The Impact of International Student Exchange Programs on Australia

This report analyzes the impact of international student exchange programs on Australia, examining both the benefits and drawbacks of such programs. It highlights the positive effects on students, such as language acquisition, cultural understanding, and the development of global connections. The report also discusses the economic contributions of international students to Australia, emphasizing the financial benefits to the host country, including increased revenue and contributions to research. Furthermore, the report acknowledges challenges such as cultural and language barriers, difficulties with accommodation, and potential issues with finding employment. Overall, the report underscores the importance of international student exchange programs in fostering cultural diversity, promoting global awareness, and contributing to economic growth in Australia, while also acknowledging the complexities and challenges that students may face. The report draws on various studies and research to support its findings, emphasizing the significance of these programs for both students and the host country. The report also touches on the benefits of a multicultural environment and the opportunities for students to develop important skills. The report concludes by emphasizing the positive economic impact international students have on Australia.

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International exchange programs provide students a chance in which students go out to study or
live in different country. In these program students usually stay in a place such as hostels or
apartments or with the host family. The cost of program is associated with an institution or done
through self-funding. There are two kinds of student exchange programs. One of them is Long
term program and the other one is the short term program. Short term programs are one of those
programs which are held during summer, which basically focuses on home stays, new language
learning, cultural activities and communication skills. On the other hand long term exchange
programs are for at least ten months or for a whole year. Student exchange programs are helpful
in a lot of ways. It allows students to understand new languages and makes them work in a very
new environment. So this is a study which shows how an international student exchange program
can impact the world and Australia.
International student exchange programs can leaves a huge effect on the students and the host
country. International Student exchange programs helps students in various different ways. It
helps the Students to learn a new language and make lifelong good and strong connections, it
also helps in and helps in gaining a lot of experience and helps them to discover the cultures of
the host country. A lot of schools, college and institutions are hosting such exchange programs
nowadays for a better growth of school, students & as well as for the host country (United States
department of state, 2019)
The focal purpose of this type of international cultural exchange program is to learn and
understand culture diversity (Shijuan, 2010). international Student exchange programs helps one
to understand the diversity in culture and also helps in understanding a better way of education.
It teaches a student ways to support other students and their families who are from different
culturally diverse backgrounds. Multicultural programs like these help in supporting things like
anti- racism which is really important to learn by everyone. Such programs help in creating
harmony in the world. It helps in better understanding of positive and good relationship between
students from different cultures and backgrounds. This inspires one to remove the language and
cultural differences also when a student lives in a host family they are part of the host family for
a limited time, which helps in living through the different cultures. These are those kind of things
which even a tourist is not able to experience and these are those things that actually helps to
discover a way of living in the host countries, gain knowledge, respect differences and
understand others cultural believes (Haijun, 2011).
Cultural differences are not just dissimilarities but more than that, Difference such as food,
appearance and language. Exchange programs totally changes a person’s perception for the
world. Experiencing the various different kinds of cultures really helps a student to have a better
understanding of the cultures from around the world. Nowadays people in the world are
connecting better each day and with that it is really important to have a good knowledge of the
situations at a global scale. Also one of the most important things that a student learns is how to
interact with new people from different cultures and places (Roxana, 2011).

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International Exchange programs also helps in maintaining and building very strong and good
connections with people, it helps in extending one’s connection internationally. Exchange
programs help one to develop skills. Exchange programs involve things like social awareness.
These things can Sometimes help a student to explore own city in order to host students. It firstly
helps in hanging around with new people culturally different people which can sometimes help a
person to experience and see the same places in a very different way and it also helps a person to
explore new places in a better way. International exchange programs are increasing day by day
as a very large number of students nowadays choose live out of India. From the study it is seen
that there are several economic benefits to the host country as well (Bohman and Borglin, 2014).
International Student exchange programs have various benefits for the students such as learning
of a new language and experiencing new cultural and social experiences. It gives a good and a
very better understanding of living in a multi-culture environment. It gives enhanced information
of the host country and the important thing is it helps in building new and better relations and
connections (Pereira, 2016). The exchange programs help the students to be a little more opened
minded, which helps in strengthening their understanding culture. It helps students to accept
foreign cultures more easily (Meredith, 2010).
International Student exchange programs countenance students to mix up with people from
different places in the world and expose them to various varieties of cultures and changes their
perceptions or way of seeing things. Difference in Cultural backgrounds has a very large impact
on how a person responds to various different conditions. Making friends with people from
around the world with different cultures helps in learning various different cultures and also
helps them to see how thing are done in a different way from their country. It also helps in
conferring the current news of the country, which a person has been hearing in the news. It is
habitual for the news channels to show things very differently, while discussing it with the
person who is from the same place and is facing problems from those things is actually an eye
opening experience (oxford, 2014).
International connections is a very helpful and important thing, as staying in a very different and
new international environment gives the students a chance to be in contact with new and
different people from different places in the world. Connections or friendships like these are not
just normal things, it can actually be of a very great help in the coming future (Harris and Miles,
2017). Some of the countries from around the world funds and helps the exchange programs.
There are a lot of benefits are in sending the students abroad for such programs. It not only has a
huge positive impact on the schools or institutions but is highly important for the better growth
of the students. When a student returns back to the home country they come back with a new and
nice experiences and also with a better knowledge of things, while at a national level it helps
the students to share their knowledge and experience with the local students.
There are various benefits to the country who hosts the exchange event as well. As the students
are considered to be international students, they bring a lot of different and new perspective to

