Each year about a quarter of a million Americans study abroad. For many of them, a summer or a semester in a foreign country now involves more than just sitting in classrooms and hanging out with other American students. Instead, they are encouraged and sometimes required to be involved in the local communities they are studying in. 

"It's ly important that they know something about how people in other parts of the world live and think, and how they behave," says William Finlay, head of the sociology department at the University of Georgia. In 2008, he co-founded a study abroad program with South Africa's Stellenbosch University. It combines traditional academic in-class learning with community involvement. 

"We've been working with a non-government organization in the township. Our students typically either work with little children in day care centers or work in the library and teach very basic computer skills to young children," says Finlay. 

The three-week program proved to be an unforgettable experience for Hillary Kinsey. She says, "It was interesting to learn the history of the area and then talk to these people and see what the social dynamics were, and how certain groups felt about other groups." 

When Hillary Kinsey returned home from South Africa, she and other students in the program established a non-profit group. Kinsey says the group wants to contribute to advancing education and development in South Africa. "One of the purposes of the group is that we hope to raise money and awareness about the situation where those people live and help to promote any sort of educational development that we can, " Kinsey added. 

While many study abroad programs focus on helping Americans to learn foreign languages, others take a more intensive approach. "In all of our locations, we place students with local roommates," says Mark Lenhart, director of CEF Academic Programs, which sends more than a thousand students to China, Korea and other countries each year. 

He says American students benefit from such one-on-one interactions, in spite of the challenges they face. Lenhart says, "They have to adjust to the local life. This will enable students to become more employable when they graduate." QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. What is it important for student to learn, according to William Finlay?
2. William Finlay believes that it is important for students to learn what?
3. 
Q2:
1. What is the type of program that the students are participating in?
2. The students are participating in what kind of program?
3. 
Q3:
1. The students are participating at what level in the study abroad program?
2. What is the level at which the students are participating in the study abroad program?
3. 
Q4:
1. What is the name of the program that sends students to Asian countries?
2. Students are sent to Asian countries by which program?
3. 
Q5:
1. What is the name of the person that runs the South African program?
2. The South African program is run by which person?
3. 
Q6:
1. William Finlay works at which school?
2. Which academic institution does William Finlay work at?
3. 
Q7:
1. In what year was the program founded in South Africa?
2. The South African program was founded in what year?
3. 
Q8:
1. How many American students go abroad to learn every year?
2. What is the number of American students that study abroad yearly?
3. 
Q9:
1. What do the American students do when the go abroad in order to learn?
2. What do American students learn when the go to study in other countries?
3. 
Q10:
1. What is the name of the university where the study abroad program takes place in South Africa?
2. The study abroad program in South Africa takes place in which university?
3. 
