It is a common belief that in order for students to become proficient in a new language or culture, they must reside in another country. In my perspective, I partially agree with this opinion, since I believe that visiting a nation allows individuals to gain a better understanding of its culture and language, while it is still possible to learn about them through the internet or by talking to people from that country via social networks.
On the one hand, I would argue that it is possible to study a language and the culture of another country through the internet for several reasons. Chief among these is that given the ease of access to information today by the internet, people are able to learn about another nation’s language and history simply by sitting at home. The second reason is that countries today are very well interconnected, so it is likely that students would meet immigrants from the country whose language they are trying to learn. Taking Tim Doner as an example, he is able to speak as many as twenty languages by speaking to people around the United States, which is his country.
On the other hand, it is true that students must travel to another nation to deeply understand that language and customs. To begin with, although the internet is a really useful tool, human interactions might not be only illustrated through pictures and videos. Another reason worth mentioning is that there would be regional languages in each different area of a country. For example, Vietnamese has differences not only in regions but also between provinces, so it makes it difficult for foreign people to understand when they first arrive.
In conclusion, although I agree that students do not need to go to another country to be able to learn that language and culture, I am of the opinion that to fully appreciate and deeply comprehend that language and customs, they should travel to that country.