ELC501 BA246

FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

ENGLISH FOR CRITICAL ACADEMIC READING

(ELC501)

ASSIGNMENT TITTLE: FORUM DISCUSSION & PORTFOLIO

GROUP ASSIGNMENT

STUDYING ABROAD IS BETTER THAN STUDYING LOCALLY

Prepared By:

Name Student ID Group

Nur Ameera Binti Hasbollah 2021603076 BA2462A

Olivia Rina anak Fedrick Tutong 2021459168 BA2462A
Khadijah Binti Junaidi 2021858268 BA2462A
Nur Effendi Bin Zainuddin 2021898292 BA2462A

Prepared For:

Mr. Haikal Zin

Date of Submission:

20th of January 2022

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BODY OF CONTENT

NO. CONTENT PAGES

1 Time Frame for Discussion 1

2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Studying Abroad 2-3

3 Opinion on Studying Abroad 4-5

4 Studying Abroad is Better than Studying Locally 6

5 Forum Discussion 7-9

6 References 10

7 Appendices 11-12
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Time Frame for Discussion

19:30 - 21:00 pm

Final practise of forum

21:00 - 22:30 pm

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Advantages and Disadvantages of studying abroad

The advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad have to be weighed up when making a
decision about whether or not to study abroad. The advantages of studying abroad include
learning a new language, boosting your resume and experiencing new things, while the
disadvantages include crippling homesickness, high costs and cultural barriers.

Advantages

▪ It makes you a more interesting person

It’s a cliché, but studying abroad really does broaden your horizons. Being in a foreign
country and seeing how other cultures approach life makes you challenge your assumptions.
It makes you see things from another point of view, which turns you into a more rounded and
more open-minded person.

• Developing your confidence

You'll discover that you can often thrive in new, unexpected conditions, and you'll increase
your communication abilities by learning a new language, which will help you boost your self-
confidence even more.

• You get to learn new language

If you study abroad in a country where they don’t speak your native language, you will have
an excellent opportunity to learn theirs. There is nothing like living in a country to learn its
language. If you already know the basics of the language, this is your opportunity to improve
your fluency.

• It looks good on your Resume/CV

Having a period spent studying abroad on your CV tells employers that you are a well-travelled
person who is open to different cultures and different points of view. It also suggests
that you have the ability to be independent and that you likely possess valuable language
skills.
• Better learning opportunities
Studying abroad makes it easier for you to receive the best possible teaching in your chosen
field of study. This is because you can apply to study at the leading institutions in the world
for your subject, rather than settling on what institutions are close to home.

• It takes you out of your comfort zone

Moving abroad to study forces you to be independent and not rely on family members for
support. You will have to work out for yourself how everything works in your host
country. This gives you the opportunity to confront any social anxieties you may have and
become a more confident person as a result. You will realise that you can do much more
for yourself than you previously thought.

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• You can create social network around the world

Not only will you mix with people who come from your host country, but you will also
meet lots of other international students from around the world. You will hopefully create
contacts and friends for life, whom you can visit whenever you are in their neck of the
woods.

Disadvantages

▪ More intense homesickness

Studying away from home can be tough enough even if you have only moved across the
country or to another state. So, consider how much tougher it might be to study in a place that
are miles away from home and in a country that is vastly different to what you are used to.
Being halfway around the world will also make it more difficult to go home for the holidays
or for the weekend.

▪ High cost

It is often the case that tuition fees are higher for international students. Plus, you may not be
entitled to the same student loans that you would receive back at home. In addition, you will
have to factor in considerable moving costs when you choose to study abroad.

▪ Your family will miss you

Not only might you miss home, but your parents and the rest of your family may find it hard
to adjust to you being so far from home. But, being far away geographically doesn’t mean
you can’t stay in regular contact.

▪ Language and culture barriers

While studying abroad is an excellent opportunity to learn a new language, you may initially
have some problems with language barriers. This is especially likely at the beginning when
you need to arrange things like a bank account and accommodation. It is also possible that
you could come up against cultural barriers to do with religion, gender roles, or
communication differences.

