Student Learning Abroad:

I found this article particularly interesting, perhaps because it speaks, at least partially, to the reason(s) that my experience abroad was not successful: a lack of academic rigor in courses taken, excessive drinking and “related forms of misbehavior” due to a sudden absence of adult supervision, and an unwillingness to engage entirely with the host culture.

I was unaware that the three paradigms existed, formerly under the assumption that almost all study abroad programs were comparable in structure. Although I can’t personally attest to the success rate of any of the approaches, having lived abroad under a work visa, I can understand why that which advocates for regular interventions staged by educators would be the most beneficial to students.

 

Intercultural Communication:

This article was much more difficult for me to get through, however the section dedicated to the differences between monocultural communication (similarity-based) and intercultural communication (difference-based) gave me a perspective I otherwise wouldn’t have had in reference to my own experiences. For example, I’d never before considered that the relationships I developed with people who were also expatriates in the city that I lived in, though from different countries than myself, were based upon our continual attempts to not reconcile our differences, but acknowledge them in a way that allowed us to work to maintain respect for all involved.