Education abroad in a new choice for young people to develop their careers and intercultiral activity as its options have become more diverse (e.g. study abroad, internships, field research, work placements, volunteering, service learning, directed travel linked to learning goals) and motivated by a wider range of goals (e.g. second-language learning, exposure to other cultures, professional enhancement, disciplinary learning, etc).
When education abroad involves formal second-language learning and immersion in the native speech community, it is commonly believed that it offer students the best opportunity to enhance their intercultural sensitivity and proficiency in the host language.
INTRODUCTION
Over the last three decades, we have witnessed an increasing number of young people gaining experience in some form of education outside the borders of their country of citizenship. In 2017, there were over 5.3 million tertiary-level students, up to 2 million in 2000, and by 2025, more than 7 million are expected to be educated internationally.
In this presentation, I’ll begin by briefly discussing historical trends in education abroad and focussing on programmes designed with second-language experiences and intercultural learning. I cite key studies and current contributions, highlighting contrasts in the research and methodologies that have led to a detailed study of intercultural learning habits of second-language enthusiasts.
METHODOLOGY
Drawing on a variety of methodical and theoretical approaches, researchers from multiple disciplines have looked into the language and intercultural development of second-language students in education abroad programmes. In Freed’s (1995) volume on Second Language Aquisition research in the context of studying abroad, the majority of studies analysed individual and group differences in terms of fluency, lexical and grammatical buildout and the use of communication strategies. Although the results were mixed, most supported the idea that study abroad can help learners become more confident, fluent speakers of the host language.
To further analyse the benefits of abroad education, we have to better understand the meaning of “international student” from different parts of the world. They are being seen as former students, partners and/or beneficial to the education system and international relationships.
For example, In Europe, students from countries that are part of the European Union can participate in a student exchange program called ERASMUS (European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students). This program allows students from the EU to study in other EU countries under a government agreement. For the United States, they are “Individuals studying in the United States on a non-immigrant, temporary visa that allows for academic study at the post- secondary level. Immigrants, permanent residents, citizens, resident aliens (“Green Card” holders), and refugees are excluded from this definition”. And last but not least, Japan defines them as “A student from a foreign economy who is receiving an education at any Japanese university, graduate school, junior college, college of technology, professional training college or university preparatory course and who resides in Japan with a ‘college student’ visa status.”[1][2]
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As we can see in Figure 1., there is an overall increase in international students from 2018 to 2019 that will further climb up in numbers as abroad education becomes a standard method of the education systems of each contry.
For hundreds of years, students have left their country of citizenship to gain exposure to other languages and cultures and acquire crucial knowledge and credentials that were not available in their home institutions. A review of historical events reveals that ancient hearts of learning (e.g. Athens, Cairo, Rome) were attracting students from other parts of the world as early as 500 BCE. Despite the fact that Aristotle was born in Macedonia but attended school in Greece, it is actually another man who takes the title of 'The Pioneer of Study Abroad.'
The first ever 'study abroader' was Emo of Friesland, who travelled from northern Holland to study at Oxford University in 1190. Emo, in addition to being quite 'sensitive,' was extremely progressive as he began to pave the way for international exchange in Europe for the next 800 years.[3]
With accelerating globalization, in the last few decades, higher education institutions across the globe are implanting an international dimension into their teaching and research, and providing more opportunities for education abroad. Kälvermark and van der Wende (1997) define this process of internationalization as “any systematic sustained effort aimed at making higher education more responsive to the requirements and challenges related to the globalization of societies, economy and labor markets”.[4]
In Europe, the leeway and direction of ‘academic mobility’ are being shaped by internationalization policies. The European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS) was initiated in 1987 to cultivate “European citizenship” and an international positive viewpoint, highlighting the importance of education from other cultures. This scheme enables secondary-level and tertiary-level students, teachers and institutions in thirty-three European countries to study for part of their degree in a country that is foreign to them. Since its initialization, the Erasmus programme had supported more than 3.3 million Erasmus students and 470 000 staff since its launch 33 years ago.[5]
Conclusions
With more awareness of the factors that enhance intercultural and linguistic development, international students can make more informed decisions on what kind of scheme or programme fulfils their needs in gaining experience for their second-language acquisition and cultural understanding.
As international experience alone does not guarantee interculturality, intercultural communicative competence must be nurtured before, during and after a sojourn. These “intercultural speakers” may mediate more successfully between cultures and significantly develop their intercultural communicative competence.
REFERENCES
- https://www.iie.org/research-and-insights/project-atlas/explore-data/united-states
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_student
- https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/history-study-abroad
- Globalisation and Internationalisation: Policy Agendas Compared
- https://ec.europa.eu
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