Introduction
While studying overseas, students face many challenges. The risks of experiencing culture shock and having problems with the high cost of living are the reasons that can hold young people back from getting an education in another country. The necessity of learning a new language and frequent long-distance trips are other difficulties experienced by international students. However, these difficulties help the students to gain new experience and learn how to cope with the problems related to living in a new country. This essay aims to present efficacious ways to reduce the risks of experiencing problems related to studying overseas and discuss how studying abroad influences the student’s skills.
The risks related to studying overseas
Culture shock and expensive costs of living are one of the risks taken into consideration by students who are afraid of studying abroad. Both of these risks can be reduced if the person learns how to cope with them before going to another country. Cultural shock is the psychological stress caused by the person’s trying to adjust to new conditions in another cultural setting (Brody & Ferraro, 2016, p.198).
These conditions can include beliefs, customs, laws, values, social organization, and behavior standards. In such a situation, the person can start contrasting home culture with the culture of the new country. If this experience causes too many negative feelings, it can be considered a strong culture shock, which can lead to depression. The effects caused by cultural shock can be easily prevented by learning about the specifics of the chosen country and efficacious ways of integrating into the new culture. The problems connected with high costs of living can also be solved if the person investigates current prices beforehand. Exploring the prices can help to organize the student’s expenses most effectively. Besides, most universities offer discounts and programs that let reduce the cost of living for international students.
The challenges related to studying overseas
The fact that the challenges, met by students while studying abroad, contribute to gaining important experience can be demonstrated on the example of an obligation for international students to learn a new language. For many students learning a new language seems to be a boring task. It can be considered a benefit that improves the student’s skills. While learning a new language, the student broadens his worldview and masters his learning skills. The knowledge of one or more foreign languages will not only help to get the degree but will also become a great advantage while searching for a good job. Language skills bring numerous opportunities for young people.
The process of globalization results in high demand for specialists with intercultural experience and knowledge of foreign languages (Dwyer & Peters, n.d., para. 8). Another challenge met by students while studying abroad is the necessity of traveling on big distances. This issue is usually viewed as a big disadvantage that causes many inconveniences. At the same time, it can be regarded as an experience essential for all people willing to achieve success in the modern globalized world. Frequent trips allow mastering social skills and developing the student’s skills to adjust to different conditions quickly and effectively.
Conclusion
The risks connected with getting the education abroad do exist, but they can be easily reduced by appropriate preventive activities of the student. The students face many challenges while studying overseas, but these challenges become the benefits in the future and help to develop important skills. Therefore, studying abroad is a challenging experience, which gives me many opportunities to develop new skills and get an exciting experience.
References
Brody, E., & Ferraro, G. (2015). Cultural Dimension of Global Business. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Dwyer, M., & Peters, C. (n.d.) The Benefits of Study Abroad. Web.