▪ Higher risk

If you are unlucky enough to dislike your course, or if you come up against some personal
issues and need to return home prematurely, you will have wasted a lot more time, effort and
money than if you had chosen to study at home. There are both advantages and disadvantages
to studying abroad, but the disadvantages tend to be worst-case scenarios, or they can be easily
overcome. So don’t let the disadvantages of studying abroad put you off making an important
life decision that will bring you a wealth of benefits.

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Studying Abroad

The dream of every young man is to experience something new, different and exciting
in life that is ahead and at the same time to learn and educate himself in the best possible way.
What are the ways of achieving all of that at the same time? One of the ways is to continue
education in some other country. That decision is not easy to make and in reaching that decision
one would have to be willing to sacrifice something so that something else is gained in return.
This essay reflects on benefits and negative things about studying abroad.

My opinion is that studying abroad can only bring more advantages than disadvantages
because it is a lifetime opportunity to experience something different and enjoy in every minute
of it. Education in a country that is away from home gives an opportunity to learn new
language, develop your personality and get familiar with new cultures. Life without parents
and their constant supervision can be challenging. Lots of youngsters are willing to try and see
how will they manage to live on their own, responsible for their achievements and failures as
well. It is a chance to become independent and confident and to clarify your goals for the future.
Student exchange programs offer exchange programs where you live for a year in someone’s
family and as a part of that family. It is a good way to see different types of families and
compare them with your family. Socializing and making life lasting friendships with people
from all over the world is something very precious. In this way, not only does a student develop
communication skills but at the same time a strong network of people that can be relied on
from all over the world is created.

According to the research that was conducted on Norwegian students, Wiers-Jenssen

(2003) stated that “we discovered that the students seemed to put even more emphasis on the
positive aspects of extra-curricular skills they developed by studying abroad” (p. 14). Time
spent outside the classroom is probably more important than the time in the classroom. Students
who are young wish to use the most of their life and this kind of studying truly allows that
experience and adventure. It should be planned carefully and prepared thoroughly. Some of
aspects that should be covered during the process of preparation include establishing what the
best country for you to study is and to choose the appropriate place. There are a lot of programs
that offer different curriculums and one has to be careful in choosing the right one. If you chose
a country that you find interesting, it is the half job already done. People often go to study
abroad without through preparation. If a student for example comes from the Middle East and
is not prepared for a cultural change, then it will be a shock for a student. Different cultures
present treasure in this world and they should be nursed. Introduction with new culture,
tradition and life style different from your own can only broaden someone’s horizons and help
to understand people who live and work in this country.

By introducing the new culture, you also get the opportunity to reflect on your own
culture from different perspective. In this way, a student can practice and improve
communication and interpersonal skills. These positive reinforcements lead to character
building and developing a better understanding of people. Familiarizing with the culture of the
host country is important so that awkward situation can be led to minimum. In order to study
abroad the preparation period is as much important as the studying itself. Otherwise, a sense of
loneliness and alienation overcomes and it reflects on the process of learning leading to failure
and early return home. It would be best to learn something more about the culture, way of life
and people before you start on this unforgettable journey, because the more you know the better
person you become.

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New language can also be one of the triggers that motivate and encourage students to
study abroad. There is no better place to learn a new language than the country where this
language is official. In most cases, students usually decide about their country of studying
based on the language. Language is a decisive factor in choosing where to study. According to
Wiers-Jenssen (2003) “More than half of the students report that former knowledge of the
language had ‘fairly high’ or ‘vital’ importance for their choice of country of study” (p. 8).
Therefore, the factor of language is very important in your decision of the host country.

