What You Need to Know about Cultural Immersion

Studying abroad offers you with the perfect chance to full immerse yourself in a new culture, often for the first time. Being exposed to a rich, deep culture that influences food, music, drink, holidays, dress, and beliefs can be captivating, and completely transformative.

Even though you may be focused on learning a new language, what you stand to gain goes way beyond language skills. Actually, you’ll develop a holistic understanding of another culture and push yourself out of your comfort zone. You might even pick up some awesome new hobbies, learn some local recipes, or discover a favorite sport.

Here are a few things you need to know about cultural immersion and why it is so transformative.

Bolster Your Empathy and Cultural Sensitivity

Immersing yourself in another culture makes it possible for you to see the world from another perspective. We all grow up with a certain belief system, so seeing the world through another lens offers you a greater appreciation and empathy for others.

Imagine watching a documentary about ancient Rome. If you don’t know anything about Roman history, you may not find the stories about the Pantheon or the Baths of Caracalla very interesting. But if you wandered through these important sites, and learned about the influence of this ancient civilization on a study abroad trip to Italy, you’ll likely tune in with a much greater appreciation and fond memories.

Improve Your Language Acquisition

We know cultural immersion is a truly effective way to master a language. Being surrounded by native speakers and having real-world opportunities to use the language every single day can be invaluable to your progress and motivate you to keep on learning.

Another important aspect of cultural immersion is how it can help improve your accent and fluency. By listening to native speakers every day, on the radio, in shops, on the street, you will develop a more authentic and natural-sounding accent.

Actually, you get pick up on common phrases and expressions that you can incorporate into your own speech patterns. In short, cultural immersion improves your language acquisition.