What skills should I master to study abroad?

For students who study abroad alone, studying abroad is both a test and an exercise. In addition to learning knowledge, many international students also unlock a lot of skills before studying abroad. So, what skills should you acquire before studying abroad?

Table of Contents

1. Self-regulation ability

Mental state is the premise of everything when it comes to the many skills that require student attention. A good mental state is the foundation of a good study life.

When students study abroad, after experiencing the initial fresh feeling, they often cannot find the motivation to do things due to the confusion of self-identity cognition and the crisis of identity, plus the pressure and loneliness brought by studying abroad. At this age, many students will experience a very confused stage in their self-knowledge and life. They have no goals and can’t find the meaning of learning.

Therefore, before studying abroad, international students need to learn to adjust their psychological state, or master some tips to regulate their emotions, such as:

– Explore new things

When you’re not interested in the previous thing and don’t know what you want, you need to explore and try new things, like volunteering, exploring new hobbies, etc. The process may be long, but as long as you keep trying and experience your truest thoughts, one day you will find what you want.

– Selectively ignore some outside judgments about yourself

The expectations of others and ourselves can have a big impact on how we feel, especially when we’re not yet sure of our own. Don’t let society’s standards limit what you want to do, such as age, gender, cultural group. What matters most is how you feel about yourself and what your heart desires. Being your true self also keeps you mentally and physically healthy, happier and more confident over time.

– Get help and support

Asking for outside help to understand and pouring out your feelings and thoughts to them. If there is a lack of people around you who can tell the truth, you should seek help from a psychologist in a timely manner when you are unable to self-regulate your stress and negative emotions.

2. Time management ability

In fact, time management skills must be developed before students study abroad. When will you plan to study abroad, when will you prepare for internship/scientific research, when will you calibrate your grades by language, when to fill in and submit materials online, etc., you need to have a clear concept of time.

While studying abroad at university, things are still quite a lot. Time planning sounds easy, but it’s actually not that easy. Whether it is studying hard, participating in extracurricular activities, engaging in social interactions, or going out to work, all the time must be managed by oneself. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to lose the balance between studying and other activities. Especially at the end of the term, when exams and a lot of papers are crowded together, planning your time is even more important.

3. Language communication skills

Many international students are afraid or embarrassed to express themselves due to communication barriers, which greatly affects their interactions with foreign friends. When your thoughts cannot be accurately expressed, your personality charm cannot be displayed, which will affect everyone’s friendship with you. There are still many students who are worried that their export has become a mistake, so they live with an attitude of “speaking less, making less mistakes”, and their abilities have not been greatly improved.

4. Teamwork ability

Universities in the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and other countries often require students to complete Groupwork. Groupwork is not only reflected in everyone’s academic research ability, but also in everyone’s teamwork ability, communication ability and leadership ability. And to solve the “team battle” well, in addition to professional knowledge, it also requires good cooperation between team members.

5. Understand cultural differences

Different countries in the world have different historical backgrounds and have gone through a long period of time. Due to the different ways of thinking and living environments, their ideological and cultural differences have also been very different. In order to better integrate into the local area, international students need to understand the culture and history of their study abroad destination in advance. This not only allows international students to have more common topics with local students when communicating, but also helps them avoid some daily taboos in the local culture.

6. Money management skills

When studying abroad, it is best to have a rough plan for your expenses, treat money rationally, and consume rationally. It should be noted that if you don’t have enough funds, don’t easily use scholarships or living expenses given by your parents, and don’t use your parents’ money to show off and compare yourself.