Language learners seem to have different views on where they can best study a new language. While some people can succeed in learning a foreign language in their home town, others seem to be in favour of the idea of studying it in the place where it is spoken by most, if not all, of the citizens. This essay will discuss whether travelling abroad can bring more advantages or more disadvantages to learning a new language.
There are a few benefits of living abroad to study a new language. Firstly, language learners are likely to be exposed to lots of natural language use on a daily basis, which can be useful to their learning. This is because they live in an environment where the language they are working on is the main way of communication between themselves and those who live there. Thus, learners can improve their knowledge of the language and become more confident in using the language through daily social engagement. Secondly, studying overseas may create opportunities for people to form new relationships with locals, classmates or even coworkers if they manage to find a job provided that their language level is sufficient for their position. Making friends with people in different places also can allow language learners to have partners to practise with, thus supporting the learning process while helping learners to avoid feeling homesick in a remote place. Therefore, the advantages of travelling abroad to study a language can be beneficial to the learning process.
Despite there being several good sides, living in a foreign country to study its language also have significant drawbacks. Firstly, the learning conditions abroad may not always be ideal for people to learn a language. Not all of the people who learners talk to can help them identify the mistakes that the learners make and the areas of improvement for focus on. This may cause learners to repeat the same mistakes over and over again without realising and may even risk making such mistakes fossilised and difficult to get rid of later. Additionally, the foreign language they people want to learn can also be used as the main instructional language in lesson, as there can be lots of learners with different mother tongues within a class. So, if learners struggle to understand something and the teacher fails to explain it to them in the foreign language, then they might have to work it out themselves, which can be time-consuming and challenging. Another disadvantage of studying a foreign language in its country is that it can be extremely expensive as people have to pay for travelling, their accommodation, living expenses and their tuition fees. Although they might get a job in that country, it can be very difficult to find well-paid jobs if your language level is not high enough for the vacancies. It can be easy to find a part-time job so that it will not interfere with your learning, but the salary might not be enough for learners to cover basic living expenses. A lack of income might put learners under great pressure, which may affect their learning. Therefore, the shortcomings of studying a new language in its own country can have negative impact on people’s studies.
To sum up, even though the foreign country may offer learners a rich learning environment through interactions with different people and a chance to form new relationships, the risk of fossilising mistakes due to a lack of awareness, the need to be more independent off learners’ mother tongue, and the potential financial challenges can negatively affect the learning journey. Therefore, I believe the disadvantages are more significant than the advantages.