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Common study abroad worries and how to overcome them

Studying abroad is an exciting experience that brings many rewards and memory-making moments. There are inevitably however, a few issues and concerns that students may encounter before or during their trip. Here’s a run through of some common study abroad worries with advice about what to do to overcome them to ensure the overall trip is positive and rewarding. 

• Homesickness

Feeling homesick at some point during your stay may strike you during quieter times. This is very normal but if you allow it to, homesickness can negatively impact your study abroad experience.

Fight homesickness by getting involved with activities during your non-study time and be sociable with other students. Try to limit calling home and time spent on social media. 

• Language problems

You are on your study abroad trip to improve your foreign language ability but you may encounter a few language problems along the way. There may be times when you struggle to understand what it is said to you and that can be a little daunting.  To overcome this, ask the person speaking to repeat themselves slowly or to even say it in a different way. Ideally, don’t ask them to say it in English but instead, take it is a learning opportunity. 

Remember you are still learning so there is nothing wrong with using broken sentences or body language to get your point across. 

A major learning block for English speaking students is that they tend to use English in their spare time and when socialising with friends from other countries. It is beneficial to try to keep the conversation in the language you are all trying to learn. 

• Making friends

Ahead of your study abroad trip, you might be worried about meeting new people on your trip and whether you will make friends. This is a natural concern but we can put your mind at rest that you will make plenty of friends on your trip as you are all ‘in the same boat’. If however, you do find it difficult to make friends, know that all our courses offer a range of activities, excursions and social events in the afternoons/evenings and at weekends to ensure students are kept busy. There is always something going on within a group to get involved in. 

• Not wanting to go home

And finally, by the end of your trip, despite any initial concerns you may have had, you may find that you don’t want to go home which is kind of a positive! It may be hard to leave your new friends and community behind but you’ll be able to stay in touch easily with social media and hopefully get to return for a visit in future years.