The Perks of Being an Internation Student

The perks of being an international student

Finja Pfundner

0300034331

ENG 1100M

K. Gildea

University of Ottawa

In the 21st century, traveling has become one of the most convenient things caused by the development of technology. One of the biggest movements that were caused by this production was globalization that led to a densification of the world. Practices across countries became more common and the intercultural communication grew. Hence, programs that offer students to go abroad increased over the last several years and made the process of studying a semester in a foreign country almost effortless. Studies show that young adults do not only profit from this experience personality wise but also on a social level that improves their day to day life. Furthermore, the expertise that students grew through the experiences they made while studying at an external university helps them to succeed in their work life later on. Therefore, everyone who decides to go to university should be obligated to study abroad.

While being abroad to study a student's personality can change and inevitably they will profit from the new impressions that come across their daily lives. Students often find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings facing new obstacles as they go. This can lead them to outgrow themselves because they handle unknown situations. Several studies over the last years proof this assumption like the Institute for International Education of Students (IES). They found out that 97% of the students who have been abroad while going to university felt more mature after they made this change of place. In addition to that, nearly the same percentage (96%) of young adults could see that they got more self-confident through their international semester (Jones, 2015). Not only do these numbers show the personal profit one can get out of a change in their current surroundings while being educated, but a study from Germany discovered that the student’s main characteristics are positively influenced by this adventure (What Statistics Show, 2017). Hence, the personal advantages that students gather from going abroad will also impact their day-to-day life in their home country which is linked to their social skills that also play a role in this development.

An international student’s influenced personality leads to more self-reflection and cultural awareness that has an impact on the social skills individuals use within encounters they have during their day. Therefore, the new experiences students collect in a foreign country will transform into their daily-life and lead to a shift in their general point of view. Ruth Kinloch gathered facts about spending a semester abroad and states that 95% of the sample mentioned that their worldview changed enduringly. More precisely, the cultural aspect seems to be significant when it comes to long-running effects that were caused by the international experience. Thus, almost every student who has been abroad and was questioned sees his or her own cultural prejudices differently after being back in their home country (Kinloch, 2016). This can be caused by the fact that 90% of mobile students were able to develop their communication skills and gain more knowledge about different cultures (Brandenburg et al., 2014, p.105). Additionally, 75% of those questioned said that other skills they learned through their studies abroad like speaking another language had an impact on their career path (Kinloch, 2016). Therefore, the Institute for International Education of Students (IES) did not only discover the long-term impact of studying abroad towards being socially more aware, but also the better career prospects that students have when they have been abroad to study.

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