On the other hand, most colleges and universities offer lectures in English language
therefore it wouldn’t be a problem for native English speakers. However, speakers who are
non-native and have poor knowledge of English language are predisposed at the very start to
experience bad results followed by poor grades. Language barrier has to be overcome so that
education is completed successfully. Language barrier can also be presented as a threat in
communication with teachers and peers as well, leading to personal issues and retreat into
yourself that can do a lot of damage for the self-esteem and self-confidence. If I decide on
studying abroad in a host country whose language, I do not know I would enrol in a course to
learn basics of that language and from then on improve my language skills. Making
conversation with natives is also, a great thing to learn a new language and phrases that cannot
be found in the textbooks.

Apart from these reasons that will lead to the final decision about studying abroad, one
should also bear in mind that studying abroad is an investment for all the students who are
willing to build their careers or improve their knowledge. What could be more natural or better
than to visit and study a year in Paris, France or Milano, Italy if you want to become a designer
or a painter? It is a change to see and explore places as well as to challenge your limits. It is a
lifetime opportunity to visit all the historical places that are of importance in the world history
and to explore the nature of the host country. There are so many places to visit and these places
are not usually included in the tourist brochures. Also, I find interesting exploring places that
are hidden from the tourists. One can set on a journey with a fellow student and seen places
that are hidden from the rest of the world.

Studying abroad can also benefit for the improvement of your knowledge. It can be
used in a sense that one can see different approaches to a certain scientific field that a student
finds interesting. In that way, one can learn new methodologies that can be applied for the same
problem, develop new skills and learn how to re-examine from different angles. This can be of
great help in the future process of education and further career development.

In order to state a final decision, every student to be should take into account advantages
and disadvantages of studying abroad that are presented. In my opinion, there are more
advantages for studying abroad and all of the disadvantages can be easily solved with
preparation. However, there is only minority of them who can experience this, due to material
reasons or some other issues. If an opportunity of studying abroad is given, one should embrace
it, and start a wonderful exciting journey that will definitely change a perspective and enable
you to see things from other perspectives, to learn something new and enjoy the life.

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“STUDYING ABROAD IS BETTER THAN LOCALLY”

CLAIM PREMISES COUNTER

(Nur Ameera) You develop a variety of life skills (Khadijah)

Studying abroad needed for personal growth, including Being independent
developing your independence and adaptability. These sometimes isn’t
confidence abilities can increase your confidence in effective by studying
both your personal and professional life. abroad. Factors such
Studying abroad can be intimidating, as low self-esteem
but the obstacles you face will help you should be considered
grow as a person. as students need to
cope with cultural or
emotional adjustment.
(Olivia Rina) The lifestyle and social be different, (Nur Effendi)
Studying forcing the student to expand their social Growing experience
abroad will skills in order to get assistance from can also be in studying
lectures, school staff classmates, as well locally as studying
grow your
as to make friends among their peers. In abroad has not much
experience addition, “students will also derive difference than
much benefit from expansion of their studying locally.
communication abilities later in life”.
As a result, these students will eager to
know more knowledge as they able to
cope in the situation
(Nur Ameera) Studying abroad improving certain
Studying abroad will skills that help you connect with others.
improve your skills The first one would be leadership. The
second skill is communication. Lastly,
Cross-Cultural Awareness. Studying
abroad teaches you to be aware of the
perspectives of others
(Olivia Rina) As well as experiencing the culture of
Studying your study destination. You will also be
abroad can able to travel to other nearby countries.
For an example, if you go to UK
help you see
University, you can easily to catch a
more of the flight to continental Europe to see Paris,
world Barcelona, Rome and many more
fascinating places. Studying abroad is
therefore, unique opportunity to see
more of the world, which is itself a
hugely rewarding educational
experience. There is no doubt that
seeing other parts of the world will
greatly affect your character and
worldwide and help you prepare for life
in a global world.

