如何有意义地出国留学

Jessica Peck’14 took this photo, titled “Lost,” while in Western Morocco. 它获得了第一名 贝洛伊特's fall 2013 study abroad photography contest.新项目, 财务安排, and university policies have ensured that students from almost any area of study can study abroad while adding to the value of their degree. 然而, there has been some debate about whether all of these experiences can be considered “meaningful.尽管许多大学都在宣传令人印象深刻的海外留学数据, 这些数字可能无法反映课程的质量或深度. 经常, no distinction is made between those who go abroad for a semester or academic year and those who embark on shorter programs, 比如和家乡大学的老师一起上两周的课. 虽然这些短途旅行可能仍然是有益的和丰富的, they don’t offer the same opportunities for deep engagement with people and places and extended exploration.

贝洛伊特’s Office of International Education (known as OIE) encourages students who are going abroad to engage meaningfully in the experience—before, 在, 之后,. Students going through the application process develop their own plan for study abroad, 包括他们的学习目标, 无论是个人还是学术. 另外, students returning from their time abroad complete a follow-up evaluation that encourages them to take meaning from their experiences.

OIE Director Elizabeth Brewer advises students to “be comfortable being uncomfortable … Don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know.布鲁尔说 that finding meaning in a study abroad experience requires a great deal of introspection as well as active engagement.

“The meaningfulness also comes out of the application and advising process,世界动物卫生组织副主任乔希·摩尔说. 除了反思学习目标, returning students are given opportunities back on 贝洛伊特’s campus to make the conversation about study abroad real, 包括它的挑战. This can be done through International Symposium presentations (a concept which 贝洛伊特 pioneered), 参加数字化讲故事课程, 或者志愿担任留学项目大使, positions that involve working with the OIE to critically evaluate the study abroad experience and speak about it to other students.

Regardless of what their purposes are for going abroad—and what they do while they are there —Brewer and Moore emphasize that students should always be looking for new ways to connect. “Finding opportunities to engage is one of their number one jobs as a study abroad student,布鲁尔说. “同一个地方的学生会采取不同的策略, 只是他们利用在伯洛伊特的不同方式.”

Max Brumberg-Kraus的16年, making the most of his time meant getting involved with the campus culture as well as the larger community of Edinburgh, 苏格兰, 他2015年春天在哪里学习. In addition to seeing “a ridiculous amount of theater”—mostly student productions—he was actively involved in the on-campus LGBTQ society, 参观苏格兰议会, 并参加了许多关于欧洲当代LGBTQ问题的讲座.

Brumberg-Kraus also found that his time abroad provided new meaning to his academic work. “凯尔特研究往往是跨学科的, so I was able to bring some of my experience at 贝洛伊特 from my critical identity studies and literature classes into this work,他回忆道. “I was forced to take my studies at 贝洛伊特 and re-contextualize them in a new literary and historical environment, 这带来了一些有趣的挑战.”

For Emma Keese’16, the study abroad process involved both quantity and quality. 她的冒险始于2014年夏天, when she embarked on a tour of Europe to conduct a comparative evaluation of Bike Share programs and bike infrastructure in cities, 包括哥本哈根蓝色)
哈根、维也纳、罗马、巴黎、阿姆斯特丹和伦敦. 秋季学期, she returned to Copenhagen to study with the Sustainable Development in Northern Europe Program, 这样她就可以扩展她的暑期工作了.

Keese选择不加入“百足兽”,” as American students traveling abroad are often called because of their tendency to group together. 而不是, she rented a room from a Danish couple to be closer to classes while also staying absorbed in the local culture. She navigated the study abroad process by continually reminding herself to pursue unique opportunities and challenges, 要意识到并接受这种不舒服的感觉, such as when she and a friend found themselves stranded in a foreign city while waiting for an early morning train.

“After I spent a night on a park bench, it just wasn’t going to get worse than that,” she explains.

Brumberg-Kraus had similar advice: “Studying abroad ‘meaningfully’ means making sure that my academics and my geographical context are tied together. It means thinking critically about my own place in this society as an outsider, 作为一个游客, 作为一名学生. 这意味着要学会如何与来自世界各地的人建立联系, 这意味着要谦虚地去学习, 犯错误, 多听少说.”

2015年春天, Kiernyn Orne-Adams 16岁，在卧龙岗学习, 澳大利亚, 她在哪里欣赏到美丽的风景和美妙的口音.

出国留学的5个建议

1. 去中心是为了重新集中. 出国留学提供了一个了解自己的独特机会, 国际教育办公室主任伊丽莎白·布鲁尔解释道. The best way to do that is by welcoming the ambiguities of your experience.
2. 拥抱当地文化. 无论是通过购买街头小吃, 和出租车司机交朋友, 或者住在寄宿家庭, 花点时间去探索这个地区的细微差别.
3. 让这段经历成为你的. 没有一种方法可以让出国留学变得有意义. 而不是, students should focus on their interests and goals and act accordingly.
4. 每天尝试一些新的东西. It might be learning 更多的 of the local language or figuring out the public transportation system, but taking little steps each day will help make the overall adjustment process easier.
5. 反映. Brewer suggests that students take time to tell stories in whatever form they’re comfortable with—such as blogs and photographs—in order to practice observing and being present in the moment.