FAQs
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What is the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y)?
NSLI for Youth is part of a broader government- wide Presidential initiative that prepares American citizens to be leaders in a global world. Now more than ever, it is important that Americans have the necessary linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to promote international dialogue, support American engagement abroad, and attain better understanding of global cultures and issues. NSLI-Y encourages a lifetime of language study and cultural understanding by supporting K-12, undergraduate, graduate and professional language programs for languages that traditionally have not been taught in the United States.
Why is it called The National Security Language Initiative?
From the NSLI-Y perspective, national security is a human endeavor that seeks to understand different cultures and to identify with the diverse lives of people around the world in order to make sound decisions that promote the welfare of the United States and the global community. To that end, NSLI-Y promotes the learning of the most important tool we have for creating the human connections that allow for understanding between cultures– language. By speaking the language of another culture, we are able to participate in the conversations and dialogues necessary to understand the world view and life experience of people in the international community. This cultural understanding helps us to work in partnership with the rest of the world in order to solve shared problems and promote mutual understanding.
What are some of the benefits of committing to one-year of language study abroad?
A year studying language overseas will accelerate your language acquisition, improve your academic skills and opportunities, and transform your life. Language students who immerse themselves for a year in a language and culture rapidly advance toward acquiring fluency and becoming bilingual. Sustained contact with native speakers and uninterrupted practice - using language to accomplish daily routines, participate in conversations, and make formal arguments - over an extended period of time are the proven methods for acquiring a second “first-language.” If you aspire to make your second language second nature, the year-long language program provides the extended and sustained linguistic and cultural immersion you need.
Studying a language for one-year overseas has numerous academic benefits. When you learn a second language you will be better prepared for the verbal sections of standardized tests, such as ACT and SAT, as well as improving your general reading and writing skills. Furthermore, knowing a second language and having extensive overseas cultural experience enhances your college application. Universities and colleges generally rank bilingual and culturally experienced students higher on college applications. What is more, your language skills will increase the number of research materials you can access. You will be able to draw from foreign language resources to conduct your research and bolster your arguments in seminar papers and articles written for publication. In short, the scope and breadth of your academic community expands when you can speak a foreign language at a professional level. So participating in a year-long language program is an excellent way to distinguish yourself from the rest of the college application pool and advance your academic career.
Why should I study abroad for a semester?
You might chose to study in a semester-long program rather than an academic year program because you are interested in having a partial year at your home high school and prefer to be away for a shorter period of time.
You should consider participating in a three- to five-month semester immersion program because this program length will provide you with a sustained opportunity to develop your language skills, use them on a daily basis in different settings, challenge your cultural sensitivities by giving you a prolonged experience away from your familiar U.S. environment -- and sufficient time to get beyond culture shock and homesickness that you might experience -- to thrive in an initially unfamiliar but increasingly familiar overseas setting. By spending three to five months in an overseas language immersion program, you will have the opportunity to set yourself on a path of lifetime language learning and commitment; you will have a unique experience to bolster your applications for higher education; you will prove to yourself that you have the commitment it takes to master another language.
As a participant in a semester NSLI-Y program, you will receive half-day in-class language instruction that focuses on language structure, pronunciation, and vocabulary building. There will be opportunities for direct tutoring and presentations on the host country’s culture and history. During your semester, you will develop and complete a project of your choosing that might include social/community service, environmental awareness, educational outreach and/or cultural interchange. As you conduct your project you will be interacting with host country nationals, thereby increasing your contact with native speakers in topically-focused conversations that facilitate vocabulary practice as well as general fluency in the language.
Why should I study abroad for a summer?
Unlike the academic year and semester programs, a six to eight week intensive introduction to a language with which you have had little or no previous formal instruction or for which you want to enhance already acquired language skills is an opportunity for exposure without the additional challenges of an extended absence from your home school, your friends, your family and your home country. However a shorter summer program will still provide you with many of the same opportunities as do the longer-term programs like the chance to learn in both a formal classroom setting as well as through regular interaction with host country nationals.
What is covered by the scholarship?
NSLI-Y scholarships cover all program costs, including round-trip travel between the participant’s city of official residence and the NSLI-Y program’s host city; tuition and related academic preparation, support and testing; educational and cultural activities; pre-departure and re-entry orientations; applicable visa fees; and room and board consisting of three basic meals per day; accommodations, preferably in a host family environment; and Accident and Sickness Program for Exchanges (ASPE) health benefits.
What is not covered by the scholarship?
NSLI-Y does not cover costs associated with obtaining a valid U.S. passport, or required medical examinations and immunizations. Participants will be responsible for the amount of pocket money needed for their personal and incidental expenses during the NSLI-Y program.
May I travel on my own before, during and/or after the program?
Non-program travel while on the NSLI-Y scholarship is limited. All participants must travel to and from their overseas host location together. All reservations for such travel will be made by the sponsoring organization. The organization will host a mandatory pre-departure orientation in the United States as well as a closing workshop in the host country prior to a participant’s return to the United States.
Emergency travel out of the host country will be considered on a case-by-case basis and must be approved in advance by the in-country organization, the NSLI-Y Consortium and ECA.
Where will I live?
