Opening Doors Through Language

The attached is a March 8 Washington Post editorial from Maura Pally who is the acting Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Pally discusses the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program, administered by American Councils for International Education and is funded by the U.S. State Department. NSLI-Y will provide 140 scholarships to American high school students to study Russian language in Russia in 2010-2011 with 450 scholarships allocated among other languages. Pally also goes on to stress that "foreign language skills and the inter-cultural awareness they bring pave the way for mutual understanding and better relations".

Opening doors through language

Grant Application Available for Educational Seminars Alumni

Apply for an Alumni Grant from Educational Seminars!

All past participants of these short-term educational exchanges are eligible to apply for these grants to strengthen the connections made while on program and further the goals of Educational Seminars.
Deadline for the first round is March 29, 2010

Click Here to View the Grant Application

Cross cultural exchange: Chinese teacher adapts and thrives in Swain County

"After making the journey to Western North Carolina from China, Niu Jun discovered Bryson City was nothing like she imagined.
Driving through the town of about 1,300, a confused Niu Jun asked, “Bryson City? Where’s the city?”

Foreign Languages Fade in Class — Except Chinese

"WASHINGTON — Thousands of public schools stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade, according to a government-financed survey — dismal news for a nation that needs more linguists to conduct its global business and diplomacy...The State Department has paid for a smaller program — the Teachers of Critical Languages Program — to bring Chinese teachers to schools here, with each staying for a year."

Chinese teachers, program receive positive eval

The warm welcome Willmar extended to a visiting Chinese teacher Bai Jinguo has been noticed by the Teachers of Critical Languages Program.

JFDP Orientation at the University of Kansas Kicks Off 2009-2010 Fellowship

January 4, 2010 marked the beginning of the 2009-2010 Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP), with the start of an orientation at the University of Kansas (KU) in Lawrence, Kansas. The JFDP Orientation was hosted for a fourth year by KU’s Office of International Programs, and served as the first opportunity to gather 68 JFDP Fellows from 15 countries across Eurasia and Southeastern Europe: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Educational Seminars: Exchanges for Teachers and Principals

The Educational Seminars program invites educators from around the country to apply for fully-funded, short-term exchanges with Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico!

The Educational Seminars program is fully funded through grants from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), Department of State. The exchanges are from 2 to 3 weeks in duration and take place during the summer and focus on sharing best practices and professional development.

The deadline to apply is March 31, 2010.

A Community Connections Success Story

Dr. Gafur Komilov, a participant of the Community Connections program , which offers homestay-based practical training opportunities in the U.S. for entrepreneurs, local government officials, legal professionals, non-governmental organization leaders and other professionals, discusses his experience.

NSLI-Y students met State Department Officials

Participants on the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program in Kazan, Russia, recently met with Under Secretary of State for Public Relations Judith McHale. The meeting was held in conjunction with a conference for teachers, FLEX alumni, and administrators as a part of the US-Russia Presidential Bilateral Commission and Working Group. The conference, focusing on bilateral educational initiatives and held at the American Center in Moscow, gave the NSLI-Y participants an excellent chance to mingle with FLEX alumni, diplomats working at the American Embassy, and teachers from across Russia.

Outbound Photo Contest Winner Selected

The results of the Outbound Department's Fall 2009 Photo Contest are in! Join us in congratulating Joely Hildebrand for her wonderful picture of a street artist in Suzdal. Joely, a junior at American University, is currently studying Russian in Vladimir, Russia as part of the Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP).