Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

CITIZEN EXCHANGES –
YOUTH PROGRAMS DIVISION
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National Security Language Initiative (NSLI)

The National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) is a multi-agency U.S. Government initiative designed to increase the foreign language proficiency of Americans.  NSLI programs are sponsored by the Department of Education, Department of Defense, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the U.S. Department of State. A complete description of the inter-agency NSLI program can be found at:
http://exchanges.state.gov/NSLI/fact_sheet.htm

The Department of State, through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), is providing scholarships and programs for American teachers and graduate and undergraduate university students as well as high school students to study critical languages. A complete description of ECA programs within NSLI is available at:
http://exchanges.state.gov/NSLI/state.htm

ECA’s Youth Programs Office currently supports six summer intensive language training “institutes” for high school students and the program will be expanded. The goals of NSLI-Y programs are to:

1. Improve the ability of Americans to engage with the people of China, India, Korea, Russia, Turkey, and the Arab world;
2. Develop a cadre of Americans with advanced linguistic skills and cultural understanding to advance the international dialogue, promote the security of the United States, and compete effectively in the global economy; and
3. Provide tangible incentives for the learning and use of foreign languages.

Summer Language Institutes for American Youth
The Summer Language Institutes for American Youth are designed to support the participation of youth in intensive, substantive educational exchange opportunities that promote language learning as well as engage the successor generation in a dialogue for a greater understanding. The target languages for Summer Language Institute for American Youth are Chinese and Arabic, and the program offers American teenagers the opportunity to learn through intensive language and cultural studies overseas.

In 2006, 46 American students participated in the inaugural year of the Summer Language Institutes.  Students studied either Chinese in Beijing, China or Arabic in Cairo, Egypt and Amman, Jordan. Students live with local host families and take language classes throughout the course of these summer programs.  In 2007, 125 American students studied Chinese in Beijing and Shanghai, China and Arabic in Cairo, Egypt, Amman, Jordan, and Marrakesh, Morocco and in 2008, more than 150 students will participate. 

In 2009, the program will expand to include Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Indic, Korean, Russian, and Turkish languages, and will include short-term, semester, and academic year programs.  Information for organizations interested in applying to administer the 2009 program will be available at:  http://exchanges.state.gov/education/rfgps/menu.htm

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