Studying abroad is something that has the power to really change your child’s life. From the opportunities it provides for foreign language learning to the increased range of schools available for them to pick from, there is a whole host of reasons to do it. But it’s in the field of personal development where studying abroad really has the power to change someone’s view of the world. Living in another country and meeting people from all walks of life in an educational context is often what’s needed to give a student a truly open mind, and to expose them to people from all different walks of life. This article will explore exactly how international education can foster an open mind, and how you can go about ensuring that your kids get access to this amazing opportunity.
New cultures
The main way in which international education can transform a child’s life is through the new cultures to which they’ll be exposed. In the first instance, the main new culture that a child is likely to come across is the culture of the host country, and it’s probable that they’ll pick up everything from all-new food types to knowledge about a new dominant religion or worldview. But it’s also the case that they’ll start to learn about the various different cultures of their peers, as international educational establishments often tend to have diverse cohorts.
It’s important to remember that children are like sponges when it comes to making friends, and they’ll love to find out all the quirky things about their new friends’ lives. They’ll go into the new experience with no pre-conceived notions about different global cultures, and they’ll come out of it as open-minded individuals with a truly international perspective.
Languages
The second major way in which students who go abroad tend to develop an open mind is through the diversity of languages on offer. Often, schools abroad will teach the local language – as well as other foreign languages – as standard. But language exchange also begins to happen naturally in an environment full of people with different native tongues, and students often become interested in swapping words, phrases and more from their own languages.
How’s it done?
The main question for many parents, though, is how exactly the international enrollment process works. You can, of course, send your child to a school in the local system in a foreign country: this provides a fully immersed atmosphere, but it does also make it harder for students to integrate and focus on their studies. If you’d prefer to give your children all the benefits of open-mindedness while also offering them the chance to study a western curriculum, an international school may be a better choice. The American international school in Singapore manages this by offering both the American curriculum and the International Baccalaureate, and these schools also tend to have western-style facilities, including gyms and music rooms.
It’s no surprise at all that many parents make the decision to enroll their children in some of the best schools abroad. Aside from the top class education, students who go abroad to learn also come back with a very open, tolerant view of the world – something that will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives as they meet new people and try new things.
