English 280: The Journalistic Essay

By Adilson Tavares

This year at Bridgewater State College there is a total of 123 international and exchange students, who are divided in 89 long term international students and 34 short term exchange students. This amount of international students appeared as Bridgewater State College takes of a program named “The Exchange Program” that involves nine partner institutions throughout the world. It has reciprocal programs with universities in England, Ireland, Cape Verde, Brazil, Beijing, Hong Kong, Kansai and Wakayama Japan, and Canada.

Mrs. Mary Delgado, who is the responsible officer for the external affairs and for this program, said that their hope is to have an equal amount of students going to the various universities as those that come to BSC. The question is if this program is worthwhile to the American students that live in a low-context society, and so are not used to being exposed to a different culture, and if they would be interested in applying for an exchange program to study abroad.

The American students share the idea that this program is good for them. Asked about how good the program should be for the American students, Lauren Connelly, an American student, said “I definitely think there should be an exchange program for the American students. American students are very naive, and it would be great learning experience.” She also said that she would like to have the opportunity to be part of an exchange program.

A similar opinion was given by Annie Barter, another American student, who said that she thinks that the program is wonderful and that she is so glad she had the chance to meet some of the international students. She also said that it makes her want to travel to their country because it sounds like a wonderful experience. “I have heard of the exchange program that BSC offers but I had no idea how far the exchange students really came. I knew China was involved, but I didn’t ever think of Cape Verde as a country students did the exchange program with. I would like to travel abroad to Australia if I got the chance also.” she said.

Ricardo Fidalgo is one of the exchange students; he is from Cape Verde. During an interview he said “Studying at Bridgewater is a singular experience in my life since it enabled me to be in touch with different cultures, traditions and ideologies, and to learn more about the world and develop my language skills.” He also told me that being at BSC is extremely beneficial for he is very exposed to English native speakers who have helped him a lot to improve his language proficiency.

Another Cape Verdean exchange student is Paulo Borges who said that studying at Bridgewater gives him the opportunity to improve his English, writing, speaking, listening and reading, and to get to know the American culture. “The people are extremely friendly, the college system is extremely organized, and I am impressed with the new technologies in the teaching system.” he told me with an expression of satisfaction on his face.

A student exchange program is a program in which a student, typically in secondary or higher education, chooses to live in a foreign country to learn, among other things, language and culture. These programs are called ‘exchanges’ because originally the goal was an exchange of students between different countries. No trade off is actually required, so a student is allowed to go to another country without finding a counterpart in that country to exchange with. In many countries in the world, the universities have an official exchange student program because in many parts of the world, a foreign degree, especially if earned from certain countries, is honored more than a local one.

The program is really captivating the interest of many BSC students so far. Jose Neves and Maruilson Coelho are two students that applied for an exchange program tour to Brazil. Jose said that the reason he applied for an exchange program was the opportunity to experience something new and a different culture and way of life, and another reason was that going to Brazil would add another culture to his repertoire. Maruilson said “for me it had to be the culture and know the language… Also, take advantage of that semester, by making friends, visit different cities of Brazil and share my own culture.”

The same desire to study abroad is shared by Yara Cardoso, another student that also applied to this program, but tour to Nicaragua. “The reason I chose to sign up for the Study Tour to Nicaragua is because I wanted to do something different in my first year of college” she said and pointed out that “even though the language barrier is a bit scary, I’m not worrying too much about it because I have other languages that will hopefully help me understand a little. I also receive 3 credits just for going to a different country for 10 days!” The college is making all the efforts possible to make the students believe in the exchange program and not be afraid to get themselves enrolled in it.

Some of the people that are at the head of the program expressed their thoughts about the benefits that the program brings to the college. Mrs. Delgado said that the exchange program helps to globalize the campus community by exposing the U.S. students to other people and cultures throughout the world, and that having the exchange students interact with the U.S. students not only in the classroom, but in the residence halls and in a variety of campus activities, brings new insights to both the exchange and the BSC students.

