The Pros and Cons of Studying Abroad
3b Emily Cheng
Many parents nowadays send their children to study overseas right after they finish their form three course. They believe that sending their children to foreign countries can help them train up their abilities. Some more open-minded countries agree with the action while some traditional ones prefer letting the children stay in Hong Kong. In this essay, I will look into the benefits and the drawbacks of letting form three students study overseas.
One argument in favour of studying abroad is that it can broaden the horizons of the students. They can learn from the foreign culture. They are exposed to the local culture, lifestyles and cuisines. They are just bounce in Hong Kong lifestyle and culture when they study in Hong Kong. By studying abroad, they can experience the exotic lifestyles. They will be able to merge into the foreign culture and will soon enjoy it very much. It is beneficial to the students studying abroad.
Other than being able to broaden their horizons, students can also learn to be independent. As they study in foreign countries, their parents and family members are not around them. They ought to learn to take care of themselves and make decisions on their own. They have to plan everything by themselves. They have to wash and clean everything by themselves. For sure, they can turn out to be independent children.
From the above, we can see that there are clearly benefits of studying abroad. However, there are also some drawbacks.
Although students are able to learn to rely on themselves, they will feel homesick. They separate from their reliable parents and friends. They are alone in a foreign, unfamiliar country. They have never been so far away from family members and have never gone to such distant places by themselves before. They will miss their homes very much after they start their learnings. Not having familiar faces around, they will face loneliness. They may regret later on. It shows that this is a drawback of studying abroad.
Apart from feeling homesick, students may not be able to adapt to a totally new environment. In foreign countries, such as Canada and England, there is extremely cold winter. Snow falls in winter. Perhaps the Hong Kong students will not get used to the extreme weather conditions. They may feel hapless. Not only does the climate vary so much, but the food in foreign countries is also quite different from what we have in Hong Kong. There may not be having as many choices of cuisines as in Hong Kong. Students may not be able to adapt to different cooking styles. As a result, they may get sick sue to the changes in climate and food. Therefore, studying abroad can be harmful to students.
To conclude, students can broaden their horizons and learn to be independent on one hand. But on the other hand, they may get homesick and cannot adapt to a new place. However, I believe that, on balance, the drawbacks of studying abroad outweigh the benefits of learning overseas. It is because form three students are not mature enough. They need parental guidance in order to go on the right path. They still need to be supervised. Therefore, I believe that it is best for the students to stay in Hong Kong to finish the secondary school. Perhaps they can study overseas after they graduate from secondary schools.