An exchange student is a student that leaves his/her country for a foreign one for a year, where she/he usually learns a new language and experiences a new culture. Nowadays, there are more than 35 international exchange programs from which very many high school students benefit. For instance, each year, almost 13000 students travel on American Field Service Intercultural Programs between 65 countries (AFS, 2011). Unfortunately, the number of students who go on exchange is still relatively low, even if the benefits they receive are big. Because the age of 15-18 is the perfect period of time for going on an exchange [1], students discover a new culture and develop themselves [2], adults can have a new experience by taking a student …show more content…
Consequently, students do not have to focus too much on their studies while being abroad; they can focus more on their personal growth. Furthermore, through exchange programs students develop themselves, thus contributing to society from an earlier age. Most people don’t think about self-development until they experience a life-changing event — something that shakes them up and changes their perspective. An exchange year is such a one-in-a-lifetime experience that prepares young people for their responsibilities and opportunities in a changing, interdependent world. They experience the first culture shock when arriving in the host country and the second one when arriving back to their home countries. These shocks make youngsters more sociable, confident, adaptive, independent, flexible and definitely more tolerant. Besides, discovering a new culture also implies discovering more about their own culture and about themselves. Fortunately, all previously mentioned effects are long-lasting. An AFS long-term impact study showed that, 20-25 years after their experience abroad, AFS program alumni are more likely to be fluent in foreign languages, have higher education levels and be more comfortable in different cultural settings, both professional and personal, than their peers who did not have a secondary school intercultural sojourn experience (AFS, 2008). For instance, Catherine Coleman, an AFS alumni, is a former United States Air
With an increase in student mobility around the world, there are many positive outcomes related to learning a different set of education from their home country and obtaining intercultural experiences with a global mindset. On the other hand, students may struggle with different challenges, which they may have unexpected to encounter.
This meaning students leave and go to study in another country.So students may ask, why sould they go to another country to study what you can study here? Well first off studying abroad can enhance your professional and financial potential. By learning in another country students may be subject learn the ways of the people of that country. Students studying abroad are experiencing a new culture in first hand also allowing new ideas to flow and showing them things they may never see any other time. Another for students to study abroad is taking advantage of traveling. So many people will not have the opportunity to travel to these exotic places and study something they will live there whole. Studying abroad gives the opportunity to experience the world in a whole new way. Students will be introduced into new customs, religions, and get to see museums and historic landmarks of there location of choice. Also while staying in the country of choice students are not limited to staying in that country. They are allowed to visit neighboring countries as well. For instance,a student is staying in Europe, the student is allowed to travel to Barcelona, Manchester, and Rome. The final reason for studying abroad is for career opportunities. After students come back from there learning experience they will have a new outlook on culture and life perspectives. These attributes give students a bright future from
Additionally, students can travel around the world to learn about new cultures. By traveling, students can pick up new skills and
In like words to Albert Einstein, John Dewey once stated “education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” An immensely powerful blessing found in attending an international school has been becoming a person who thrives and enjoys learning amongst a seemingly endless multitude of cultures. The opportunity to essentially become immersed in different cultures gave me a personal conviction to go out and serve underserved regions of the world. Through my missions and travels, I have learned that how we face both diversity and adversity define who I am. The value of an education is determined by the one who receives it and what he or she chooses to do with it.
Poor education in school and no access to money is no excuse to give up because if one does not have an adequate education, they cannot qualify for a degree that will potentially elevate their socioeconomic status. Born into a struggler family infested with homelessness, destitution, and poverty, I chose to educate myself outside of the classroom because my school failed to provide an adequate education to be successful in today’s world. I chose to study abroad in France, which was a complete learning experience in itself. Despite being in a struggler school, an exchange student foundation, American Field Service (AFS), presented the idea of studying abroad. They offered anyone who wanted to embark on this once in a lifetime journey a full scholarship of $15,000. Initially, I thought that it was too good to be true, but I ended up being the only student in my school that went abroad for a year. After experiencing an entirely different way of life, I recognized the historical differences of
Diversity week is a week-long program held by the university of Akron. This program is organized by groups on campus. The purpose is to educate college students the diverse races, cultures, genders, ages, sexual differences, social and economic status in our society today. I had the opportunity to attend the “Education Abroad: Your Door to the world” session. In this activity, we talked about the different opportunities associated with studying abroad. Some of these opportunities are getting to launch your career, make long life friends and family, and personal development and growth in your life.
