International Students should Study Abroad Early
Studying abroad is a magnificent way to learn how to adapt to changes. With the booming economy in China, an increasing number of Chinese students begin to consider studying overseas. Their parents hope that their children will become bilingual or multi-lingual, and will have an advantage for their future career. For Chinese students, desire to learn English, the most popular language in the world, going abroad is the best method of learning it. For this reason, English speaking countries such as Australia, USA, and United Kingdom are extremely popular countries for Chinese students who wish to go abroad. Each year, around 194,000 Chinese international students study in America, which is the biggest number of international students in the world (Institute of International Education). However, the issue of choosing the best age to study abroad is a double-edged sword, which can bring both positive and negative effects.
Parents of Chinese children easily send their children abroad, because they think that it is a good opportunity for their child to learn a foreign language and culture, and see the world (DuFon and Churchill 67). Popular age to send children abroad in China is 13 years. The child is already grown enough to take care of himself. It is really easy for a child to learn English language in the English speaking country. Besides the opportunity to learn new words every day, the child also has the opportunity to practice what he had just learned.
It is not a problem for Chinese parents to send their child abroad, even if the education abroad is expensive because Chinese parents understand that proper education is extremely valuable in the modern life, so they do not try to save the money on education of their children. The process of studying abroad should start as early as possible, because in the early age it is easier for a child to adopt to the new conditions of life and find new friends.
Students who study in China should go through numerous exams during an academic year, so the parents who want their children to study without the additional pressure often decide to send their children to study abroad. China is the country that sends the highest number of students to study abroad each year.
The education in the USA and other countries is so popular among Chinese people, because now is the era of technological revolution. People are surrounded with different devices that carry information, so it is easier to find out everything the person needs to know about the education system in the certain country, than it was few years ago. TOEFL exam gets extremely popular among people, who need the certificate to prove their fluency of English language. More and more students come to the USA already having the fluent level of English. Thus, children are able to save the time, and skip the English language course, and start the learning process right after arriving to the country, where English language is native.
Not only people who want to study in the University have the desire to study abroad (Cressey 98). The number of children who aim to study in high schools and receive primary education also want to study abroad. The age of the students who are sent to study abroad rapidly declines. This results in additional benefits for the tutors who prepare the child for the study in the foreign country.
While studying abroad, students have the opportunity to improve their creativity, and inherit new ideas, which are not common for their country, and they are able to keep their individuality, culture, and traditions at the same time (Byram and Feng 123). However, it is hard for a student to study abroad, because the environment of the country and the traditions of people who live there are different from the ones he/ she had in homeland. At the beginning, it is really hard to adjust to the new environment, however, it is much easier to do so for the children who are younger. For adults, who change their living place, it is really hard to adjust to such changes.
The number of students who desire to study overseas started growing rapidly, especially since 2010. During this year, the number of applicants to the primary and high schools started rising. Expanding amount of international students is extremely beneficial for the economy of the United States and for the educational system of the country. It is so, because in 2008, educational system of the United States went through a massive crisis. Because of this crisis, the schools and universities of the United stated had serious problems with the funding. Thus, the only option to increase the funding was to encourage international students to come and study in the United States, and pay money for the education. The special system of recruitment has been developed by the United States to attract more students from foreign countries (Deardoff 45). For example, there are approximately 300 schools, who are working on recruitment of students from China to come study in the United States. In 2012, the average age of a student from China, who studies in the USA was 17 years. Now, in 2014, this age has declined to 14 years. Nowadays, there are 10.5% of Chinese students, who study in the US, and who are 10 years old, or even younger. In 2011, there was only 1.9% of Chinese students aged under 10 years old.
Education in the United States offers many benefits for the students from abroad. However, education in universities, colleges and schools is not cheap. For many Chinese families it is challenging to earn the sum required for the education. Thus, not every family can allow their child to study in the USA, Great Britain or other foreign countries.
United States are working on the balanced system of student transfers, to guarantee the quality of education and economic growth of both, USA and China. USA has such a powerful correlation with China in the sphere of students recruitment, because China is one of the key countries due to its constant development and economical growth; Chinese people treat education very seriously. Thus, United States tries to establish a long relationship between universities, schools and colleges of the United States and China. Research shows, that the youngest students from China study in Great Britain.
