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One research shows that currently, over a million of international students are studying at colleges or universities in the United States (Muth, 2016). I am one of those international students who decided to study abroad in the United States and attend a college; living alone away from motherland. When I was a young, I always had the dream of studying abroad in an English-speaking country because most of my families are already study abroad. The purpose for studying abroad differs from one person to another, but we all look for new experiences and try to be successful in the future.
Studying abroad is not only about studying, but also to be exposed to the diverse cultures; see the world with one’s own eyes through a study abroad experience is truly-valuable, and this could be turning point in their lives. The United States is the country where different races and ethnic groups live together. This means that you have opportunity to meet a different culture despite their race. There are many benefits that you can get through study abroad experience, and I want to know more about this to see how this experience change one’s life and open doors for the future.
What Age is the Best to Study Abroad?
Basically, there are no minimum age or maximum age for study abroad. Though they do not have age restriction, there are pros and cons of studying abroad in early life and late in life. Lisa (2015) who works at organization that supports the overseas students mentioned that “It is a fact that the younger the individual, the easier it is to learn a new language.” This means that children have better learning ability than adults do, so they can learn new language easily and catch up things faster.
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On the other hand, even if you are old, you still have opportunity to learn and experience something new. Since they live longer than others, they have more knowledge born from their experience; this may find things easy for them to learn. In my personal experience, I would suggest you study abroad when you are the age of around 16 to 18 years old. I have study abroad experience twice before I came to Washington. My first study abroad experience was in Hawaii when I was 4-years old. My family moved there to give me and my brothers international education, but they decided to go back to Japan a year later. The reason is that our English got better than our native language, and we started to speak poorly when we had conversation in Japanese. The second study abroad experience was in Canada, and I attend a boarding school when I was 13-years old. It was a good experience, but I had a hard time living away from family.
Therefore, I believe that the age when you are entering high school is the best time to study abroad because you are more independence and responsibility. Also, it is important that you start learning new language after you learn your native language and able to speak fluently.
How Does It Affect Personal Development?
Talking about the language, study abroad gives you opportunity to become a bilingual person. “The Bilingual Brain” (2013) claims that “they’re learning that speaking more than one language may have cognitive benefits that extend from childhood into old age.” This is saying that being bilingual increases your ability, and they developed the brain better than monolingual person. Some study shows that bilingual person has more ability to get concentrate since they are managing two languages and that will help the brain to distinguish information whether the information is important or unnecessary (Perry, 2013). As you already know, being a bilingual helps human brain development, and this will keep the brain active. Other study shows that bilingualism have lower the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease and delay the symptom by up to four years (Perry, 2013).
Beyond that, study abroad is the way to find out your own identity by understanding your own cultural values and belief. Living outside of your home country makes oneself tougher. This will also help you to build and strengthen leadership skills. Study abroad experience have a great influence on developing personal growth. You can become a world leader because you have more chance to meet people from all around the world. This means that you know the difference in belief due to their nationality, culture, religion, and so on.
Moreover, this experience would help you to develop your new perspective, and you will view things without prejudiced eye since you see and get engaged with different people. Gain more knowledge and experience the diverse culture will help you to become successful person.
How Does It Impact Their Future?
International experience will advance your career; after you finish study abroad program, you will have many choices for your life. You can either go back to your home country or stay in United States for optional practical training. Optional practical training is the temporary employment related to your major on students’ visa, and you have opportunity to work in United States for a year (“Optical Practical Training for F-1 Students,” 2017). However, many international students tend to go back to their home country to get a job. It is not too much to say that study abroad experience enhance your career opportunity. Many companies are willing to hire good manpower, and you can tell about yourself what kind of experience and skills you have: These could be your flexibility, cultural adaptability, wilder worldview, language acquisition, etc. (Tillman, 2013). With these skills, your employer will express an interest in working with people with such experience.
Also, they will think that people who has study abroad experience are more open-minded and high adaptability to a new environment. Overall, experience of seeing the world and meeting new people makes you to build new perspective on you and this makes a person unique or special.
Conclusion
Study abroad experience will open the door to have successful future. It is never be too late to see the world, but I would recommend people to study abroad when they are teenagers so that they will not face language barrier when they grow up. It is hard to learn new things after you are grown because your mindset is already developed, and sometimes, it is hard for you to accept new ideas. Some researcher says that overseas experience will give you a positive influence on your personal development, and your brain will have superior ability in many areas including language skills, mindset, and adaptability (“The Bilingual Brain,” 2013).
Furthermore, studying in a foreign country could benefit by see things in different perspective. Each country has their own culture, religion, and history; it is important to respect those things when your meeting people from other countries. Therefore, if you exposed in diverse culture when you are younger, you will have an open mind and skills that you gain from this experience is valuable that you cannot get at least you experience it.
References
- 10 Benefits to Studying Abroad | Study Abroad Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.internationalstudent.com/study-abroad/guide/ten-benefits-to-studying-abroad/
- 10 Reasons Why You Should Study Abroad. (n.d.). Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.studentuniverse.com/travel-guides/study-abroad/10-reasons-why-you-should-study-abroad
- Five Ways Studying Abroad Can Benefit You. (n.d.). Retrieved June 05, 2017, from http://www.mba.com/us/plan-for-business-school/choose-a-school/study-internationally/studying-abroad-benefits-you.aspx
- Heise, M. (2013, November 15). 10 Reasons Why Every Student Should Study Abroad. Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/why-study-abroad
- McMillan, A. R., & Opem, G. (2010, March). Study Abroad: A Lifetime of Benefits. Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/news/study-abroad-lifetime-benefits#sthash.SZh7sFVU.dpbs
- Muth, P. (2016, November 16). How Will President Trump’s Policies Affect Education Around The World? Retrieved June 5, 2017, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-president-trumps-policies-affect-education-around-parke-muth
- Nandi, D. (2016, November 11). What’s the right age to study abroad? Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.hotcoursesabroad.com/india/why-study-abroad/all-about-studying-abroad/right-age-to-study-abroad/
- Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Students. (2017, February 01). Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/students-and-exchange-visitors/students-and-employment/optional-practical-training
- Saltagi, L. (2017, February 05). Is It Better to Study Abroad in High School or College? Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/is-it-better-to-study-abroad-in-high-school-or-college
- The Bilingual Brain. (2013, January 15). Retrieved June 3, 2017, from http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/language/articles/2008/the-bilingual-brain/
- Tillman, M. (2013, February 04). Effective Marketing of Your Study Abroad Experience to Employers. Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.studyabroad.com/resources/effective-marketing-of-your-study-abroad-experience-to-employers
