What can you do during a gap year?

What can you do during a gap year?

Taking a gap year can offer more than just time off to relax. With careful planning, it can be an intentionaltime dedicated to self-development and self-discovery. But with so many possibilities for how to spend yourgap year, how can you decide what’s right for you?

Travel Abroad

World travel is the most common goal among gap year participants. Traveling also goes hand in hand withanother important focus for many gap year participants: language study. There are many options for how tospend a gap year abroad. You can follow your own itinerary or go with a structured program.

Volunteer

79% of gap year participants do volunteer work during the year. Diverse volunteer opportunities abound bothabroad and at home in areas like conservation, education and health.

Work Abroad

Teaching English to children or adults and working as an au pair—a live-in nanny—are two popular ways toearn money while traveling the world. The hospitality industry also employs many working holiday-makers.

Learn a New Language

Speaking a foreign language can be a big plus on your resume, and what better way to improve your skillsthan by practicing all day, every day with native speakers?

Do an internship

If you are between high school and college, you may want to gain experience in your field of study. Or maybeyou’re wondering whether you made the right choice. A gap year can help you discover what it’s really like to work in your target industry. Internships, either at home or abroad, can offer a taste of professional life, butremember that many internships are unpaid.

1. Highlight what you understand.

2. Vocabulary. Use the context to make hypotheses about the meaning of the words in bold.

abroad: __________________________

self-development: ___________________________

to spend: ___________________________

to earn: ____________________________

foreign: _____________________________

3. Make a list of all the activities you can do during a gap year.

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