New Federal Initiative to Survey K-16 Foreign Language Education in U.S.

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Thanks to a grant from The Language Flagship at the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO), American Councils for International Education - working in conjunction with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), and the Modern Language Association (MLA) - are undertaking the Comprehensive Survey of U.S. Foreign Language Enrollments: K-12 and Higher Education Project. The comprehensive survey will document and inform stakeholders and policymakers at all levels of the educational system about the locations, levels, enrollments, and types of programs that currently constitute the K-16 educational capacity in world languages in the U.S. Among other benefits, the information from this study will enable more effective and efficient national language planning, including the building of "pipelines" for recruitment and enrollment in programs needed in the private and public sectors, like The Language Flagship.

The American Councils Research Center (ARC), the research arm of American Councils, will oversee the project in cooperation with the ACTFL, CAL, and MLA. The DLNSEO grant award is administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in cooperation with Bryn Mawr College.