46. Foreign Students in USA

Welcome back to As It Is.

Today we will be talking about people who move to¹ the United States from other countries².

Some are immigrants who bring³ their traditions with them. On our show, we look at families from Latin American nations. Many of them celebrate⁴ a young woman’s quinceañera—that is, her 15th birthday⁵.

But first, we talk about foreign students⁶ in the United States. A new report says the government should⁷ make it easier⁸ for foreigners working toward⁹ high-level degrees¹⁰ to stay in the country.

Mario Ritter has this report from VOA’s Joe DeCapua.

The United States educates many foreign students, especially¹¹ in areas like science and engineering¹². But what do international students add¹³ to the country after they finish their study programs?

Three economists decided to investigate. The head of the team¹⁴ was Keith Maskus, a professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He says after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. made it much harder¹⁵ for students from some parts of the world to enter graduate programs¹⁶.

At the time, many American officials and educators warned¹⁷ that limiting foreign students would harm¹⁸ scientific development¹⁹ and innovation.

“And I thought²⁰, well, that’s very interesting, but do we really know if that’s true²¹?”

Professor Maskus worked on the study with Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak of Yale and Eric Stuen of the University of Idaho. The three men gathered data²²—a lot of data.

They studied over 75,000 Ph.D students in the top U.S. science and engineering universities from the late 1970s to the late 1990s²³.

They found²⁴ that diversity improved²⁵ productivity²⁶ and efficiency. In other words²⁷, a mix of American and foreign students made schools and workplaces²⁸ better and faster.

“It seems to have something to do²⁹ with the fact that networks³⁰ and laboratory sciences [are] really a function of how the graduate students and the post- doctoral³¹ students and everyone else³² can specialize in some element of science - and also the fact that their undergraduate³³ training and possibly some graduate training in whatever it is³⁴ - mathematics or bench³⁵ science or laboratory science - gives them different approaches³⁶ to thinking about problems.

"And when these people can get together³⁷ and bounce ideas ³⁸ off each other³⁹ the sort of outcome⁴⁰ of that is more dynamic intellectual process. And you get more ideas with having some diversity like that.”

Professor Maskus says his group’s findings⁴¹ suggest that the U.S. should change⁴² its policies toward⁴³ foreign students. Right now⁴⁴, students have to demonstrate that they or their family has enough money to pay⁴⁵ for their education, even if⁴⁶ schools offer aid⁴⁷.

He also says the government should make it easier⁴⁸ for foreign students to get⁴⁹ green cards so they can live permanently⁵⁰ in the United States.

He notes that⁵¹ countries like Canada and Australia let⁵² international students with Ph.Ds in science, technology or engineering become⁵³ permanent residents. But the United States requires⁵⁴ students who want to remain⁵⁵ in the country to find a local employer⁵⁶ who will give them a temporary visa⁵⁷.

VOCABULARY

1. move to = mudar-se para
2. from other countries = de outros países
3. bring = trazem
4. celebrate = comemoram
5. birthday = aniversário
6. foreign students = alunos estrangeiros
7. should = deveria
8. make it easier = tornar mais facil
9. toward = em direção a
10. high-level degrees = graus de alto nivel
11. especially = especialmente
12. engineering = engenharia
13. add = acrescentar
14. head of the team = lider da equipe
15. made it much harder = tornou mais dificil
16. graduate programs = programas de pós graduação
17. warned = alertaram
18. would harm = prejudicaria
19. development = desenvolvimento
20. thought = pensei
21. true = real, verdadeiro
22. gathered data = reuniram dados
23. late 1990s = final dos anos 90
24. found = descobriram
25. improved = melhoraram
26. productivity = produtividade
27. In other words = em outras palavras
28. workplaces = locais de trabalho
29. It seems to have something to do = parece ter algo a ver
30. networks = redes de trabalho
31. post- doctoral = pós doutorado
32. everyone else = qualquer outra pessoa
33. undergraduate = universitário
34. whatever it is = qualquer que seja
35. bench = bancada
36. approaches = abordagens
37. get together = reunir-se
38. bounce ideas = trocar idéias
39. each other = entre si, um com o outro
40. sort of outcome = tipo de resultado
41. findings = descobertas
42. should change = deveria mudar
43. policies toward = políticas com relação a
44. Right now = neste momento, agora
45. enough money to pay = dinheiro suficiente para pagar
46. even if = mesmo se
47. aid = ajuda
48. make it easier = tornar mais facil
49. get = obter, conseguir
50. live permanently = viver permanentemente
51. notes that = observa que
52. let = deixam
53. become = tornar-se
54. requires = exige
55. remain = permanecer
56. employer = empregador
57. temporary visa = visto temporario