Prompt: Some teachers think that international student exchange would be beneficial for all teenage school students. Do you think its advantages will outweigh the disadvantages?

These days, many teachers support the idea of the international student exchange programme because it is believed that this would enhance the boundaries of a teenager. However, there are others who think of it as disadvantageous. I believe that this has more advantages than disadvantages. Ċ To commence with, the most argued disadvantage to this is that this would put an extra burden on the students from the financially weaker sections. For example, if there is an exchange programme between schools from the USA and India, even middle-class parents of the Indian student will find it difficult to arrange a heavy sum their child's expenses in the USA. Secondly, even if a youngster is knowledgeable, there are chances of him/her experiencing culture shock because of the new environment. Also, they can feel sick because of the sudden change in climate, cuisine etc. Ċ On the contrary, there are multiple advantages of international student exchange. Firstly, it provides a teenager with the lifetime experience. They are introduced to new cultures and thus, their mind broadens. They become more accepting of the people with different views, which helps them in life. Furthermore, it can help them in their careers. It has been found that students who went for such programme are given a preference by the companies because this means they can adjust to difficult circumstances easily. For instance, many multi-national companies hire managers with the experience of working abroad, so that they can send them to their offices all over the world. Ċ To conclude, sending teenagers to some other country for studies does have some disadvantages. But I think that these are outweighed by the advantages of better career opportunities, new cultural experiences etc. Therefore, youngsters should be encouraged to participate.