• Ask Your Senators to Support Abraham Lincoln Legislation
• The TESOL position paper on immigration reform. (pdf)
• Important Senate Bills to support language education
• Appropriations that may support language education
• Important legislation in the House of Representatives
• The Language Profession's Response to the National Security Language Initiative
• S3744 - The Abraham Lincoln initiative which would fund study abroad for needy and worthy students

Important:

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;
Diversify study abroad participation so that America's ethnic and socio-economic diversity is reflected abroad;
Promote the diversification of the study abroad experience, including increased study in nontraditional locations, particularly in developing countries, and increased study abroad in underrepresented fields such as mathematics, physical science and business;
Create an innovative partnership between the federal government and higher education to dramatically expand participation by U.S. undergraduates in study abroad programs;
Be accessible to students at diverse types of institutions, including 2-year institutions, minority serving institutions, and institutions that serve nontraditional students;
and Improve the internationalization of campuses and prepare higher education for current and future globalization.

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
FLAVA Advocacy Chair

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Important Senate Bills to support language education:

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:
4646 40th Street NW
Suite 310
Washington, DC 20016

Phone: 202-966-8477

Fax: 202-966-8310

info@languagepolicy.org
  or
programs@languagepolicy.org

http://www.languagepolicy.org/

S.2450
Title: A bill to strengthen national security by encouraging and assisting in the expansion and improvement of educational programs in order to meet critical needs at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen Akaka, Daniel K. [HI] (introduced 3/16/2006)

Cosponsors (2) Sen Cochran, Thad [MS]

Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] - 3/16/2006.

Latest Major Action: 3/16/2006 Referred to Senate committee.

Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S. 3502 New National Defense Education Act of 2006

Earlier this summer, Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), ranking member of the Senate HELP committee, introduced a bill entitled “New National Defense Education Act of 2006” (S.3502). This piece of legislation proposes to modernize the education system in the United States and provide students with “21st century knowledge and skills in order to preserve the economic and national security” of the country (CRC Summary). Specifically, the New National Defense Education Act will amend numerous pieces of previous legislation to provide grants and funding incentives for states, teachers, and students in an attempt to raise the quality of education in the U.S. These grants focus on improvement of standards for teachers and students in the areas of math, reading, science, and foreign languages and cultures. In terms of higher education, the bill proposes to increase student loan forgiveness for elementary and secondary school teachers of science, engineering and technology education, critical-need foreign languages, or special education, and to improve teacher recruitment in these fields for institutions of higher education through competitive grants. The bill requires the development of summer institutes to improve teachers’ awareness and knowledge of foreign languages and cultures as well.

To see S.3502 please visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas/

Appropriations that may support language education

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.

Important legislation in the House of Representatives:

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

Title: To strengthen the national security through the expansion and improvement of foreign language study, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] (introduced 1/4/2005)

CoSponsors (64): To date 64 representatives have signed on as co-sponsors including Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia.

Latest Major Action: 2/9/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Education Reform

A Response to the National Security Language Initiative by the Language Profession

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.

• The Place of Language Education: While NSLI focuses on languages currently critical for national security, there is a critical need for all languages. Strong language skills are needed domestically, as well as for interacting with the rest of the world in commerce, diplomacy and peace keeping, and scientific and cultural exchange. A quality, world-class education requires that foreign languages be a core academic subject for all students, offering varied instructional models with multiple entry points throughout the curricular sequence. Learning foreign languages prepares students for global understanding and living in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual world. Study of and through another language provides essential communication skills, and enhances learning through improved cognitive development, transferable reading skills, reinforcement of other subject areas, cultural literacy and sensitivity, and tolerance for diversity.
• The Need for Lengthy Learning Sequences: Acquiring a superior level of language competence (i.e., an ILR rating of 3 or higher) needed for our national competitiveness requires long sequences of study. Beginning language study early and continuing such study in extended instructional sequences with established and commonly agreed upon benchmarks provides one of the best opportunities for students to achieve proficiency, and also enhances potential success in acquiring additional languages. It is never too early or too late to begin a properly-sequenced course of language study.
• The Need for Qualified Teachers: Languages must be taught by teachers who are not only fluent in the language but also pedagogically qualified. The teacher shortage in all languages must be addressed in a proactive manner. To create a cadre of high quality teachers in both commonly and less-commonly taught languages requires a solid infrastructure for professional preparation, major incentives in teacher recruitment, and ongoing professional development. The development of innovative teacher training and certification programs is particularly crucial for teacher development in the less-commonly taught languages.
• Language Study and Cultural Immersion Abroad: Study abroad and educational exchanges are highly valuable cultural experiences, and opportunities for such study should be available to every student, teacher and administrator. As a setting for language acquisition, study abroad is most effective when offered in a context that provides pre- and post-travel language study.
• Support for Heritage Speakers: Heritage language speakers should be provided the opportunity to develop high levels of competence in their native languages as well as in English. With their existing proficiency in languages other than English, heritage language communities in the U.S. offer a rich source of candidates for programs leading to superior levels of language ability in both languages. Study of all heritage languages, critical and otherwise, offers invaluable language learning experience and cultural insight.

This is also available in pdf format.

S3744 - The Abraham Lincoln initiative which would fund study abroad for needy and worthy students

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.
Asst. Prof. and Director of International Programs
Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages
Hampton University
Hampton, Virginia 23668
757-728-6922