A report on working abroad

A report on working abroad

Learn how to write a report on working abroad.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

Reading text

The principal of a local college has asked you to write a report on the advantages and disadvantages of working abroad in the summer holidays. She would like to know if the college should recommend 'working holidays' to its students.

A report on students' experiences of working abroad

Introduction

Currently, approximately 25 per cent of Hawthorne College students work abroad during the summer break. This report aims to show the benefits and drawbacks of working overseas in order to decide whether the college should recommend the experience to its students.

To prepare for this report, a sample of 100 students were interviewed, 23 of whom had worked abroad. This is a summary of their comments.

Benefits

According to the students interviewed, working overseas during the summer holidays can bring several benefits. Most of all, students can improve their foreign language skills by working in a non-English speaking country. This may help them get a better job in the future. Additionally, learning about a different culture and way of life makes people more open-minded. A further advantage is that students may become more confident when they learn practical skills to help them live independently later in life, for example, finding accommodation and cooking for themselves.

Drawbacks

However, a large number of interviewees mentioned drawbacks as well. Students who need to study over the summer will find it difficult to do so while working abroad. Most significant of all are finance issues: only a minority of students are able to afford travel expenses, accommodation and visas. In addition, students may have to take low-income jobs if they are not fluent in the local language, so they may struggle to cover their expenses.

Conclusion and recommendation

Working abroad may improve students' language skills and confidence. However, students often need to earn money during the holidays to support their studies and working abroad may not provide the opportunity to save. Also, the cost of travel means that only students who are able to afford it have the chance to do this. Therefore, the college should only recommend working abroad if there is financial support from the college for students that need it.

Tips

  1. The basic structure of a report is usually the same:
    • Introduction (including the purpose of the report and how the data was collected)
    • Findings (including benefits and drawbacks if appropriate)
    • Conclusion and recommendations.
  2. Use headings for each section.
  3. Use formal vocabulary (e.g. Currently, ... in order to ... Therefore, ...) to give the report a formal style.
  4. The ideas and conclusions should be objective. Use non-personal subjects (e.g. This report aims to … ) and passive structures (e.g. 100 students were interviewed).
  5. You can also use may to show that something is not certain (e.g. This may help them get a better job in the future).

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Discussion

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Average: 4.8 (8 votes)
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Submitted by pika1171 on Mon, 19/02/2024 - 15:38

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I think the best way of learning an other language is to move to another country. For the students, there is a program called "Erasmus", which is, in my opinion, a good way to learn another language.
It gives the student the opportunity not only to speak another language but also to learn about the way of life of the country, meet new people, discover new food and beverage.
But sometimes, this program can be very expensive. Not only for the travel but also when we are there, for example: Norway or the Scandinavian countries are very expensive and it can be a drawback for people with a low budget.
So, as mentioned in the text above, working or learning abroad can be interesting if the learner or worker gets some help from the school or office

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Submitted by PWRKathrine12 on Fri, 15/09/2023 - 04:59

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Thank you for making this

Submitted by Ensiye on Wed, 13/09/2023 - 20:23

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Would you like to work abroad during your holidays?

my answer to this question is by all means. I'm interested in experiencing new things especially if it makes me step out of my comfort zone. Such a kind of situation reveals our inner potential which we wouldn't know we had.

It definitely causes me to encounter a lot of new things like language, country, culture, customs, and so on. Even many ordinary things such as How to use vehicles, or where to buy the things I need.

In my opinion, moving to a new country or continent is like we were born again. we have to start learning a lot of things again. This process may be a bit annoying but it is worth it. It makes a new version of us.

Submitted by SaadAli_ on Tue, 04/04/2023 - 23:27

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I don't think it's a good idea, I currently don't find it interesting honestly. I would love to spend the holiday by keep studying and spend it with my family also I may not be able to cover the expenses. Therefore, I dont think it's a good idea for me.

Submitted by jairsaldivar on Sun, 26/03/2023 - 12:04

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I had the opportunity to live in another country where English is its main language. I wasn't able to speak any english before that, indeed I had been thinking I would never speak english. Well, currently I´m not fluent in english but at least I was able to have a job interview in english and got the job I wanted.

Submitted by Andrew Thomasam on Mon, 24/10/2022 - 14:39

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I think the government and universities, college should support to the students who want to work abroad as volunteers. They should give scholarships to students for working abroad and studying communications skills, language skills and other social skills.

Submitted by orhantorun on Sun, 21/08/2022 - 18:30

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Yes, I would love to work abroad during holidays, but there are some things for me to consider. First, I must plan my schedule well as I have to study on holidays as well; there must be some time allowed to study. Second, I have to buy the tickets and reserve the accommodation in advance to get a discount since I'm not in a good financial state. On top of all of that, working overseas on holiday is really beneficial. It gives me the opportunity to broaden my view, which is a skill that can be gained by reading books, but experiencing yourself -directly- is much better as most books are biased, naturally. Plus, I broaden my connections which brings me more readers -for my studies- and I think will provide more job opportunities in the future.

Submitted by orhantorun on Sat, 13/08/2022 - 17:54

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Hello, why isn't there an article, 'the' before 'students' in the sentence 'Therefore, the college should only
recommend working abroad if there is financial support from the college for students that
need it.' ? The writer mentions a specific group of students.

Hello orhantorun,

You could use an article here. If you say 'the students that need it' then you are clearly talking about a specific group of students in a specific case. If, on the other hand, you do not use an article then you are making a more general statement which applies not only to these students and this situation but to students in general now (this group) and in the future. In other words, if there is no article then you are discussing a general rule rather than a one-off situation.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team