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the local students, which help local students to advance their knowledge of culture and helps in
maintaining good communication skills. Most important thing is that it gives high economic
benefits to the country which hosts this event and also helps the exchange students to bring talent
and income to the countries who host the event (Kemal, 2009).
Exchange programs benefits in a very important thing which is, it helps in maintaining a peaceful
world. It is one of the ways to break down the barriers like culture, race, nationality and religion.
The economic effect of international students is not only restricted to dollars, food and clothing.
Australia is one of those main destinations for the international exchange students. Students does
not only pay to the economy but also pays to the technical and scientific research of the country
that hosts. According to a study international students pays somewhere around 165.6 million to
Australia’s economy. Australia’s count of International students is growing year after year
(Manuel, 2013). International student’s gives various economic benefits to a country that hosts
the program first thing is the cost required to live. The study indicates that Australia is one of
those places which have a very high cost of living, this thing depends on the amount of money
international student spends to cover up the expenses during their stay.
Another thing which gives high benefit to the economy is tax revenues, there various more
benefits of the exchange program like, exploring a place with a whole new and different aspects.
Also it helps in learning to manage the different situation such the language and the cultural
differences. Exchange programs are of very a huge help if any person wants to grow at a global
level. With these are the educational benefits as well like, learning the different way of
Australian study and applying new things learned to the home country (Jelenional, 2009).
Australia has a vast and a diverse culture. Australia offers multi-diverse culture which cannot be
seen anywhere else. These things gives the international students a chance to stage out of their
normal comfort zone and also give the students an opportunity to practice new and different
things and also new cultures the advantage of a multicultural society is to have a chance to build
up new public relations and learn various new languages. Exchange programs benefits in
overcoming the cultural and language. Sometimes students face difficulties in overcoming such
barriers because people have different culture background. Language barrier is another thing.
When a student meets different people from the world, language barrier is one of those things
which stop them from communication but in cases where the students live with a host family
they learn to overcome this barrier very easily (Reynolds, 2013).
International student Exchange program teaches the importance of how one country
resemblances to other, the news and other Medias have a habit of portraying differently about
certain places and countries while on the other hand when a student actually visits the place they
get a better understanding of the and its culture better. This shows a lot of similarities between
the two countries. Students exchange programs shows how beautiful culture diversity is, which
not only remove the differences but also helps in making a student a leader on a global level and

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makes them a better person. Exchange programs have a power to make the world a better and
beautiful place to live. (Henderson, 2011).
There are a lot of drawbacks too. There are also various difficulties which a student can face
staying there. One of them is struggles with the host family, a lot of times these issues cannot be
resolved by communicating and the student are mostly asked to find a different place to live or a
different host family. Apart from this if a student though a student has a worthy knowledge about
the new and different environment students can still experience cultural and most importantly
language differences (Miles and Howard, 2016). Another very important thing which a student
finds difficult is the absence of transportation which becomes one of the major problems faced
by students the most important thing which becomes difficult for a student is to find a job
(Worthington and Mingyan, 2017).
Half of the Australia’s economy is produced through such international students. Exchange
programs encourage students to practice life in different countries. Students learn new things
from different cultures and from the different countries and places. It also shows that cultural
diversity adds up value to home country education and gives a good knowledge and global
awareness. Cultural diversity gives a student chance to see the similarities between two nations.
It increases a person’s communicating and language, and helps them to learn different cultures,
which also help in developing skills. It helps students to have a better understanding on how to
use their own ideas in a better way. it allows a student to respect difference in cultures.
International exchange students actually invest almost 165.6 million into the economy of
Australia each year. Australia has a multicultural environment, which not only benefits the
country but to the students as well. A student exchange program offers the students from around
the world to be out of their country and aims to improve students’ knowledge and helps them to
learn new things from the host country.

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References
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awareness'? A descriptive, qualitative study.Nurse Education in Practice,14(3)
Haijun, K. (2011) Examining Culture's Impact on the Learning Behaviors of International
Students from Confucius Culture Studying in Western Online Learning Context. Journal of
International Students, 6(3)
Harris, N. and Miles, D. (2017) International Student Exchange in Australian Social Work
Education. Australian Social Work,70(4)
Henderson, T. (2011) New Economy Initiative wants international students to stay.Crain's
Detroit Business, 27(23)
Jelenional, P. (2009) International student exchange.International Dairy Journal. 6(3)
Kemal, G (2009) Higher education and international mobility in global economics, USA:
University of New York
Manuel, O. (2013) Barriers to International Student Mobility: Evidence from the Erasmus
Program. Educational Researcher, 42(2)
Meredith, R. (2010). "Acquiring Cultural Perceptions during Study Abroad.The Influence of
Youthful Associates, 93 (4)
Miles, D. and Howard, E. (2016) Student exchange is going place. Herdasa News, 38(2)
Oxford royal academy (2014) Benefits of studying in an international environment. [online]
Available from: https://www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/study-abroad-international-
environment.html [Accessed 30/01/19]
Pereira, A. (2016) The Economic Impact of International Students in a Regional Economy from
a Tourism Perspective, Tourism Economics 22(1)
Reynolds, A. (2013). The Value of Short-Term Study Abroad: An Increase in Students' Cultural
and Pragmatic Competency. Foreign Language Annals. 46(2)
Roxana, M. (2011) Intercultural adaptation: the case of international student exchange
programmes. Review of the Air Force Academy, 9(2)
Shijuan, L. (2010) Cultural Differences in Online Learning: International Student Perceptions.
Educational Technology & Society, 13(3)
United state department of state (2019) why participate. [online] Available from:
https://exchanges.state.gov/non-us/why-participate [Accessed 30/01/19]

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Worthington, A. andMingyan, C. (2017)Cost Economies in the Provision of Higher Education
for International Students: Australian Evidence. Journal of Higher Education Research, 74(4)