International Students

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Introduction

Globalization has resulted in evolution of trends in practically all the sectors of the global corporate world. One of such sectors that have witnessed massive transformations is the education sector. The sector has in the recent years recorded a remarkable increase in the number of international students, a fact that has generated diverse and contradicting views from the host communities. One of the most common stances has been that international students often deprive their local counterparts of the available opportunities within the country. However, what they fail to comprehend is the fact that the benefits associated with international students out-weigh the disadvantages by far. The aim of this paper is to highlight on some of the benefits that have been overlooked by the critics of international students.

Thesis: the myths of misconception and ineffective communication, barring effective inter-cultural integration for the maximized harnessing of benefits associated with hosting international students.

Misconceptions

For generations, the United States has been registering increasing numbers of international students from other countries. However, part of the local community is still un-welcome to the idea of integrating with these foreign students due to persisting misconceptions about them. Most of the negativity towards foreign students is generally due to beliefs that international students use up the resources in the community leading to escalated prices of basic commodities and also beliefs that the students are most likely to deprive the local population of the job opportunities in the form of temporary employment. While this may true for an extend given that some of these students do seek temporary employment as a means of sustaining themselves during their stay in the community, it is important to note that the resources they gain from such partaking are mostly spent within the community. Therefore it is important to weigh the advantages associated with hosting international students against the disadvantages of indulging in the same before adopting an attitude towards them.

Cultural Benefits

Although the belief that international students deprive the local students of some of the opportunities available within the community or state is partly true, it is wrong to assume that they are a threat to the success of the young entrepreneurs within. This is because the interaction between the local and international students prepares the local students for faster and smoother integration in to foreign communities in the future during their careers. It is evident that international students are like ambassadors of foreign culture within the society.

Intercultural bonding can significantly enhance intercultural competence which refers to the richness in the knowledge, skills and attitudes that one must possess to communicate and interact effectively with someone from another culture. Naturally employers will always wish to attract applicants are not only qualified academically but who can similarly demonstrate their transferable skills such that they can comfortably work from any region in the world. This is one advantage that must be fully utilized by the local communities in empowering their students. Intercultural competence in the international job market is considered as one of the most significant qualifications for potential job seekers.

Another significant advantage relating to enhanced intercultural bonding is the fact that the opportunities on the international scale for the local students are enriched. This is attributed to the fact that by exchanging contacts and maintaining friendly communication after completion of their studies, the local students can easily learn about the opportunities available in foreign countries through their colleagues.

Communities must therefore drop the misconceptions about international students and instead focus on harnessing this beneficial. It is advisable that local institutions should on their part promote cultural awareness by facilitating intercultural training through formal structures within international curriculums as well as through less formal extra-curricular activities. The misconceptions about international students are the major cause of poor integration between the locals and international students as compared to language barrier as they lead to poor receptivity and unfriendliness on the part of the host community.

Economical Benefits

On the economic front, international students have been known to greatly uplift the economy of the community within which they are hosted. International students bring with them vast resources from their home countries and end up spending them within the host state. Contrary to the misconception that international students end up exhausting the resources within the host community, these students generate a lot of income for the members of the host community by providing a steady market for the services offered within the community such as accommodation. Similarly, foreign investors prefer investing in regions that have steady markets and that have a vibrant economy such as that exhibited by communities with institutions offering international curriculums. By investing in such communities, the investors greatly uplift the economical status of the community thanks to the foreign students within.

Conclusion

Misconceptions have always been a major setback in ensuring that both local students and communities enjoy the full brand of benefits associated with international students. It is crucial that people should familiarize themselves with the benefits involved and integrate freely with the foreign students. This will be for the best of both the international students and their local counterparts.