Students, who plan to study abroad should start the process of their education in the foreign country as soon as possible, because the longer the international student studies in the foreign country, the better effect it has on his/ her future carrier (Engle and Engle 59). It is so, due to a fact, that longer stay in the foreign country affects the overall performance of a student. The Chinese students rapidly develop both socially and academically during their stay in the foreign country. In addition, the earlier the student comes to the foreign country to study and the longer he stays in this country, the better language skills he/ she will acquire.
Development of the proper foreign language skills is a long and complicated process, so it is better to start this process as early as possible. Academic development of a student takes time. Chinese student got used to different educational norms during the learning process in his/ her homeland country. Thus, he/ she needs some time until he/ she will learn all the norms of education in the foreign country, acquire the required knowledge and develop academically. Social skills develop rapidly in a foreign country. However, even if the person is very sociable and has good communicative skills, the person still requires a lot of time to gain all the required social knowledge to develop an adequate social performance.
The longer student will stay in the environment, where he/ she will work in the future, the more positive and fruitful lessons he/ she will learn (Freed 87). In the future carrier of the Chinese students, who study abroad different circumstances can occur. If the person has already spent a lot of time in the target country during education, then this person will have the required knowledge, language and social skills required to solve all the existing problems at the work place.
If the Chinese student wants to work in Great Britain, it is better for him to enter the university in Britain. Studying process alongside the British students will rapidly develop the language skills of the Chinese student to the level of a native speaker. When a child is surrounded by the British native speakers, he/she learns to behave like they do in the specific social conditions. The only chance for a student from China to acquire the excellent pronunciation of English language is to be surrounded by the native speakers of the English language from as early years as possible.
In order to have a successful carrier in the foreign country, the student from China or other country must acquire specific social skills that are common for this specific country. Without acquiring these skills, the person will not be able to have a successful carrier and the employer will not take this person for a job, even if this person has the needed education. Thus, the person must acquire these special social skills during the long process of education in the target country, in which the person would like to build the carrier. Younger students are more adaptable to the circumstances, than the older ones.
Studying abroad also establishes the desire to have an intellectual bond with other people, who are investigating the same field of research. Studying abroad also develops the strong self-confidence and independence of a person (Lazarus 43). The student who studies abroad, far from his family sooner becomes independent and sooner takes full responsibility for his/ her actions, than students who live at home. When this student will graduate from the university, he/ she will be completely ready for the grown up life, and will probably be successful at work. While the people of same age will only start to learn to live on their own and think what consequences their actions might result in.
In their early life, students are easily influenced. The education abroad produces a more powerful influence on the younger students. When students go to study abroad, they go out of their comfort zones. They learn to budget their money, to socialize with other people, even if they are completely different, and have nothing in common with the person in front of them. Studying abroad, and leaving the homeland country changes the person for the whole life, and makes this person open to the whole world. Students learn to deal with the clashes of interests that take place between students of different cultures.
Study abroad produces a positive impact on the worldview of the person. If a student decides that he/ she wants to study abroad, he/ she must do everything to start an education abroad as early as possible, in order to get the strongest impact from this education and receive all benefits. When the student studies abroad, he stops being the citizen of his/ her own country, and becomes the citizen of the world. Thus, he/ she is able to communicate with people from all over the world, and make arrangements which are beneficial for his/ her future carrier. In addition, when the student starts his/ her education abroad during freshman year, he/ she will acquire the most important social and language skills during the first year, and in the next years he/ she will be able to focus on the academic learning process and receive better grades.
Students who live on their own learn to manage their time and make a schedule. They need to plan, when they will prepare for their classes, and when they will have their free time. They learn to plan their life from the early age. This will be highly beneficial for them in future. Thus, being away from home and from parents lets the students to compose their time plan, and test it for being successful, which is shown by whether they manage to do everything on time or not.
