Almost everyone will agree an international trip sounds like an amazing time. But there is so much more than “fun” to an international school trip! By going abroad on an educational tour with your students, you’re introducing them to a new world and fostering all kinds of necessary life skills.Travel truly transforms children and teens into global citizens better prepared to tackle the world.
The educational benefits of traveling for young adults are varied and so worth it — students will carry them for the rest of their lives. Here are just a few of the reasons to take your class on an educational tour:
Benefits of Overseas Educational Tours for Students
Encourage Self-Sufficiency
Traveling to a foreign place is the definition of putting yourself outside of your comfort zone. Students will be encouraged to handle unfamiliar currencies, navigate different areas, interact with new people, and make personal decisions outside of the framework of their daily lives. This can foster a greater sense of personal responsibility and self-sufficiency (with a safety net, of course!).
Build Stronger Relationships
One of the biggest highlights of traveling with a group is the way it cements a bond between everyone. Not only will students have the opportunity to strengthen their current relationships with each other as they experience a new world, but it also strengthens the bond between teacher and student and builds a new element of trust as they venture out of the classroom together.
Expand Worldviews
It’s one thing to read about a different culture in a textbook. It’s another to actually be confronted with the reality that people interact differently in other parts of the world. By introducing students to life overseas, their compassion for others and interest in other viewpoints and ideals will be encouraged. They can begin to truly understand what it means to be a global citizen.
Learn Languages
Whether it’s the focus of your trip or not, traveling abroad will certainly enhance your language skills — even just a little bit. Whether your students have a base knowledge of the language and are encouraged to speak it with locals, or they come in as total beginners just picking up conversational phrases from the environment, they’ll be bringing home new linguistic skills.
Explore New Cultures
Traveling abroad is a constant educational experience. By interacting with people from another culture, visiting historical sites, and observing the goings-on in a new place, they will be exploring and learning every step of the way. Even their meals will be a dip into another culture!
Build Confidence
By the end of the trip, students will have successfully navigated life in a different country. That’s no small feat! This will have positive ramifications on their self-esteem, as they’ll now know they are capable of learning to get around in unfamiliar situations, interacting with strangers, making decisions, and trying new things. That self-knowledge would make anyone stand taller.
Increase Motivation
An overseas trip can be quite the motivator for students, encouraging them to focus even more in their classes. For example, by seeing the usefulness of knowing a different language, they may be inspired to try even harder in their studies. Similarly, it can foster a student’s desire to travel or be more globally connected, giving them an educational goal to work toward.
Create Lifelong Memories
And of course, let’s not forget the absolute best part of an adventure abroad: It’s such a memorable, exciting experience! You get to see iconic global sights, try delicious foods, and explore completely unfamiliar terrain. Every day, you’re delighted by a new experience. Teachers and students alike walk away from an educational tour abroad with cherished lifelong memories from an incredible trip.
Ready to get moving on planning your educational trip so your students can experience all of these benefits? Contact us to start!
Read next: How to Plan a High School Trip Abroad: Teacher’s Checklist
