With the world becoming – or seeming to become – smaller and smaller, the need for knowing more than one language besides your native tongue is becoming greater and greater. Having this skill is now a lot more than teaching new Americans their ESL skills. It can involve anything from diplomatic work in the Middle East to international business in Southeast Asia or the European Union.
As far as advanced education, this usually means a lot more than just learning a second language though. It involves actually learning another people’s culture. True, a student can take courses domestically so they can learn such basics as how to use chopsticks or driving on the left side of the street. It is much better to actually immerse a student in that culture, experience how other people live first hand.
This could be a very expensive proposition. At the same time, there are a number of organizations out there who will help students not only go to these countries, but provide financial aid to help them in this endeavor.
Some of these organizations are quite prestigious. For instance, just about everyone has heard of the Fulbright Scholarship Organization or the Rhodes Scholarship. They are highly prestigious awards and usually reserved for students with extremely high grades and from more prestigious schools. Luckily there are alternative options for those who fit into more modest means.
A classic example is the Ambassador Scholarship program set up by the Rotary Club. Founded in 1947, its purpose is to place students in the homes of foreign nations for extended periods of time. There they will literally be immersed in the country’s culture; going to their schools, meeting fellow teenagers and young adults, learning what that nation is about from the inside.
For the scholarship, the student is required to do two things. First, they must do a presentation about their homeland to the host Rotary Club. The second obligation is upon returning to the U.S., doing a similar presentation about the country they stayed in. The Rotarians sponsor as many as 900 students every year.
Even more important, this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are literally hundreds of these exchange scholarships available for any student who will take the time to hunt them down. A good way to do this is by starting on the world wide web and doing a search. The next step is to set up an appointment with one’s brick and mortar or online college and see if they are involved in or associated with such a program.