- By Dr. Steven Byrd, Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese and Director of the Latin American Studies Minor at the University of New England In the early 21st-century, foreign language learning (and the humanities generally) in the United States has found itself on the defensive. Worrisome terms such as "crisis in the humanities" and "identity crisis" have been articulated in academic literature to describe the decline and apathy of language learning in the country. Ironically,… Read More
- Teachers of Critical Languages Program (TCLP) alumna Li Qiong was placed as a Mandarin teacher in Arizona in 2011. Since her return to China after her teacher exchange, she has facilitated a sister school program between her US and home school with two follow-up TCLP alumni grants focused on innovative international exchange. Li Qiong's 2015 project, Sister Schools Rising, shared Chinese language and culture and cemented the schools' partnership. In 2016, the China Education Association for… Read More
- The Boren Awards fund US undergraduate and graduate language study and research abroad in world regions critical to US national interests, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Boren Awards promote longer-term linguistic and cultural immersion overseas, and are available to applicants in most fields of study. The application for the 2017 Boren Awards is now open. Boren Awards will give preference to applicants planning to study in… Read More
- Today, 40 million American jobs are tied to international trade, and 95 percent of the world's consumers live outside of American borders. In 2014 alone, half-a-million job postings in the US called for multilingual candidates.Speaking another language enables unencumbered movement and exchange in an interconnected economy. Yet, only seven percent of today's college students are enrolled in a language course. Of those enrolled, Spanish… Read More
- Interest in study abroad is strong in Kyrgyzstan, as evidenced by high attendance at the International Education Fair held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan this past fall. The fair attracted 300 high school students, university students, and adults interested in pursuing education abroad. Attendees had the opportunity to receive individual consultations as well as to attend presentations on opportunities to study English, how to prepare for US university entrance exams, and how to apply for study abroad… Read More
- Ten alumni of the Future Leaders Exchange initiative (FLEX) from Kyrgyzstan were honored for their completion of the Exchanges to Internships Program this past September. The program selects a group of FLEX alumni each year to participate in internships with the Kyrgyz government. The program also celebrated its sixth year in Kyrgyzstan and its growing alumni community. At the ceremony, interns discussed the opportunities and challenges of working in government with potential future applicants… Read More
- The US Department of Education's Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) program awarded $240,840 to American Councils to provide scholarships to advanced undergraduate and graduate students of Russian and Persian participating in its semester programs in Moscow and Dushanbe.. American Councils will award a total of 36 scholarships 12 each per semester for spring 2017, fall 2017, and spring 2018 to participants in the Advanced Russian Language and Areas Studies Program (RLASP) in… Read More
- Nearly 90 percent of today's 20 million college undergraduates miss out on the opportunity to study abroad. That means, far too often, students do not receive the chance to develop global competencies and cross-cultural understanding. When 94 percent of US companies with international operations state a desire for a workforce with global competencies, there is a real missed opportunity at stake.As college and university faculty, you are on the front line of today's study abroad challenge; and… Read More
- In the stately Longworth House Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. where Congressional Representatives and their staff work and convene over 50 people gathered to attend a briefing held by the International Exchange and Study Caucus. The event focused on the importance of international exchange and study programs, particularly those sponsored by the US Department of State's Bureau of Intercultural and Educational Affairs (ECA). Coordinated by the Alliance for International Exchange… Read More
- At the Eastern-Europe FLEX-Ability Workshop in Kvareli, Georgia, 62 alumni of the Future Leaders of Exchange program known as FLEX gathered at the Ministry of Justice Training Center. Alumni representing the past nine years of the FLEX program travelled to the workshop from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine with a shared goal: take a community need and transform it into a social enterprise using entrepreneurial skills, technology, and STEAM techniques. (STEAM is science,… Read More
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