiSchuster

(1987:194)stated,“thelearningisnotsomuchtheacquisitionof

informationasitisaninvestigation.”Asakindoflearning,studying

abroadcanbeoneofthemostsuitablemethodstocompletethislifelong

investigationbecauitprovidesarelativelyall-sidedforumforstudents

asstudycreatesaspacewherestudentscan

ngcanbemorevivid

whenitcomestooverasstudy.

Second,despitethefactthattherootofoverasstudyislearning,

claimthatoverasstudycanshapestudents'personalitybecautheyare

forcetodealwithallkindsofdifficultiesbythemlveswhethertheyare

ey

chootofreefromtheprotectionoftheirparents,theymaketheir

hefive“traitsoftheeducatedmanisthepower

ofgrowth.”(NicholasMurrayButler:280)

Onewouldbemorematureifgiventhechancetobeconfrontedby

sly,studyingaboardmakes

instoliveadifferentlife

inanothercountry,evenifyouhavemadeall

thepreparations,meansyoumaysufferfromhandlingbecauyouhave

todothingsyoumaynothavedoneonyourownbeforeleavingyourown

country,whichincludesapplyingforalltherelatedmaterials,booking

tickets,rentingahouifneeded,doinghouwork,figuringout

inggoes,“Nopains,

nogains.”Aftersufferingfromthodifficulties,youcanbemore

erienceoflivingand

studyingabroadcanbealf-adventurewhichleavesagreatsumof

fewillbeforeverchangedandyoucanfindabetterlf.

Third,studyingabroadoffersoneamorecomprehensiveperspective

oftheworldand,perhapspecially,ofonelfandone’sownculture.

“Noonecanviewtheworldwithcompleteimpartiality,”(Bertrand

Rusl,1956)butonecanviewtheworldinadifferentwaybyobrving

llknownthattheexperienceofstudyingabroad

oftenchallengesstudentstoreconsidertheirownculture,valuesoreven

erasstudentswouldexperienceaprocesswhich

startsfromcultureshockandendswithabalancebetweenthetraditional

snodenyingthattheexperiencemay

perhapsstrengthenthovaluesoftheirowncultureoritmaycau

studentstoalterorabandontheexistingcultureandembracenew

“invasion”ofotherculturenables

studentstoetheirownculturethroughamoredialecticalway.

Studentscannotonlygetintouchdifferentcultures,butalsorevalue

hthewidelyknownfactisthat“yourgradedoesnot

reprentajudgmentofyourbasicabilityorofyourcharacter.”(Robert

Oliphant,1986),ngabroad

canprovidestudentsachancetobejudgedbydifferenteducationsystem

andcultures.

What’smore,studyingabroadprovidesaplatformwherefreeideas

whomaintainthatitis

goodforstudentstogoabroadforfurtherstudyholdthatdiverculture

backgroundcanbroadenstudents'horizonandcreatearoomforthefree

Mafield(1946:16)stated,“the

thinkerandtheekerwillbefoundtogetherintheundyingcauof

bringingthoughtsintotheworld.”Itisnecessarytoexchangeideasand

bringthemintotheworldwherepeopleareinneedofeducation.

Thoughthedevelopmentoftechnologyprovidesamoreconvenient

waytocommunicatewithpeoplefromothercultures,youcannevergive

uptheopportunitytohaveaface-to-facecommunicationatanymoment.

Overasstudycanexchangetheirideaswiththeircross-cultural

lessoftheexchangesofideas,

youcanstudyabouttheculturebackgroundwhichdeliversthoideas.

Theexchangeofdifferentideasisoneofthemosteffectivetogaina

edevelopment

ofglobalization,dof

education,

themhavecontributedtothedevelopmentoftheirowncountryinthe

fieldsofcutting-edgetechnologylikeAerospaceScienceandTechnology.

Meanwhile,

onemakeshisdecisiontoleavehisowncountry,whathispeopleneedto

dofirstisnottoquestiontheirpatriotismbuttoreconsiderthe

ntis

scanlearnfromeachotherandthe

standardoftheworldris.

Lastbutnotleast,studyingabroadisalsoanexampleofdiplomacy.

Theeducationalcommunicationenablestwonationstobuildabridge

lesaid,“Wealsocometoschoolslikethisonetomeetwith

studentslikeyou,becauwebelievethatrelationshipsbetweennations

aren’tjustaboutrelationshipsbetweengovernmentsorleaders--they’re

aboutrelationshipsbetweenpeople,

viewstudyabroadprogramsnotjustasaneducationalopportunityfor

students,butalsoasavitalpartofAmerica’sforeignpolicy.”Studying

abroadgivesachancefortheyoungtomaintainclocontactwitha

astthemisunderstandingandmisconceptions

betweentwonations,andtospreadtheoutstandingpartofone’sown

culturearethemissions.

Studyingabroad,asoneofthecontroversialtopics,hasitsbenefits

uchooit,youaresuppodtoacceptboth.

Beforemakingthedecision,you’dbetterestimateyourlffirstbecau

undeniablefactisthatyoucanreceivemorethanwhatyouloifyoucan

ldneverregretaboutthe

experienceofoverasstudy,andonenationwouldneverbedisappointed

bysupportingoverasstudyinviewoftheremarkablebenefitsitbrings.

References

ndRusll;KnowledgeandWisdom;PortraitsfromMemory

arhiSchuster;Onbecomingabetterstudent;YogaJournal

Herald;FreshStart;Nutshell

field;AUniversityStandsAndShines

Oliphant;LetterToABStudent;LiberalEducation

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