Travelling abroad (Two-sided argumentative essay)
Studying abroad becomes more and more popular among Form 3 students. Can it indeed do good to us? I am going to analyze the pros and cons of studying abroad in this essay.
To begin with, studying abroad can broaden one’s horizons. Despite Hong Kong being the international city, students are rarely exposed to authentic foreign culture. In fact they, though may know the superficial characteristics, barely know about the lifestyle of foreign countries. By studying abroad, students will, be able to have the first-hand experience of celebrating local festivals, tasting different cuisines and engaging with foreigners. This can one on hand enrich students’ global exposure and on the other hand enable students to explore different cultures (i.e. lifestyles and values). This way, one’s horizons and cam ne broadened.
Other than broadening horizons, studying abroad can greatly enlarge students’ social circles. The interactions of us with natives can ultimately help us make friends. Thus, we can meet friends from all over the world. In addition, studying abroad can also sharpen ones’ communication skills since it allows us to communicate with people of different cultures or even speaking different languages. Then, we can train up our skills to interact with different people, which is crucial for improving out social lives.
Apart from enlarging social circles, one can learn to be independent. In contrast to the status quo, where students get used to be ‘Hong Kong kids’ having their parents and domestic helpers doing every bit for them, students have to take care of themselves and make decisions on their own. When parents are not around, they can rely on no one but themselves, thus can learn to be independent.
From the above, we can see that there are many benefits brought by travelling abroad. However, we should not neglect the cons of it.
Given that form 3 students are only teenagers, they may find it difficult to adapt to a new environment. Studying abroad means students have to cope with different changes. Firstly, the people surrounding them will be completely different. Every day, they cannot live with their parents but roommates. They do not have friends around them but have to engage with their foreign schoolmates instead. It is not unusual they can hardly make any friends since they do not share the common interest and the same language with others. Also, they have to adapt to the climate and cuisines of the country, which takes time. Worst still, chances are they may even go into the wrong path in the absence of parental guidance, such as resorting to taking drugs. It is likely they are too much into playing yet overlooking the importance of studying. The immaturity may be a barrier of students studying abroad.
Adapting to a new environment is hard, and so as bearing home sickness. When adapting to a new environment, coupled with the lack of family love and companionship, some may suffer from homesickness and badly miss the cozy and familiar environment of Hong Kong. This, again, stands in the way of them studying abroad.
Not only will studying abroad cause homesickness, but it is also financially demanding. It requires a huge sum of expenditure including school fees and living expenses. Firstly, parents will have to pay approximately $1M per year, which many families may not be able to afford. Secondly, the living expenses in foreign countries are also high. Students may also need to take into account parents’ financial capacity.
To conclude, studying abroad has its advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion, studying abroad itself is not a bad idea. Yet, form 3 students are still not mature enough to deal with different challenges ahead of them. Thus, I suggest students study abroad after completing their secondary education in Hong Kong.