English language is the most popular language in the world. It is the language of business. Since English language became a global language, it is crucial to learn it and be able to speak English fluently in order to be successful in life. Thus, going to study in the English speaking country is the easiest and the best way to learn it on the level, needed in order to communicate with people from abroad and build a successful carrier (Lazarus 43). Parents of children in China do hope that if their children will study in one of the English speaking countries and will become bilingual. Being bilingual is definitely beneficial for the future carrier of any student. If the person knows two languages on the proficiency and advanced level, than this person will be able to find a job that will not be available for people, who do not know the second language on such a high level. It is much easier to find a job for a bilingual person.
There is no doubt, that education overseas has numerous benefits. However, education abroad in the early years also has a negative side. Students, who are younger that 16 years old, are not able to take full responsibility for their actions. For some children, who are very dependent on their parents, and got used to ask their parents what to do in every situation, it is extremely hard to adjust to the changing conditions of their life, and if such students will study abroad, in many cases they will fail in their efforts and will have to go back home.
Students who decide to study abroad face many difficulties. Not everyone is capable of coping with the problems caused by studying abroad. It is hard to speak the language that is not the native language of the person. It is even harder to study. For international students, it is often hard at the beginning to understand what the teacher is saying. The culture is different, so students do not know what to expect from others (Berry 297). They do not understand the behavior of some students due to the cultural difference.
The earlier the student came to study abroad, the harder it will be for him to cope with these problems. Students who are 10 years old and younger are too young to live in the foreign country on their own (Opper, Teichler, and Carlson 27). Teenagers have many problems, and have to solve different psychological issues. They need a loving parent next to them, to help them make the right choice. If the young person is living in a foreign country with some exchange family, he/ she might be too shy to ask for an advice, but unable to solve the problem on his/ her own. However, even if the young student will ask for an advice, the given answer might not be applicable to the situation due to the clash of cultures. Something, that is absolutely normal in one culture, is absolutely prohibited in another culture.
When young children are left on their own with their problems and questions, it often leads to the negative consequences, because teenager students might find inappropriate friends, who will produce a negative impact on them. Making bonds with people who drink alcohol and take drugs always has a ruining impact on young people, who are unable to protect their opinion, and act their way. Thus, age is a very controversial issue in the studying abroad, because parents must help their children to deal with difficulties.
If the student is too young and does not know the language of the country, where he is studying as an international student, and does not feel connection to the culture of the country and does not understand the behavior of the people, who surround him/ her, he/ she might isolate himself/ herself from other people and spend all the time in isolation. The student might become depressed, and will constantly feel lonely and abandoned (Lazarus 43). This will have a negative impact on general formation of the personality of this student, and will have a negative impact on his further education, because the negative experience will change his/ her further attitude towards education.
Juvenile delinquency is the result of inappropriate relationships between parents and their children. Parents must give freedom to their children, but they also must guide them, and help them cope with stress. If the young student studies abroad, he/she might face a cultural shock, mixed with too much homework in foreign language, and this might lead to the nervous breakdown.
Some students at the early age may be unable to force themselves to study. Thus, if they will be living without their parents, they might skip classes, and as a result of a delinquent behavior, or just because of missing the classes, they might get expelled from the school, college or the university. Thus, even if the impact of the studying abroad on the personality is stronger in the early years, and if the languages are learned faster in early childhood, children must be sent to study abroad at the reasonable age, such as 14 years, when the child is expected to be able to cope with his problems and take responsibility for his/ her actions.
To conclude, studying abroad is a life-changing experience for a student. To study in the foreign country means to adjust to the new environment, culture, and traditions. It gives the opportunity to learn the language of this country on a highest possible level, and acquire the correct pronunciation. Students who study abroad learn to manage their time and make their own schedule in order to be able to do everything on time. However, for students who are too young, studying abroad might be a negative experience, because it will be too hard for them to cope with their personal problems combined with the need to speak in a foreign language, be without parents, and experience the clash of the culture of the country and the culture of persons homeland. Thus, children must be sent to study abroad at the age, when they feel that they are ready for all the challenges that the education abroad will bring along, in order to get the benefits it offers for the international students.
