>High School Student Study Abroad Opportunity

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Our partners at iEARN passed this along to us, and we wanted to share it with you.  This is a fantastic opportunity, and one that is attainable, as well. (In fact, we know of two local students who participated last summer!) We encourage all eligible students to apply to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity…please let us know if you do!

600 High School Scholarships to Travel Abroad
for Language Study

The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) is offering more than 600 full scholarships to U.S. high school students to study abroad and learn Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Russian, and Turkish, starting in the summer of 2010.

The Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in cooperation with American Councils for International Education, AFS-USA, iEARN-USA, and Concordia Language Villages, is awarding U.S. government funding to high school and just-graduated students (ages 15 – 18) to participate in summer, one-semester and full-year language programs in countries where these languages are spoken.  Students who have participated in other NSLI-Y programs are eligible to apply to participate again.

Programs immerse participants in the cultural and social life of their host country, giving them invaluable formal and informal language practice and sparking a lifetime interest in foreign languages and cultures. While abroad, students will have the opportunity to possibly live with a host family, attend intensive language classes or enroll in a local high school, and participate in cultural and community service programs.

As a program partner, iEARN is administering programs in Korea, Morocco, India, and China.  In addition, iEARN will be providing students with access to the Language Lounges — an online interactive space where students can practice reading and writing their language of study before, during, and after their physical exchange. Through the Language Lounges, NSLI-Y students have access to thousands of native speakers of each of the seven NSLI-Y languages, who are part of the iEARN network around the world.

Students wishing to apply for the scholarship need to:

• be U.S. citizens
• be between the ages of 15-18 years at the time of departure
• be enrolled in high school at the time of application
• have at least a 2.5 GPA

 Deadline for application is December 4, 2009.

For more information on the NSLI-Y program, including the length and nature of the programs for each language, as well as application materials, please visit www.NSLIforYouth.org.

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