I have changed a lot during high school, but junior year I measurably grew more then I ever had before because of my foreign exchange student, Paula. My perspective on others around me matured and has since fueled me to learn more about other cultures around the world. I developed a positive self-image and grew into a more responsible and confident version of myself. Initially, I was apprehensive to let a stranger from another country into my home for 10 months. Despite these doubts, Paula living with me junior year lead to a period of immeasurable growth in my
Throwing oneself into an entirely different culture for a few weeks a year, is one of the most intellectually gratifying things I have come to experience. It exposed me to the fact that there is more to life than meets the eye. Accepting its complexity is almost as important as understanding what makes it complex. My visits to Poland have opened my one dimensional mindset, and allowed for more complicated reasoning. Traveling also forces an individual into strange situations they are unaccustomed to, and shows that not everything can be learned in a classroom. It teaches politics, economy, history, geography and less general things such as the ability to explore, grow, and make mistakes. They are left with the satisfaction of doing things they never knew they could
About 12,000 students are split across the 2 main campuses and 3,000 of these students in the military. In class, students always were encouraged to bring up their backgrounds and past experiences in discussion. I found the military personnel on campus to be thoughtful and willing to share their perspectives inside and outside the classroom. There’s several foreign exchange students who study from countries South Korea, South Africa, and Japan. The international department at Pierce College helped the exchange students create a strong presence in the Pierce College community by integrating exchanges into the learning opportunities and events on campus. There was a program called Conversation Partners that paired domestic english speaking students with exchange students in which their shared time together once a week to develop cultural exchange, conversation, and friendship. The exchange students also ran shows that shared their cultures with native students as well as dances and talent shows that highlighted key elements of their backgrounds.
Lastra-Anadon, Carlos Xabel, and Paul E. Peterson. “The International Experience.” Education Next 12.1 (2012): 52-9. ProQuest. 11 Sept 2013.
Though I’ve spent nearly half of my life growing up in China and soon immigrated to Canada, my travels outside of the two countries have been limited, mostly due to financial drawbacks. The opportunity to pay Western tuition while abroad has been a major reason for my decision to embark on a global exchange experience. Spending my pre-teen years and on in Canada, I saw how valuable my early experiences from China were, even at a young age; my unique standpoint resulted from both cultural influences allowed me to shape my identity in an empathetic and accepting way, otherwise impossible without firsthand experience. Hence, though I recognize my privileges, my lack of endeavors outside the country feel dissatisfying and limiting, and my viewpoints seem to rest under a
Amazingly my grandmother and namesake landed in America on July 4, 1906 and I will land in Italy on July 4, 2016. As an older student and parent I know studying abroad is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. It will be one of the best and most important aspects of my learning journey. The prospect of learning in a foreign country from instructors with different teaching skills as well as different curricula excites me. Being a non-traditional student allows me to fully understand the opportunity that lies ahead. It will allow me to learn about a different place and culture. I believe a person can never stop learning and improving herself, and this will give me an amazing opportunity to do
I have learned that retaining global relationships are a unique, enlightening and a significant experience. In College, I have had the privilege to encounter with many international students. Consequently,
Education is a never-ending learning process that has always been a piece of our life. As education is a building block in our lives, we are eager to put profoundly into our education. Good education will lead us to the bright future. With the fast advancement of public opinion, we have entered an era of information explosion which the necessity of studying abroad has turned into a developing pattern among youth. Most of the students feel that studying abroad is better than studying in local universities. As the saying goes, “the grass always looks greener on the other side of fence.” In this way, I believe that considering abroad have extraordinary points of benefits.
“In 2006 to 2007, according to the data compiled by the Institute of International Education, 582,984 students from all over the world were enrolled in American colleges and universities in a wide range of fields” (Carter, Paragraph 2, 2008). The United States has the highest number of students who are coming to study abroad than any other countries. Each year, the number of international students coming to the United States to obtain degrees is increasing by thousands, and home countries of these students are primarily India, China and Korea, all located in the whole different continent. But what are the motives of students who are crossing the sea to study? Their goal of studying abroad is to experience diversity and to adapt attitudes