To learn in-depth about any existing culture you need to experience, as well as understand it. That’s why it is important to engage with the culture by socializing with it along with its members. One also has to go about usual routines. Talking about this is participating in heritage events, learning a native language, or having firsthand experience of local customs and traditions. Understanding a community’s diverse values and behaviors can be achieved through experiences that promote empathy, respect, and admiration for its residents. Such experiences help gain a deeper appreciation of the community and its people.
Cultural immersion is, no doubt, the most effective way of learning about others and getting to know customs, traditions, and ways of life that are authentic. This is associated with the educational purpose of students to give them a full understanding of study that is outside the textbooks and traditional class curriculum. Cultural immersion involves more than just going to a new country or viewing cultural customs from a distance. This also involves interacting at cultural events, having conversations with people of different cultural backgrounds, and learning what others do to sustain their livelihood.
There are different programs accessible for students to observe cultural immersion. Such programs provide a lot of diversity via discipline coursework, exchange programs, short-term study trips, and service learning projects.
Interdisciplinary education allows students to take up other subjects, for instance, history, literature, and sociology, as a way to cultivate a total understanding of a cultural context.
Exchange programs provide such lifelong memories for students as they are offered to live with a host family in an unexpected country and immerse themselves into the culture.
Shorter study trips offer the students the opportunity to travel and study or understand the culture through field trips, museums, and community events.
It should be emphasized that service-learning allows students to work with community members on socially impactful projects while familiarizing themselves with the culture of the community.
Benefits and impacts on students
Develop strong connections with people
Interacting with people from various cultures is an excellent way for acquiring a comprehensive understanding of different cultures, and establishing bonds across the globe. Although one might not have enough time in a short span abroad to nurture lasting relationships, the intensity of completely submerging oneself in the local lifestyle can help meet people and have a different perspective on their ways of life. Real connections are created through genuine interaction, which allows people from diverse groups to share knowledge and stories. Such individuals are not only building bridges between different cultures but also enriching their lives with an abundance of new perspectives.
Language proficiency
The better way of developing language skills is through the use of language immersion strategies. These strategies imply immersing students in a world where they can not only interact with people but at the same time learn the language. The language theory contexts not only help students develop their linguistic competence but cultural sensitivity and intercultural communication skills as well. Language theory contexts may help learners reach higher language proficiency, increase cultural sensitivity, and become better at intercultural communication. This framework enables students to familiarize themselves with the language rules and structures, as well as the culture involved in it. This not only improves their speaking skills but also gives them a greater insight into the culture-specific ways of language use.
Broadening Perspectives
Discovery of a different culture enables you to have a better grasp of its art, customs, ways of practicing, and methods of seeing and rationalizing the world. The combination of education with traveling makes the horizon wider by introducing an individual to different perspectives and ways of thinking. However, this also creates empathy, acceptance, and general open-mindedness to other cultures, traditions, and lifestyles. The process of accepting different cultures and learning from them can make the individual more knowledgeable about the world and deserve to become a human with strong feelings of empathy and compassion towards others.
Personal growth and building confidence
Understanding the culture that is foreign to us can bring to us the awareness of other people and help students know themselves better. With the help of seeing how people around the world live and flourish, students get some insights into their society, habits, and way of life. In addition to that, it is surprising how much one can learn about themselves when they are immersed in a new culture. Students can incorporate new ideas and methods into their own lives, principles, and future objectives. In other words, achieving new destinations and overcoming challenges help us in building confidence and independence. Cultural immersion also develops a sense of compassion and respect for others’ perspectives and these are the building blocks of real human interactions and cooperation promotion.
Students can learn cultural dimensions and intercultural competence greatly through cultural immersion programs. They can be more culturally competent and empathetic as a result. Those who are deeply involved in another culture are ready to gain knowledge from others and to be open-minded toward other ways of living and thinking. It involves reflecting on the identity that is associated with their given culture, their beliefs, and their biases and getting ready to contravene the assumptions and prejudices.
Immersing oneself in cultural diversity provides the students with a much deeper understanding and appreciation of other cultures and can waylay the prejudice towards foreign civilizations which leads to the promotion of cross-cultural understanding. It is also possible that this practice can enable students to gain significant skills, be it intercultural communication, empathy, and flexibility, which are massively demanded, especially in a world that has now become increasingly globalized.
References:
- Burns, Rachel, et al. “World Language Learning.” Study Abroad Contexts for Enhanced Foreign Language Learning, 2018, pp. 1–22, www.discoverabroad.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Burns-et-al-2018.pdf, https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-3814-1.ch001.
- Onosu, Gloria. “The Impact of Cultural Immersion Experience on Identity Transformation Process.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, no. 5, 7 Mar. 2021, p. 2680, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052680.
- Turner, Karen. “Impact of Cultural Immersion & Educational Tourism in Learning.” Wanderlustingk, 23 Nov. 2023, www.wanderlustingk.com/travel-blog/unconventional-classrooms-cultural-immersion-educational-tourism. Accessed 13 Feb. 2024.
