But academically speaking, what are the benefits to studying abroad for an actual SEMESTER? Does it only help people who want to become more familiar with a specific language? And GPA? Will credits carry over?
Please and thanks in advance.
Answers:
The benefits are immense, but subtle. You may not even be aware of how you've changed until years later.
In high school, I traveled to Germany for 3 weeks, and in college, I studied abroad in Japan for a year.
Even going abroad for a few weeks really has a lot of benefits, as you've seen. Experiencing the language, culture and people first hand are the big ones. However, you were still mostly a tourist. You would be going home in just a matter of weeks. I wasn't in Germany long enough to really get culture-shock.
By being abroad for a longer period of time, you'll get a much deeper understanding of the language and the culture. The longer you're abroad and fully immersed in the culture and language, you'll learn a lot more. One semester abroad will teach you than what you'd cover in a classroom in 2 or maybe 3 semesters.
The benefits are much greater than just learning the language, however. Since my time in Japan, I feel I've better able to communicate with people from all different backgrounds, simply because I've had that experience of being the foreigner and struggling to learn the language.
At many of the companies I've worked at, I've been able to use my Japanese skills as part of my job, or even to greet VIPs from Japan. I'm by no means fluent, but just being able to properly greet someone in their native language goes a long ways towards making a positive impression. It also helps convince the visitors that the company is serious about doing business.
As for GPA and credits, that will depend on the particular program you will study through. The Japanese program I attended was actually run as an extension of my University, so I got full grades and credits for the classes I attended. Some of my classmates were from different universities, and had to use their local policies about transferring credits. Check with your school to see what programs they offer, or, what their policies on study abroad programs are. Even if you don't get credit, I would strongly encourage you to go abroad for a semester. I cannot tell you how much it has changed my life, or how many opportunities it opened down the road. It was well worth the effort and money.
I just think its cool experiance
I think being in the country itself of the language that you are speaking teaches you things academically. You get to see for yourself the culture of the people and hear them speak the language. And like you said, it opened your eyes, you learned alot of life lessons. I think that is a big part of the reason why people study abroad-to learn things that can't be taught in the classroom.
I think BECAUSE of how much it "opens a person's eyes" it helps them academically. In the professional and corporate world you're going to have to have knowledge of people of different backgrounds and the more familiar you are of that the better. Since we do so much work internationally now, through government and business, it looks great on a resume if you have studied abroad.
Most colleges will allow the credits to carry over to your current university. I think it's worth it academically and for the great experience.
You have already had a great experience! However, I bet you really don't speak Chinese yet, right? Just a little bit.
And their lies your advantage in a longer program. However, if you are going to invest the time and money into a program, I suggest that you take the year abroad program instead. It doesn't cost that much more and you get so much out of it.
As to programs ... you can look at www.csiet.org for those which are certified to operate in the U.S. You can also check with your high school counselor for the ones that operate in your specific area and that he/she recommends.
Generally speaking, your high school will work with you on making your year count for you as far as credits are concerned. You may have to take a summer school or on line class in American History or Government, but that's not too bad (or you can double up in a year). Some programs/scholarships will require a higher GPA, but generally a high C average will do it for you.
In addition to the obvious language benefit, you will also gain in maturity, open-mindedness and a better view of the world in which we live. You may have already experienced some of this from your travels to China.
I studied abroad for a semester in London. That was 8 years ago. Now that I have a full time job, a house mortgage and a family of my own, I don't have the time or money to take a trip that far away for that long of a time period. When I was in college, I didn't have that many attachments keeping me home except for school. Study abroad took care of that. I got to travel and continue working on my degree. Make sure the classes you take overseas will transfer so the trip doesn't set you back.
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