It is anticipated that all participants in the three NSLI-Y program formats (summer, semester and academic year) will live with host families in a homestay situation. It is the NSLI-Y Consortium’s responsibility as well as that of the program organizations and affiliated organizations to identify and screen qualified and well-motivated host families for NSLI-Y participants. In some cases, where homestays are not possible or sufficiently numerous, participants may be housed in dormitory-type environments with adult resident supervision. In situations where dormitory housing is provided sponsoring organizations will seek week-end homestay opportunities.
Homestays are viewed as a fundamental component of the NSLI-Y language learning experience because they provide a natural environment in which to learn and use everyday language. They also minimize the effects of culture shock. The immersion experience for language learners to live with a host family expands the cultural context in which language learning takes place and provides a window into the lives, perspectives and practices of the host country’s citizens.
Participants are matched to home-stays based on their answers to the “placement information” as well as other parts of the NSLI-Y application. Host families are required to provide three basic meals a day, transportation to school and program-related activities and ensure that each NSLI-Y participant has his/her own bed (although not necessary his/her own room). Host families will be bound by the CSIET (Council on Standards for International Educational Travel; visit: http://www.csiet.org/) Standards for International Travel Programs and all placements will be confirmed in writing prior to the participant’s arrival in the host country.
What will I do on a regular basis?
Language instruction will be provided in both formal and informal settings. While teaching conversational language skills to help participants cope with their immersion setting, classes will also focus on formal instruction in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, and will cover reading, speaking, listening, and writing. Classes will target beginning, intermediate and advanced language learners, as appropriate.
All NSLI-Y participants will study their respective languages for at least 20 hours per week five days per week for summer institute participants and half days of language instruction for participants on semester and academic year programs.
In addition, participants will have opportunities for volunteerism and community service in order to expand their language use as well as their first-hand cultural knowledge and experience. These volunteer and community service activities, which will engage host country peers as much as possible, will be designed to teach about community life, citizen participation and the culture and history of the host country. Programs will feature weekly cultural excursions to closely support the language program.
Will there be language examinations?
Standardized pre-institute testing in the targeted language will be used to determine proficiency for placement purposes. Post-institute testing will be used to measure performance. Short-term summer students will be evaluated using techniques developed for short-term intensive language learning while semester and academic year students will take a pre-and post-program Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) test by phone or, preferably, in person to assess their language level. Semester and academic year students will also undergo mid-term testing. Concordia Language Villages, one of the Consortium members, will provide a Linguafolio assessment portfolio to organize learning artifacts and to bridge pre- and post-program language tests. Language tests are conducted in order to ensure goals of the program are being met.
In addition to language evaluations conducted by the sponsoring organization, the U.S. Department of State’s Educational and Cultural Affairs Office of Policy and Evaluation will conduct three sets of evaluations of the NSLI-Y programs through E-GOALS, its online system for surveying program participants and collecting data about program performance. Required by the 1993 Government Performance Results Act (GPRA), E-GOALS will measure NSLI-Y results against pre-determined performance goals and objectives. The first survey will be conducted prior to departure; the second will be administered shortly after the participant returns; and the last survey is distributed six months to one year after the conclusion of the participant’s program. Participation in all three surveys is required. The surveys are confidential, anonymous and used only for evaluative purposes.
Will I receive credit at my home institution?
Neither the Department of State nor the grantee Consortium can guarantee that a participant’s home high school will award credit for participation in a NSLI-Y program. It is recommended that any applicant/participant who is concerned about obtaining credit for program participation consult in advance with the appropriate high school and/or school district counselor as well as with the American Councils to determine in advance whether credit for the program is possible.
How do I keep up my interest in and study of my NSLI-Y foreign language?
Once you return from your NSLI-Y overseas experience, you may be able to continue your language learning at your high school. You can consider applying for another NSLI-Y program that will offer coursework at a higher level than you just completed or for a longer period of time. If you are still a high school student and you want an intensive domestic foreign language experience, visit http://www.startalk.umd.edu/. If you are applying to university, please visit http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/ to learn about the Department of Defense’s Flagship language programs that provide U.S. Government scholarships at particular U.S. universities, http://www.fulbright.state.gov/ to learn about Fulbright scholarships, https://clscholarship.org/home.php to learn about intensive summer language institutes for university level students, and https://apps.americancouncils.org/webForms/?frmno=23 for information about foreign language summer study opportunities for teachers. Foreign Service careers at the U.S. Department of State are among the professional options you might consider in the long-term. For information about the Foreign Service exam and Foreign Service careers, visit http://www.careers.state.gov/
DEFINITIONS:
Program Organizations – The NSLI-Y Consortium will contract with other organizations to carry out some of the summer programming overseas. These organizations will be chosen through a competitive bid process and will receive subcontracts from the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS to carry out programs overseas.
Affiliated Organizations – Members of the NSLI-Y Consortium and other program organizations may work with organizations and partners overseas to implement this program. These organizations may be separately incorporated under the laws of the country in which they are located. They are generally not under the direct supervision of the NSLI-Y Consortium or program organizations. They are contracted specifically for the purpose of carrying out the NSLI-Y program and are responsible by contract for providing specific services, which are supervised by the NSLI-Y Consortium or program organizations.