High School Study Abroad
Yes, Go For It

You are considering studying abroad, in this case in a high school, but are not sure whether it is worth your time? If you ask anybody who has studied abroad, he or she will most certainly tell you that it is a life-changing experience and one of the most rewarding things he or she has ever done. Perhaps you are not certain what benefits you can reap from an extended stay in a foreign country. Here are half a dozen excellent reasons why you should take the plunge:

1. Study abroad is the optimal way to learn a language.
There is no better and more effective way to learn a language than to be immersed in a culture that speaks the language you are learning. You are surrounded by the language on a daily basis and are seeing and hearing it in the proper cultural context. Language learning happens most quickly under these circumstances.

2. Study abroad provides the opportunity to travel.
Weekends and academic breaks allow you to venture out and explore your surroundings - both your immediate and more distant surroundings. Since studying abroad often puts you on a completely different continent, you are much closer to places you might otherwise not have had the opportunity to visit. Structured study abroad programs like the ones in Canada often have field trips planned in or around the curriculum.

3. Study abroad allows you get to know another culture first-hand.
Cultural differences are more than just differences in language, food, appearances, and personal habits. A person's culture reflects very deep perceptions, beliefs, and values that influence his or her way of life and the way that s/he views the world. Students who experience cultural differences personally can come to truly understand where other cultures are coming from.

4. Study abroad will help you develop skills and give you experiences a classroom setting will never provide.
Being immersed in an entirely new cultural setting is scary at first, but it is also exciting. It is an opportunity to discover new strengths and abilities, conquer new challenges, and solve new problems. You will encounter situations that are wholly unfamiliar to you and will learn to adapt and respond in effective ways.

5. Study abroad helps you to learn about yourself.
Students who study abroad return home with new ideas and perspectives about themselves and their own culture. The experience abroad often challenges them to reconsider their own beliefs and values. The experience may perhaps strengthen those values or it may cause students to alter or abandon them and embrace new concepts and perceptions. The encounter with other cultures enables students to see their own cultures through new eye.

6. Study abroad enhances employment opportunities.
Through an employer's eyes, a student who has studied abroad is self-motivated, independent, willing to embrace challenges, and able to cope with diverse problems and situations. Your experience living and studying in a foreign country, negotiating another culture, and acquiring another language will all set you apart from the majority of other job applicants.