In recent years, an increasing number of people decide to move abroad for an extended period of time in order to seek employment or pursue higher education. Although this trend may bring several drawbacks, including culture shock and financial difficulties, I believe that its benefits, regarding improving their foreign language skills and their perspective, are more crucial.
On the one hand, going to other countries certainly has some shortcomings. First of all, young people may have to deal with homesickness. Many newcomers do not have the same support network from their friends and families when going to a new country. For example, when facing many new challenges in independent life and difficulties at school, they do not have anyone to confide in and cheer them up. Struggling with loneliness, even a sense of isolation, can make them vulnerable and increase serious mental health problems. In addition, global students usually have financial difficulties when studying away from home. For instance, many international students need to take part-time jobs to cover high tuition fees and living expenses. As a result, they can feel overwhelmed by their workload, which compromises their physical and mental health.
On the other hand, I believe that the long-term advantages of heading overseas can be of greater importance. First of all, when moving abroad, students can discover other cultures, which can help them broaden their horizons. For example, Vietnamese young people who study abroad can immerse themselves in the foreign environment where they live and learn with many people from various countries. While interacting with these international friends, they have more chances to acquire new cultural knowledge around the world. Therefore, they can widen their perspective about many regions. Another benefit of this trend is that international students can enhance foreign language skills. People living abroad may be exposed to an environment where they can practise their listening and speaking skills on a daily basis. For instance, when having daily conversations with local people, Asian students who live in Australia can bolster their fluency in English. In this way, they can improve their future job prospects when they return home since most corporations nowadays prioritize applicants that are fluent in more than two languages.
In conclusion, it is my belief that the advantages of heading to other countries, including absorbing new cultural knowledge and improving foreign language abilities, can eventually outweigh its disadvantages regarding homesickness and financial burdens.