IFLE Celebrates International Education Week 2015
The International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) Office and the International Affairs Office (IAO) of the U.S. Department of Education celebrated International Education Week 2015 with a variety of events highlighting the importance of advancing access to global education for all.
The week's featured event was "EDTalks: Access & International Education", a showcase of short and dynamic talks from 9 leading thinkers in the world of international education. Co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of State, this event held on November 18th was an opportunity to think about big ideas affecting and influencing the field of international education.
Chris Plutte from Global Nomads Group and Waidehi Gokhale from Soliya spoke on using technology and virtual exchanges to connect students of different nationalities with the goal of developing deeper intercultural and interpersonal understanding across the globe. Georgetown University's Anthony Arend and Montgomery College's Sharon Fechter talked about the importance of giving all postsecondary students the chance to receive a high-quality international education, whether they choose to stay at home or study abroad. On a similar note, Fiora MacPherson from Student Language Exchange reminded the audience that intercultural experiences can happen anywhere thanks to the abundance of international students and people from around the globe living right here in the U.S.; it's easy to find intercultural experiences on our own doorstep if we can just remember to look. Diversity Abroad President Andrew Gordon challenged institutions, organizations, and society as a whole to create long-term, sustainable solutions for providing students of all backgrounds with a global education. Ann Cody from the U.S. Department of State's SportsUnited and former Fulbright Scholar and Member of the Fulbright Board Christie Gilson shared big ideas on advancing disability rights in international education, emphasizing that persons with disabilities can not only participate in study and travel abroad, but are in fact well positioned to lead thanks to their unique life experiences, adaptability, and other skills. Finally, Peace Corps Innovation Fellow Courtney Clark shared the Department of State's MapGive project, which offers students the chance to learn about world geography while making meaningful contributions through open mapping technology. All of the speakers offered unique perspectives on access and encouraged the audience to think out of the box to find new solutions for international education in the 21st century.
In addition to EDTalks, IFLE and IAO organized a number of other events to celebrate IEW 2015, including: a briefing on student mobility among APEC economies; a screening of "Beyond the Wall", a documentary film following four D.C. public high school students on a study abroad trip to China; a webinar featuring the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad program; and a Twitter #globaledchat with the Peace Corps and Asia Society on the theme of advancing access to global education opportunities for all.
IFLE thanks everyone who collaborated to make International Education Week 2015 a success. We'll see you again next year!
IFLE Awards More Than $4.4 Million in Grants for Fulbright-Hays International Education Programs
The U.S. Department of Education announced the award of 59 new grants—totaling more than $4.4 million—under two Fulbright-Hays international education programs to institutions and organizations in 34 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia:
“International collaboration helps students develop global competencies necessary to succeed in the 21st century,” said Jamienne Studley, Deputy Under Secretary of Education. “These collaborations help strengthen our reform efforts here in the United States as our students, teachers and faculty work with and learn from cultures and societies different from their own.”
December 9: Application Deadline for 2016 Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad
Did you know that the U.S. Department of Education provides grants to K-12 and postsecondary educators and administrators to study and travel abroad?
The Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program provides short-term seminars abroad for U.S. educators in the social sciences and humanities to improve their understanding and knowledge of the peoples and cultures of other countries. The program offers educational lectures and activities specifically designed for the group, including visits to local schools and organizations, meetings with educators and students, visits to cultural sites. Participants draw on their experiences during the program to create new, cross-cultural curricula for their classrooms and school systems back in the U.S.
In 2016, summer programs will be offered to Peru, India, and Senegal. The program covers airfare, lodging, and program costs. Participants should be prepared to pay a cost-share of up to $600.
The deadline to apply for the 2016 seminars is December 9, 2015. For more information about the application process, please click the button below.
VOICES FROM THE FIELD
Blog Post: How Study Abroad Transformed My Classroom and Curriculum
 by Thomas Kenning, Participant in the 2015 Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program to China
Here's a simple, easily verifiable, and profoundly significant fact—most Americans never go to college, but the vast majority of Americans do go to secondary school. This majority will vote or not, think globally or not, be socially responsible or not, and by virtue of their numbers, decide this nation's—and the world's—future course. Given that, it's vital for every American to have their comfortable assumptions about the world challenged, expanded, and complicated by a good social studies education at every level of schooling...
Read the full post at Education Week's Global Learning blog.
The Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program is now accepting applications for the 2016 session. Three seminars are available: a seminar for K-8 teachers to Peru, a seminar for secondary school teachers India, and a seminar for postsecondary educators to Senegal. To learn more and to apply, please visit the Seminars Abroad program website. Application Deadline: December 9, 2015.
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Indiana University CIBE Presents "Business is Global" Summer Program for High School Students
 In summer 2015, the Title VI Center for International Business Education (CIBE) at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business hosted its third annual "Business is Global" summer language program for high school students. This immersive, on-campus, residential program was designed to give high school students the opportunity to understand the intersection between international business, language, and cultural skills, while also introducing them to three less commonly taught languages and the cultures of the countries where those languages are spoken.
The program's curriculum combined language study in Mandarin, Swahili, and Turkish with the study of the economies of East Asia, East Africa, and Turkey. Throughout the two-week program, students learned about the cultures and communication styles of each region, while also staying in a campus residence hall transformed to reflect the food, décor, and pop culture of the targeted areas.
Students gained a basic understanding of the business practices of North America, East Asia, East Africa, and Turkey through an accelerated curriculum based on the business school's undergraduate program. Business classes provided a basic understanding of business vocabulary and a general overview of how businesses operate as well as discuss current events.
Watch a video about the 2015 group and follow their journey on Storify.
Applications are now open for the 2016 "Business is Global" summer program. For more information, please visit the Kelley School of Business' website.
ENGAGE WITH US
Follow us on Twitter @GoGlobalED
 IFLE is on Twitter with the latest from the world of international and foreign language education. Follow us @GoGlobalED and tell your friends! We'll see you in the Twittersphere!
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Send Us Your Feedback and Comments
 We want to hear from you! Do you have suggestions for webinar topics? Ideas for things to include in future newsletters? Send them to Carolyn Collins at carolyn.collins@ed.gov.
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