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FORUM DISCUSSION

Hazel Fidellia: Hi and greetings ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I would like to say
(Moderator) thank you so much for attending our forum today, so our topic regarding
this forum is “Studying Abroad is better than Studying Locally”. Hence,
let me introduce to all of you, our panels as they will share their opinions
and thoughts regarding the issue that will be discuss today. Our first
panel is Nur Ameera binti Hasbollah, second will be, Khadijah binti
Junaidi third is Nur Effendi bin Zainuddin and the last panellist will be
Olivia Rina anak Fedrick Tutong. Welcome to our forum and we are
glad to have all of you. I hope all of you are in a good health and my
name is Hazel Fidellia anak Richard as our freelance speaker and I will
be your moderator for today. Ladies and gentlemen without wasting any
time, lets starts with our first panel, what is your opinion and thoughts
regarding “Studying Abroad is better than Studying Locally”.

Nur Ameera: Thank you for the lovely introduction. My view on this topic is that
(1st Panellist) international experience can help you succeed in the business world by
giving you a level of fundamental familiarity with foreign markets. This
provides you a distinct advantage in identifying strategic prospects for
a firm that they may not have identified on their own. According to the
writer of the article Tamar Shulsinger, one of the benefits that you can
get from studying abroad is that it can develop your confidence. By
allowing yourself in another culture, you develop a variety of life skills
needed for personal growth, including independence and adaptability.
These abilities can increase your confidence in both your personal and
professional life. Studying abroad can be intimidating, but the obstacles
you face will help you grow as a person. You'll discover that you can
often thrive in new, unexpected conditions, and you'll increase your
communication abilities by learning a new language, which will help
you boost your self-confidence even more. Based on the article I have
read; an assistant teaching professor has the same point of view. In the
article, Marissa Lombardi, director for the Master of Science in Global
Studies and International Relations says, "It's a fantastic opportunity to
build on cultural abilities like cultural sensitivity, learning to adjust to
new settings and enduring uncertainty.” She also said that almost any
career requires those abilities. That will be my point of view.

Hazel Fidellia: Thank you. What do you think Miss Khadijah? Do you agree with Miss
(Moderator) Ameera’s opinion?

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Khadijah: Well, I have to disagree with Miss Ameera. From my perspectives,

(2nd Panellist) studying abroad also has its own cons as students need to cope with
cultural or emotional adjustment. According to Newsome (2016), in his
article which is Cultural and Social Experiences in a British University,
international students find living life as a student abroad is difficult and
shocking on a social and cultural level. They need to teach themselves
the ways of the culture in which they have invited themselves into its
taboos, challenges, normal behaviours, gender relationships, courtesy
and etiquette. According to Grace Chien, Journal of Research in
International Education (2020), the separation when studying abroad or
international student face from the environment they grew up in can
cause social anxiety and struggles in school. Meanwhile, students who
live locally do not have these same pressures as they have the option of
staying at home as a commuter with food and housing built in. We know
that adjustment is required and unavoidable when relocating to a new
environment. Students who live locally do not have these same
pressures. Moreover, cultural adjustments may be exhilarating,
frustrating, cause feelings of powerlessness. As a result, this putting
one's comfort zone to the test.

Hazel Fidellia: Thank you for your opinion. Mr. Effendi, would you like to share with
(Moderator) us your thoughts?

Nur Effendi: Thank you, Miss Hazel. I do agree with Miss Khadijah opinion. In my
(3rd Panellist) point of view, studying abroad has not much difference than studying
locally. As stated by a lecturer called Nor Hasniah Ibrahim from
UNIMAS, studying in local universities does not necessarily mean you
are at any disadvantage to those studying abroad, she pointed out;
academic wise, local universities provide similar experiences and
exposures a student should get, namely acquired through properly
constructed study plans and facilities. Besides that, some local
universities offer chances for students to explore foreign cultures online
through virtual exchange programmes. Local universities have opened
for global courses and made available facilities that are almost on par
with universities abroad. Moreover, local universities also offer virtual
exchange programmes which are like what we used to call ‘student
exchange programme’ except that it is done virtually. From my
perspective, studying abroad and studying locally has its differences
and its similarity. There are a mix of opinions by students on why they
choose to study abroad and study locally. I believe that most of students
prefer to study locally as to studying abroad to avoid feeling homesick
and suffer from culture shock when they are abroad.

