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FLAVA ADVOCACY PAGE
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ACTION ALERT: Ask Your Senators to Support Abraham Lincoln Legislation Dear FLAVA members: The Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Act of 2006, introduced on Wednesday, July 26, by Senators Durbin and Coleman, offers a historic opportunity to ensure that future generations of Americans are prepared with international skills and knowledge. As we all know, funding for study abroad offers students an important way to develop their language skills. Coupled with other pending legislation that specifically supports the study of languages, this legislation opens an important door to international awareness. Please contact your senators and express your support today. The main goals of the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Program are to dramatically increase the number of U.S. students studying abroad, and help make study abroad opportunities more diverse in terms of participants, fields of study, and destinations, especially in the developing world. The legislation will: Give more U.S. students the opportunity to participate in
quality study abroad programs; Take action TODAY! Contact your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Act of 2006, which will benefit our nation, our campuses, and our classrooms by having more U.S. students visiting the countries whose languages they are studying and understanding more about the rest of the world. Remember to add personal stories about your students to your letter. [Information furnished by NAFSA, Association of International Educators] Ann Moore
The following information comes from the Joint National Committee for Languages and the National Council for Language and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS) http://www.languagepolicy.org. In May, your FLAVA representative visited the offices of Senators Allen and Warner to discuss these important initiatives and to request their support. Please contact the senators' offices to express your support for these Important Senate bills.
For further information about JNCLS-NCLIS:
info@languagepolicy.org
S.2450
Sponsor: Sen Akaka, Daniel K. [HI] (introduced 3/16/2006)
S. 3502 New National Defense Education Act of 2006
Click here (pdf) for the Appropriations Chart for Education Programs for 2007, showing the amounts requested for all programs. Please express your appreciation to our elected representatives for their continued support of language education. Please emphasize to them how important it is to support all language education! Many students who successfully begin the study of a widely taught language go on to become experts in another, critical langauge. We need to give a strong head-start in languages to Virginia's young people by supporting language study in general.
The following House Bill, introduced in 2005, is still before the subcommittee. Several of Virginia's representatives are interested in federal support for critical languages. Encourage your representatives to take an interest in support for all language education by looking at this bill, which to date has been co-sponsored by 64 members of the House of Representatives.
H.R.115
The Joint National Committee for Languages and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL/NCLIS) are composed of sixty-four member organizations representing approximately 200,000 language educators and professionals. JNCL/NCLIS members deal with the languages taught, studied and used in the United States including the commonly taught and less-commonly taught languages, English to Speakers of Other Languages, American Sign Language, the classics and bilingual education. Our member organizations are involved across all educational levels (Pre-K to adult learners) and are engaged in teaching, research, translation and interpretation, distance learning/computer-assisted instruction, materials development, assessment, student and faculty exchanges, and study abroad, among other areas. JNCL/NCLIS applauds the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) and the President's efforts to increase language capability in our country. NSLI is an encouraging beginning for establishing a broad, meaningful language policy to put the U.S. on equal footing with other nations. This Initiative enhances our national security, economic competitiveness, international understanding, and educational excellence. JNCL/NCLIS and our members stand ready to support and assist in the implementation of the policies and efforts of the NSLI. We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to create, shape and implement programs that will make NSLI and future endeavors in language education successful. In this regard, we would note that the success of NSLI will depend upon all those involved agreeing on a few guiding principles.
This is also available in pdf format.
Dear colleagues: I have received an alert that the time has come to contact our senators and ask them to co-sponsor S3744. This is the Abraham Lincoln initiative which would fund study abroad for needy and worthy students. NAFSA, Association of International Educators, reminds us that the most effective letters speak of success stories about our students. Here is some more information: "To date, 10 Senators have signed on as co-sponsors. To see the list of those who have signed on, please visit the NAFSA website. In an effort to gain more bi-partisan support for this bill, we ask you to contact your Senators TODAY and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor to S. 3744! As a constituent, your letters of support will reinforce the Dear Colleague letter sent by Senators Durbin and Coleman, and further encourage your Senators to sign on. If you have already written a letter to your Senators on this bill, there is no need to send a second letter however, you can encourage your colleagues, friends and family to send a letter to their Senators. To access a sample letter, please visit the Take Action Page. When writing your letter, remember the most effective letters are those that are personalized with information about you and your students. Please add a brief story as to how this has impacted your life or the life of your students." Please join me in contacting our senators to express support for this important initiative. It will be a tremendous incentive for students of language to know that scholarships for study abroad are available. It adds prestige to our profession and encourages students to go further with their language study. Best wishes, Ann
Ann M. Moore, Ph.D.
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