Have you heard about ‘abroad 族’? Abroad 族 means the people who turn their gaze on abroad programs such as language training, exchange student programs, or working holidays due to foreign language ability being crucial. You must have dreamed of going abroad at least one time. The Chungbuk Times (CBT) introduces three foreign programs. -Ed.
 
What is the exchange student program?
   A student exchange program is a program where students from a secondary school or university study abroad at one of their partner institutions. There are various ways to go according to the requirements that the sister universities set. What about the case of Chungbuk National University(CBNU)? The CBNU Center for International Affairs set the rule that all CBNU students have a right for applying and participating in an exchange student program for two years in total. CBNU has established sister relations with 93 universities in 31 countries. As CBNU also made an alliance with SAF(Study Abroad Foundation), CBNU students can apply to other member universities of SAF besides CBNU’s sister universities.
   An advantage of exchange students is to have less financial burden. If you go abroad as an exchange student, you can study abroad having less expenses than that for a language course. The reason is that the university awards scholarships to them. In addition, another advantage of exchange students is to get credits. Exchange students study in the universities. On the other hand, a disadvantage of exchange students is having limits on selecting universities. It is attributed to having to go to the sister universities of CBNU. In addition, exchange students have a hard time following with the courses. Exchange students actually study in the university. If you are in these situations, you have to study very enthusiastically. Even though you only have basic language abilities, you don't understand vocabularies of your subjects.
   Lee Jae-seung (an officer who is in the CBNU Center for International Affairs) said, “Per semester, around one hundred students are selected as exchange students. The basic required specifications are that applicants must have a GPA of 3.0 and a TOEIC score of 600. It will be more useful if you have a TOEFL score. I recommend to prepare for it in advance with a goal to get eighty points out of one hundred twenty during the first two years at school.” Lee Myung-eun (22, an exchange student who is in California State University Northridge) said, “Before being selected, I had found the most proper university program that can advance my English skills. And then, I was focusing on TOEFL every vacation to meet the required score. I also practiced to speak in English in preparation for interviewing.” She added, “What is difficult as an exchange student is the tons of homework. Because of this, there is so little time to build relationships. I think a club is a good way to help build a rapport with other foreign students.”
 
What is a working holiday?
   A working holiday is a policy to specially authorize travellers (aged 18 to 30) to undertake employment in the country for up to one year. Currently, Korea has made an agreement with 14 countries including Australia, Canada, and Japan among others. In order to participate in the working holiday, first of all you must fill out the application form on the embassy web site. After being selected, you have to make all preparations yourself from getting a job to looking for accommodations. When you look for a job, it is useful to have language skills and reference letters.  
   An advantage of a working holiday is to stay freely in a country for a year. A person having a working holiday visa can study and work. On the contrary, a person having an exchange student visa or a language course visa can only study. When you live abroad, you need lots of money. Therefore, a working holiday visa is a big merit. On the other hand, a disadvantage of a working holiday is that it is hard to have both money and study at the same time. In addition, if you don't have basic language abilities, you can't take jobs that require language abilities, and you can't improve your language abilities.
   Kim Ki-su (26, a student who went on working holiday in Australia) said, “Though I prepared for the working holiday thoroughly, many things were changed with the situations of the country. Before I went to Australia, I got a job through e-mail. However, when I went to Australia, the job was gone. I had to get a job again. In addition, I wanted to study language as well as to work, so I found a local region on-line where few Koreans live. However, when I went to that region, many Koreans lived in that region and I had little opportunity to learn English. Furthermore, you must consider that there were much racial discrimination and exploitation of the labor in Australia. These challenged my endurance. I am satisfied to have had the experience of a new culture and to have made much money.”
 

 
What is a language course? 
   A language course is actually going abroad only in order to learn a foreign language and culture. Generally, students register for a local language school through an agency for studying abroad in Korea. If you get enough information to prepare for the entire process, it is okay to do it yourself. If you do not, the agency helps students to contact with local language schools and even offers coaching classes. Language courses are largely divided into private institutions and institutions affiliated with colleges of education. The latter has rather smaller classes and its fee is more expensive than the former. In the case of the latter, students are authorized to utilize the facilities of the university.
   An advantage of a language course is to learn languages by directly meeting foreigners. You can learn communication skills as well as theories on the languages. In addition, a language course is where students study in foreign private educational institutes. They are free, so they can do everything except for working. On the other hand, a disadvantage of a language course is it’s more expensive than exchange student programs. Generally, students register for the local language schools through the agencies for studying abroad in Korea, so they pay the agencies. In addition, they don’t have enough money to study for a long time, and they can only stay for one or two months. It doesn't help them to attain substantive language ability.
   EduHouse (the agency for studying abroad in Korea) said, “Because it is actually difficult to find reliable information, people who want to take a language course prefer the agency for studying abroad. Furthermore, because we have local branches in various countries, we play a role as a bridge, serving to link up with schools, issue visas, and provide follow-up services among others. The most popular two countries students want to go to are the United States and Canada.”

By Lee Jeong-hae | jh32@cbnu.ac.kr

By Lee Su-ji | sj34@cbnu.ac.kr