For students living and studying abroad, learning the language of the host country makes the experience infinitely richer and more interesting. Summer tourists aren't going to know the language of every country they visit but can still enjoy the architecture, food, flowers, music, scenery. However, for students fortunate enough to be spending a semester or a year in one country, immersed in its culture and studying in its schools, it would be quite foolish and unpardonably lazy not to learn the language, speak it, and read it with proficiency. As with all pleasant, positive, and exciting adventures, a period of study abroad passes more quickly than one ever dreamed. Midway through the allotted period of time abroad, students should be required to assess their program.
Chances are, the romance and newness of being abroad have given way to the routines of student life.
Students who are bored with studies and life at school, or not doing well in classwork, will probably be bored with life in a new home, and their academic achievements will not improve. If they are aching from a broken relationship, the pain will not lessen in another country. A study abroad year should be approached as an intellectual and cultural experience, not an emotional panacea. Students seldom realize how much they have assimilated from a new culture until they are home again. For months students in surroundings less comfortable than home may have longed for a good hot shower, or a homemade beef stew, or a night at the movies with their pals.