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Reading 1/1:
Read a review of a research paper about studying abroad and then answer the following questions.
The Best Classroom
Because of such factors as the rise of the Internet, the ease of global travel, and a
dramatic increase in international trade, the world is more interconnected than ever before. In the past. people could
enjoy a successful career without ever moving from their home region, but now many people have jobs that involve
some international interactions. Given these new
conditions, it is essential that all college and university students experience new cultures as part
of their education. To achieve this objective and to emphasize the importance of intercultural
studies, colleges and universities should require students to study abroad for at least one semester of their
undergraduate education.
One of the primary reasons that studying abroad contributes so effectively to students
education is that it requires them to live and learn in a new culture that is different from their
upbringing. In their analysis of the educational benefits of study-abroad programs. Brewer and
Cunningham (2009) conclude that the real learning is often triggered by a serious dilemma that
causes the individuals involved to question assumptions they may have held for their entire lives. As Brewer and
Cunningham demonstrate, students' daily assumptions are challenged by the experience of living abroad, from simple
concerns, such as appropriate breakfast foods, to more complex matters, such as how societies should be organized
and other cultural conventions. By experiencing a new culture firsthand, students will better appreciate the unique
features of both their host and their home countries, as well as better understand the repercussions of these cultural
differences.
Studying abroad also greatly facilitates learning a new language. While students should
prepare to study abroad by learning this language in a classroom, thereby establishing a
framework for future success, few experiences enhance language learning more than living in a
country where it is used. As Kauffmann, Martin, and Weaver (1992) state. "Foreign settings
offer many new sources for instruction, practice, and evaluation. Teaching methods that take
advantage of the local environments can certainly be expected to improve on classroom
methods" (p.36). For example, when learning a new language in a classroom, students might
practice ordering food at a restaurant or asking directions to a museum; when studying abroad.
however, they will have to put these skills to the test in real-world situations. Additionally, students benefit from studying
their academic discipline from a new perspective. At first, this argument may appear illogical: math is math, whether in
Peru or Poland, and the fundamental principles of chemistry do not change from Ghana to Germany. Still, the ways in
which disciplines are organized and taught may vary considerably from one region to another, and so students will see
their discipline in a new light if it is taught in even a slightly different method or order. Learning to see the ways in which
knowledge itself is organized can be one of the greatest benefits of studying abroad.
Though studying abroad offers many advantages, some may argue that a semester or a
vear abroad is nothing but a vacation Yes it is true that some students choose to treat study
