International Education
Application Period open for Study Abroad Programs
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) provides more than 1,000 merit-based fully-funded opportunities for U.S. high school students to study abroad for a summer or an academic year in more than 25 countries. These exchange programs prepare young Americans to succeed in the 21st century’s global economy by developing their foreign language skills, increasing their cross-cultural understanding, strengthening their confidence and leadership capacity, and fostering new academic insights and ambitions.
The application periods are now open for multiple programs. Programs cover international airfare, tuition, program costs, meals, and living accommodations (often with a host family). There are no language prerequisites, except for select Youth Ambassadors programs. Applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 18.5 when the program starts. Programs particularly seek to reach young people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in a study abroad experience. Please contact us at youthprograms@state.gov with any questions.
Professional Learning Opportunities
Free Membership in AATSP
The American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) is offering free first-year memberships for National Teach Spanish Week. This offer is available for those that have never been a member of AATSP and is available from now until 12/10/2022. Visit AATSP.org and use code FreeFY2023 at checkout to redeem.
Resources, Articles and Research
Article: Support classroom lessons with virtual field trips. Edutopia (8/31)
Article: 3 Reasons Why Bilingual Skills Are Entrepreneurial Differentiators. Entrepreneur (7/6)
Blog post: Sign Language Alphabets from Around the World: This blog post covers the alphabets of a variety of countries’ official sign languages. The author gives introductory information about each language’s history, origin, geographical location, and relation to other sign languages. Included under each sign language is a visual chart of its alphabet. The post also includes tips for how to use fingerspelling fluidly, and in context, once one has mastered the letters of the alphabet. This post would be useful for beginning learners of sign languages, or learners interested in the similarities, differences, and relationships between world sign languages.
Free Library of Japanese materials: JF USA Digital Library Webpage is a free digital library with over 1,800 titles in broad genres such as manga, literature, Japanese language, art, history, culture, society, cooking & food, etc. Please note the digital library is available only for U.S. residents 14 years or older.
Info Session: “Salary Assistance Grant for U.S.-Japan Community Grassroots Exchange Program”. Application Deadline: January 11, 2023. This program primarily aims to support the creation of new Japanese-themed programing mainly through funding for the position that will design and implement the programing.
Website: Which Indigenous lands are you on? This map will show you.
Podcast: How the Ojibwe Language Survived the Pandemic
Collection of French Comprehensible Videos: This YouTube channel features videos of comprehensible French sorted by proficiency level.
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