June 3, 2005

The Benefits of Short-Term Study Abroad

By TAMMY L. LEWIS and RICHARD A. NIESENBAUM

Study-abroad programs can enhance students' acquisition of a foreign language, improve their knowledge of the host culture, and even transform their worldviews. Yet less than 1 percent of American college students study abroad each year. And of those who do, almost one-third enroll in programs that take place in English-speaking countries or that use English as the language of instruction. That reduces the impact of the experience because of the lack of immersion in a foreign