In
our society, it is debatable whether a university should require every student
to spend one or more semesters studying abroad. I think the suggestion would
not prove to be effective though it seems to be effective at glance.
Admittedly, students can reap a
myriad of benefits if they are given the opportunity to study abroad. Above
all, students can improve their language skills and broaden their perspective by
encountering different cultures. To be specific, there is no better way to
improve one’s English skills than living in an English speaking country. Not
only will students learn languages from the school, but also they will constantly
use English in their daily lives, such as by doing shopping, watching
television, and hanging out with foreign friends. Also, while attending the
school in abroad, students can experience different cultures. For example, it
is pretty common for Korean students to passively listen to what professor
teaches in a class. However, American schools rather encourage students to
participate in a discussion and students can experience interactive learning.
In this way, students can benefit from spending one or more semesters studying
abroad in a foreign country.
However, the experience would come
at the expense of other costs. Above all, living abroad costs a lot of money.
For students who are short for cash, it would be burdensome to afford the
expenses to live in abroad. To be specific, they have to pay for round-trip
flight tickets, accommodation, and extra living expenses. Moreover, it is usually
arduous for them to have a part time job at foreign countries mainly due to the
visa issue. Moreover, spending some semester abroad means that they have to
give up opportunities they would have in their home countries. To illustrate,
they could have internship experiences and build their business acumens before
graduating the school, had not spent time abroad. Since it is getting more competitive
to get a job these days, having at least one or two internship experiences is
vital to be successful in the job market.
As described above, spending one or
more semesters abroad can take a toll on students though it does have benefits.
Unless students are affordable enough and have better opportunity that outweighs
the benefits they could have in their home countries, the aforementioned
suggestion should be reconsidered.