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As there are many forms of information that
people can learn about a foreign culture such as books and movies, many people
believe that we don’t need to go abroad any more to learn about a foreign
culture. However, I believe that learning about a foreign culture contains more
than gaining knowledge, so visiting the country is still beneficial.
To
begin with, secondary sources like books and movies have a risk of giving
people a wrong stereotype. It should be recognized that those sources are
covering only part of culture, so it may lead people to believe this is all
about it if they rely on the sources. In addition, the information in the books
or movies is likely to be inaccurate as it is based on a personal experience.
Many experts assert that culture contains many different notions that can’t be
clearly defined, so relying on secondary sources can be dangerous in learning a
foreign culture. In this regard, it proves that reading books or watching
movies are not enough to learn a foreign culture.
Moreover, people should not rely on secondary
sources because culture constantly changes as time goes. Therefore, the
information in books or movies is likely to become outdated easily. According
to many cultural experts, using secondary sources is not a good way to
understand a foreign culture, because it causes people to follow old norms and
so they may end up making a mistake to local people while traveling. In
contrast, visiting a country is more advantageous, because people can learn the
real culture while modifying themselves to the local style. It is evident that
visiting a foreign country is more effective at learning a foreign culture.
Overall, secondary sources provide people with
knowledge about a foreign culture, but do not cover the whole area of culture
due to some limitations.
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