WHY STUDYING ENGLISH ABROAD IS USEFUL
It has been claimed that studying English in an English-speaking country is very useful and more efficient than studying it on books. I agree with this opinion. Indeed there are several reasons which support it.
First of all, if you live for a period in a foreign country, you are compelled to try to speak its language. You can put your language skills to test and improve them. On the contrary, if you try to speak a foreign language in your country, you can always resort to your mother tongue to communicate difficult concepts. And even if you speak to a foreign non-English-speaking person in English you are not sure that the language you speak is correct. Besides, in a foreign country you train primarily your speaking skills, while in your home country you mainly exercise your reading and writing ones. In this way, a travel to an English-speaking country is essential to practice and balance your abilities.
But in a foreign country you not only learn how to translate concepts and thoughts into English, but also how to express them in an English way. One of the most difficult things when learning a language is to think in the same way of an English speaker. Indeed people tend to translate concepts directly from their own language without taking into consideration the English mentality. If you stay a long time in an English-speaking country, you will gradually assimilate it. Moreover, by understanding the foreign language you will reflect also on your own language through the comparison between the two mentalities.
The immersion itself in an English-speaking country helps you learn the language. You are encouraged to find other people to talk with; therefore, the learning process is speeded up.
However, a specification is necessary: you will learn the language efficiently only if you have studied some basic notions previously. Otherwise, one will rarely reach high levels of command of the language.
One may object that travelling to another country and living in it are expensive, or too laborious. But these objections are only partially sensible. Indeed, it is true that the travel and the stay are expensive, but if one really wants to learn the language, he or she can find a job to earn the necessary money (economical situation permitting). In any case, it is an investment for one's future. As far as the second objection, any activity and any improvement require willpower and effort.
In conclusion, studying a language in its native country is extremely useful, if not necessary to learn it well. This is especially true with the English language, because it has become the international language and nowadays it is essential to speak it.