Study Abroads Contribution to Critical Thinking and Citizenship

   In this paper, A. Minh Nguyen the writer of the paper explores how studying abroad can boost critical thinking and global citizenship. The author cites Richard Paul and Linda Elder's theories to show the interconnectedness of creative and critical thinking. The paper emphasizes the benefits of study abroad programs, including improved cultural understanding, language skills, and career opportunities. Additionally, it underscores the synergy between creativity and critical thinking. 

   The author argues that study abroad experiences contribute to the development of critical thinking skills and the cultivation of a global perspective. The author provides evidence to support the claim that study abroad enhances creativity and criticality. The paper also recommends certain policies and practices to ensure the desired outcomes of study abroad programs, including incorporating study abroad into institutional efforts to promote critical thinking and implementing inquiry and assessment methods for study abroad programs. Overall, the paper highlights the importance of study abroad experiences in fostering critical thinking and world citizenship.

   Study abroad programs offer numerous benefits beyond cultural and linguistic development. It's not just about learning a new culture and language. Research tells us that studying abroad helps you become better at talking with people from different cultures. This makes you understand different views and ideas better. It also makes you more open to exploring new cultures and making friends with people who are different from you. Also, it's not just about personal growth. It can help you do better in school, make you more confident, mature, and even improve your job opportunities. It can help you learn skills that are important in the workplace, improve your language abilities, and give you the chance to work or volunteer internationally. So, it's like a big package of benefits when you study abroad.

   This paper also talks about how creativity and critical thinking are closely connected, and you can't really separate them. When you think well, you need to use both creative and critical thinking at the same time. When you get better at being creative, you also get better at being critical because they go together. Let’s take an example of this. For example in the case where someone is working at a company facing a significant problem. They need to find a solution to this issue to keep the company running smoothly. In this situation, one doesn't just need to think critically, which involves identifying the problem, analyzing data, and making decisions based on facts. They also need to think creatively, coming up with new ideas and solutions that have never been thought of before. 

   In this case, creativity and critical thinking work together. Creativity helps them find innovative solutions, while critical thinking helps them evaluate whether those solutions are practical and effective. So, this situation is an example of how creativity and critical thinking are closely connected and hard to separate. When someone becomes better at creative thinking, they also become better at critical thinking because both abilities work together to solve problems.

   However, there are some weaknesses in the paper. One of the problem is that it uses a lot of information that people report about themselves and answers from surveys. This might not always be totally honest because people might want to say things that sound good, and this could make the information not complete or totally fair. Unfortunately, the paper does not talk a lot about the possible problems or hard things that can happen when you study abroad, like misunderstandings with different cultures or how important it is to be good at talking to people from other cultures.

   After reading this paper, I am increasingly motivated to prepare myself by improving my communication skills and creative thinking for my future plans to study abroad. This is because I have observed several people around me who have indeed studied abroad, they tend to have broad insights and unique learning and life experiences that not everyone can have. I feel that those who can study abroad are amazing, inspiring, and lucky person because their career opportunities are also greater compared to those who are still studying domestically, even though we know that those of all depends on effort and the results given by God.

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