Hazel Fidellia: Thank you for your insight. Miss Olivia, other than developing
(Moderator) confidence, what other beneficial reason that you think people should
studying abroad?

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Olivia Rina: As the saying goes, the grass always looks greener on the other side, I
(Last panellist) do believe that studying abroad gives more advantages as it helps us
grow our experience. This includes lifestyle and social interaction
within new people. We will have the opportunity to new culture
perspectives such as customs and traditions. Other than that, studying
abroad require students to expand their social skills. This includes in
getting assistance from their lectures or among classmate as it
demanded their communication abilities. Studying abroad provides
students with all of the benefits that can flow from leaving one’s
comfort zone from increased confidence to greater flexibility and
resilience in confronting new circumstances. But the benefits of
venturing somewhere new can be obscured by fear of leaving the
familiar behind, which can daunt students enough that they choose not
to study abroad. I agree that when people point out the statement, “get
out from your comfort zone” as studying abroad forces you to be
independent and not to rely on anyone, especially your family members.
You need to work things out on your own. This is also one of the ways
to practice you to become confident in yourself as mentioned by Miss
Ameera because living miles away from your family is not easy and can
be very challenging but again, getting out from your comfort zone helps
you to build career opportunities. Studying abroad may be difficult
because we have to adapt in new surrounding and environment. But
look at the bright sight, we may be difficult in the beginning but at the
end it will give you a lot of benefit.

Hazel Fidellia: I would like to say thank you for all the panellist that joining us today.
(Moderator) Now, we are about to end our forum discussion. Is there any question
from the audience to the panellist?

*Q&A SESSIONS

Hazel Fidellia: Thank you so much for all the informative and interesting talks and
(Moderator) deepest gratitude to all of the audience for attending our forum today.
Hopefully the discussion will be beneficial for everybody. In
conclusion, studying abroad and studying locally has its own pros and
cons and from the panellists we able to learn a lot of different
perspectives and wide views regarding this topic. So that’s all for today.
Thank you once again and goodbye.

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REFERENCES

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF STUDYING ABROAD. (14 July, 2017).

Retrieved from SendmyBag.com: https://www.sendmybag.com/blog/advantages-and-
disadvantages-of-studying-
abroad#:~:text=The%20advantages%20of%20studying%20abroad,high%20costs%20
and%20cultural%20barriers.

Alicia Bethel, C. W. (11 September, 2020). Cross-Cultural Transition and Psychological

Adaptation of International Students: The Mediating Role of Host National
Connectedness. Retrieved from frontiers in Education:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2020.539950/full

https://samploon.com/studying-abroad-or-locally/. (13 October, 2022). Studying Abroad or

Locally? Retrieved from Samploon.

Linda K. Newsome, P. C. (2016). International Students’ Cultural and Social Experiences in a

British University: “Such a hard life [it] is here”. Journal of International Students ,
195-215 .

Shulsinger, T. (31 October, 2017). NorthEastern University Graduate Programs. Retrieved

from 8 Unexpected Benefits to Studying Abroad as a Graduate Student:
https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/study-abroad-benefits/

Smith, M. (4 March, 2017). Build Confidence By Studying Abroad. Retrieved from Talk
English Schools: https://blog.talk.edu/study-abroad-101/build-confidence-studying-
abroad/

The pros and cons of studying locally and abroad. (12 August, 2021). Retrieved from ST New
Sarawak Tribune: https://www.newsarawaktribune.com.my/the-pros-and-cons-of-
studying-locally-and-abroad/

Thomas, Q. (30 January, 2020). Thomas ’21: Leaving your comfort zone: the case for studying
abroad. Retrieved from The Brown Daily Herald:
https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2020/01/thomas-21-leaving-your-comfort-
zone-the-case-for-studying-abroad

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APPENDICES

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