Learning a foreign language ranks amongst the most transferable skills one can possess in a global context. When this learning occurs within an academic context, it often leads to new cultural understanding and possibilities as well as strong academic capital. To argue that one learns an academic foreign language while abroad misses the point because what you really acquire is a level of fluency at which you feel comfortable in an alternative cultural knowing while at the same time having a good understanding of alternative educational systems and academic cultures.
Learning through academic foreign languages while abroad is not simply a foreign language learning context.
Why Study Academic Foreign Languages Abroad?
When students study academic foreign languages overseas, an array of advantages is available. Studying in a native-speaking context, in particular, leads to faster language skill development than studying in a classroom. Studying in the native environment also fosters deeper cultural awareness of the language being studied.
Many academic language programs include the study of the academic language with certain academic courses including business or arts or sciences. This approach permits the students to practice academic language, while gaining discipline specific academic knowledge. Additionally, studying in a location outside of their own country is highly beneficial, allowing students plenty of opportunities for personal growth, a wider world view, and the potential for maximized global employability.
Private Schools Offering Academic Foreign Language Programs Abroad
Many private academic institutions around the world specialize in academic language pathways, which affords students the opportunity to improve or learn new foreign languages in the context of high academic quality. Here are examples from multiple countries:
USA
- The New England School of English (NESE)
Located in Boston, Massachusetts, NESE is an intensive, non-degree, English language school established to meet the needs of international students. The school offers academic English courses and university application preparation, ensuring that students learn both the language and the academic aspects.
- EF Academy New York
EF Academy New York is a private international school that offers high-level English programs and subjects of study in an array of academics. EF Academy is an excellent option for students to improve or learn English while attending a high school. The Academy is located in Thornwood, New York; this perfect environment provides opportunities for students to improve English language skills while pursuing a high school education.
Canada
- Institut Langues et Cultures du Monde (ILCM)
ILCM, located in Montreal, Quebec is a school that provides immersion programs in the French language to students who want to take their French up a notch in an academic context. ILCM offers multiple academic courses in French, making it an ideal choice for students who want to incorporate their studies and French language into one academic year.
- West Island College
West Island College is located in Calgary, Alberta and offers French in its international studies program. The West Island College academic curriculum provides a language learning, international business, and cultural studies experience, meaning students will receive a strong foundation in language and academics.
United Kingdom
- EF International Academy Oxford
This private school located in Oxford specializes in English language education and preparing students for academic study at the university level. Students from EF Academy Oxford can take electives in advanced English and participate in the IELTS exam preparation, as well as all other subjects including business and humanities.
- King’s College London International Foundation Program
King’s College program is a rigorous program for students who want to enhance their English for the purposes of academic study. The International Foundation program provides academic learning, geared towards non-native speakers who want to develop their overall language skills when studying subjects that are associated with their area of study.
Germany
- Berlin Brandenburg International School (BBIS)
BBIS is an international private school in Berlin. BBIS provides an immersive English-language program and also an academic curriculum from the International Baccalaureate (IB). Students can benefit from intense English programs while enjoying studies in German or other languages.
- German International School New York
The German International School NY offers students the opportunity to take German language programs alongside academic rigor which often includes a number of advanced levels of courses. Students at the German International School have the choice of German or English as their core language of instruction and is an excellent option for students attempting to master a foreign language in an academic environment.
Spain
- Colegio Internacional Eurocolegio Casvi
Colegio Internacional Eurocolegio Casvi is located in Madrid, Spain. The school offers a bilingual program in Spanish and English. The academic program provides a balanced education, encouraging students to develop their skills in their selected languages and a variety of academic subjects.
- International School of Barcelona
This international school provides bilingual education in English and Spanish in a curriculum that prepares students for admissions to international universities. Language programs are a blended course of study with various academic programs that reinforce the essential language skills needed to be academically and personally successful.
Austria
- The Lyceum
The Lyceum in Vienna provides a multi-lingual academic program that includes language acquisition along with a range of academic subjects, ensuring immersive education in German, English and other languages, including providing students with a firm footing in their language, and their academic studies.
- Vienna International School
Located in Vienna, this international school provides a fully English-language education, with a solid integration of the Austrian and international curricula. In excellent English language immersion students enhance their English language skills, in addition to studying English literature, English-language history, economics, and other subjects in an excellent academically rich, stimulating environment.
France
- International School of Paris
The International School of Paris, located in the heart of Paris, provides English-language immersion and academic courses across a wide range of subjects. The students can fully develop their language skills and participate in a wide range of subjects, from science and math, to arts and the humanities.
- Lycée Français de New York
Lycée Français de New York provides bilingual education with respect to French and English. The school’s academic program is very high quality in both languages, so students can move towards academic proficiency in both languages, while studying across a full range of subjects in English.
Conclusion
Studying foreign language abroad goes beyond learning the language but allows for immersion in a different culture, providing a better understanding of educational systems worldwide, and learning how to succeed in an international job market. Throughout the world, especially in the United States, private schools offer foreign languages programs for students that involve both a focus on language and academic studies. Private schools offer the best experience for a student’s language and academic growth because the programs that they offer encompass multiple areas of education, such as a school’s academic curriculum and foreign language study. Academic language study can combine any language, even English, Spanish, and French to name a few. Academic language study abroad means a student has the best advantages to succeed in a global world.
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