Yet less than two percent of American students currently study abroad. Many state educational authorities, such as in Georgia, are taking steps to increase the number of students who study abroad. A period of study abroad, even for a summer, is one of the best ways to broaden awareness of the complex issues surrounding this new international era. Your son or daughter can attain fluency in another language and gain knowledge of the political, social and economic issues the world faces today. He or she can understand how multinational enterprises function and see how the arts and literature are influenced by currents from all over the world.
Study abroad provides future business managers valuable insight into people from other cultures.
Such knowledge is indispensable for the successful administrator in a multinational enterprise or international agency. If the United States is to play its proper role as an economic leader in the world, it needs more people who are fluent in one or more of the important languages of the world and are also able to function efficiently in diverse cultures. In a survey of program benefits, AIFS alumni reported that the experience of studying abroad helped them to achieve academic and career goals, including enhancing prospects for undergraduate and graduate school acceptance and future employment. They developed understanding of global issues and knowledge of a specific culture which helped many of them find employment in foreign-owned or multinational corporations. Our alumni added that the study abroad experience not only expanded their international awareness, but increased their maturity, adaptability, flexibility and sense of adventure.