Band 7+: As a part of their education, students should spend a period of time living in another country to learn its language and culture. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Opinions are divided on whether school children should live in a foreign country for some time to improve their language skills and cultural understanding. I strongly believe that they should not, due to the reasons presented in this essay

Staying in another country at a very young age could result in several disadvantages for students and their families. Regarding the former, given their age and vulnerability, students could become homesick, or even worse, experience culture shock in a foreign country. This may significantly limit the effectiveness of such an educational trip and inflict biased views about living abroad on these children. Furthermore, it is a matter of fact that a trip overseas is usually exorbitantly expensive, so this may impose a considerable financial burden on a student’s family.For the financially disadvantaged group, financing these sorts of trips would undermine the family’s budget for other equally important purposes such as food or healthcare.

There are alternative ways to learn language and culture in one’s home country. First, children can easily learn a foreign language from native speakers, in the comfort of their home, through a host of websites and educational platforms, whose prices are much more affordable. For example, services such as Cambly or iTalki provides online classes with native speakers at around 10-15$ per hour, at a fraction of a trip abroad with somewhat equivalent quality and results. With regard to culture, in most cities around the world, there is no shortage of expatriate communities or groups of students taking gap years away from their home countries. Schools can organize tours for students to meet and talk to these local foreign residents so that they may be exposed to exotic customs and traditions firsthand. Admittedly, the experience would not be as comprehensive, but it seems to be a better option considering the balance of costs and benefits.

In conclusion, the practice of living abroad while in school to gain cultural knowledge and linguistic skills is flawed in several ways. Students these days can readily opt for other alternatives with more affordable prices, without the need to ever leave their homeland.