Following the same thoughts, Mrs. Kristy-Ann Eldridge, who is the one responsible for all the international students at the BSC, told me that having international and exchange students at BSC brings depth to the cultural diversity of the campus and creates additional opportunities for intercultural learning. She also said that they hope that this expands the American student’s perspective of the world and their role in it, which will help them to become more effective employees/ employers and community members.

Mrs. Patricia Abdelal is a professor at BSC and she works with the international students; she teaches ENSL10250 (English as a Second Language). She emphasized that the international students bring news about other parts of the world which is a very positive aspect. She said that the U.S. is a very large country and so the students here are not used to be in contact with different cultures and different ways of life. She also said that because of that the interaction between them and the international students is very beneficial since they have the opportunity to share their culture with others and also to learn from others about different aspects of the world abroad.

As an American citizen, Mrs. Abdelal expressed her gladness for the opportunity to be working with the international students. “I’m glad to teach the international students because it gives me the opportunity to learn a lot of things about their countries and it makes me change my vision of the other countries of the world” – she said, and she added that it applies to every American.

The National Student Exchange (NSE), which was the only comprehensive student exchange program in the United States in the past, presents as benefits to the students, aspects such a broad personal and educational perspective, exploring and appreciating new cultures, widening university boundaries, taking courses not offered on the home campus, learning from different professors, accessing courses with different perspectives, exploring new areas of study, experiencing personal growth, living in a different geographic area, investigating graduate or professional schools, looking for future employment opportunities, becoming more independent and resourceful, acquiring life skills, experiencing life from a different point of view.

According to research on the benefits of an exchange program, Al Guenther says that the Garden Valley Collegiate has been actively involved in student-exchange programs, whether sending GVC students to other countries or hosting international students during their stay in Canada. He considers that such programs allow students to blend cultures and see a new country. He also says that studying abroad is a great experience for anyone. You could visit and explore the countries that surround your host country. It’s like a trip with some learning added to it. Not only can you learn about the country, but you can also practice your second language very well. The cost of the trip is not much at all, considering what you get out of it. When an exchange student is at your place, you can also learn a lot. International students can teach you about their life in their countries. At the very least, you will have a lot of stories to tell to anyone who is interested.

Specialists focus on Culture Shock that normally happens when international students arrive into another country, as the weakest aspect of an exchange program. All these aspects are well known by all international students, because they have somewhat lived it at least once. In an article, Canchu Lin refers to some strategies to overcome the problems caused by the culture shock. He said that such problems would be overcome when the students complete the process of intercultural adjustment. This adjustment is more easily reached if the students find at the college, people that are prepared to help them to a quick integration and adaptation to the new reality.

Mrs. Patricia Abdelal, based on her experience with the international students, said that they are very successful at BSC because there are people at the college that are prepared to help them and to support them. She said that BSC is a college that has all the support needed to receive the international students and help them to overcome any aspect that is giving them a hard time. She also said that if the group of the international students from the same country is large, it is good because they can support each other and the friendship among them is the strongest support that exists because it replaces the pain caused by separation from family members and friends back home.

Martha Denney and Erin Eckert, authors of Re-entry Shock: Torn between Two Cultures (1993), present a positive view of the exchange program and indicate the difficulties faced by the students as beneficial for them. They say that our accumulated life experiences make us who we are and shape how we view the world. When we are confronted with conflicting values or views of the world we must either accept or reject what we are seeing. They continue saying that this process of cognitive development is exactly what we experience on a daily basis as we learn to live in another culture. If something does not match what we know, we must evaluate it and either accommodate the information or reject it. And then they conclude by saying that living in another culture is usually a profound experience that causes us to grow rapidly, more rapidly than if we had remained at home in a familiar environment.

Regarding to the problems faced during his adaptation to the new country, Ricardo said that, by the grace of God, and with his personal effort and sacrifice, he could jump over those obstacles and make tremendous progress. While Hernidia Tavares, another exchange student said “I have faced challenges with assignments every day at BSC but this experience is the great part about it. I learn better when I am challenged, and the best of it is that BSC provides all the conditions for me to triumph.”