CRITICAL LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENT AWARD

Overview

Eligible Languages and Countries

Eligibility and Requirements for Applicants

Application and Selection Process

Language Instruction

Grant Duration and Schedule

Additional Grant Requirements

Language Award Funding

Overview

The Critical Language Enhancement Award, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, provides an opportunity for Fulbright U.S. Student Program grantees to receive three to six months of intensive language study in addition to their Fulbright grants. It is open to students who have been awarded a Fulbright U.S. student grant and intend to use one of the eligible languages in their Fulbright project.

The purpose of the Critical Language Enhancement Award is to cultivate higher levels of language proficiency prior to and during the Fulbright grant period and beyond. Ultimately, Critical Language Enhancement grantees will achieve a high level of proficiency in a targeted language and will go on to careers or further study which will incorporate the use of the language studied and/or related languages.

The Fulbright experience has always focused on cross-cultural exchange and dialogue. Therefore, the Critical Language Enhancement Award is a useful addition to the Fulbright Program in order to promote these goals. Fulbright grantees capable of communicating in the local language in their host countries are likely to form stronger bonds with their peers, conduct more meaningful research, and develop a greater understanding of a foreign culture. The experience grantees bring home after their Critical Language Enhancement Award and Fulbright grant will serve them in their chosen careers and throughout their lives. 

Eligible Languages and Countries

Eligible Languages:
Arabic (all dialects), Azeri, Bahasa Indonesia, Bangla/Bengali, Chinese (Mandarin only), Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Korean, Marathi, Pashto, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, and Urdu.

Eligible Countries:
Azerbaijan, Bahrain*, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait*, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, and UAE
*Note: Currently there are no approved language institutions in Bahrain or Kuwait; grantees to these countries have the choice to undertake their Critical Language Enhancement Award in Egypt or Jordan.

The primary language spoken in an applicant’s Fulbright country must be the same as that proposed for the Critical Language Enhancement Award. Applicants requesting training in a country other than the one in which their Fulbright grant will occur should know that such proposals will be honored only in cases where no suitable language program. Under no circumstances can applicants use the Critical Language Enhancement Award to study in the United States. The Critical Language Enhancement Award is only available in countries where there is a Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Eligibility and Requirements for Applicants

The Critical Language Enhancement Award is available to students who have been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student full grant and who intend to use one of the eligible languages in their Fulbright project.

Eligibility:

1. A Fulbright Full grant in an eligible country OR a Fulbright ETA grant to Russia, Turkey or Taiwan (Note: these three are the only countries that allow ETAs to participate in the award, all other countries are not eligible).
   
2. Proof of meeting the minimum language requirement by the start of the Fulbright grant in the proposed language, if required.
3. An interest in continuing language training in future professional or academic career is strongly preferred.

1. Applicant received a Critical Language Scholarship also sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC), in the same program year.

Minimum Language Requirement
To be considered for the Critical Language Enhancement Award, grantees must demonstrate a certain level of proficiency before the award's start date. (See chart below.) The equivalent of one year of college-level language study includes but is not limited to: a summer of intensive language study, two semesters of study (audited or for credit), or a year of private tutoring. A typical academic year is 9 months (36 weeks). A typical language course is 3-5 hours per week or 108-180 hours per academic year of language instruction. Applicants who have completed the CLS (Critical Language Scholarship) may include a certificate of completion with their application and count that program as 1 year of language study. Applicants may not count use of Rosetta Stone, conversational “language exchange” or web-based/distance learning classes as part of their one year of study.  Study outside of the above mentioned categories will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

The language requirement exists for all applicants including those who have defined themselves as native speakers or who have indicated that they have grown up in a household in which the critical language was dominant. 

None of the Critical Language Enhancement Award study period can be counted as part of the year of study.  The Critical Language Enhancement Award will not pay for any language study in the US.

*Note: Currently there are no approved language institutions in Bahrain or Kuwait; grantees to these countries have the choice to undertake their Critical Language Enhancement Award in Egypt or Jordan.

Please refer to the Participating Country Summaries and the Fulbright website for country-specific restrictions/requirements, relative to Critical Language Enhancement Award.

Application and Selection Process

Application for a Critical Language Enhancement Award is made in conjunction with the Fulbright U.S. Student application and reference to the language award application should be included in the project proposal.

Application
For 2009: The application is within the Fulbright U.S. Student application. The following forms must be included in the Fulbright U.S. Student application to apply also for the Critical Language Enhancement Award.

• Form 7: Language Background Report. If the applicant will be completing the prerequisite language study after submission of the Fulbright application the proposed study must be detailed these in Form 7.

• Form 7A: Critical Language Enhancement Award Supplementary Statement

• Form 8: Foreign Language Report. The foreign language referee should comment on the desirability and need for additional language training in their report.

• (Optional) Applicants may indicate additional merit for this award in their project statement.

1. Connection to Research


• Applicants must show a clear connection between additional language study and their research in the project statement.


• Any applicant whose research can successfully be conducted entirely in English with no loss in quality will not be considered a high priority.


2. Commitment to the Language


• Applicants should demonstrate and detail their commitment to developing their language skills through current study, during their Fulbright Full grant tenure, and in their future career and/or educational plans in supplemental Critical Language Enhancement Award statement.

Language Instruction

• to supplement language program instruction;
• to fulfill the award period, if a language program falls short of the language award length;
• to fill gaps of more than three days between courses; or
• to provide instruction if there is no language course available at the award recipient’s proficiency level.

Grant Duration and Schedule

A. Option A: The entirety of the 3-6 month award is taken before startinge the Fulbright grant. Grantees engage in 3-6 months of intensive language study (20 hours per week of classroom study or 10 hours per week of tutoring) prior to beginning the Fulbright Full Grant. In some cases, this option will require grantees to receive visas for more than one year.

Sample Schedule, Option A: A Critical Language Enhancement Award to Egypt for 6 months of intensive study prior to the Fulbright award:

Grant Periods:
09/01/08-02/28/09 - Critical Language Enhancement Award period
03/01/09-12/01/09 - Fulbright Full Grant period
Critical Language Enhancement Award Schedule
Intensive Study Period:
09/01/08-12/23/08 - Kalimat Language and Cultural Centre, 20 hours/week
12/24/08 – 1/2/09 – One-week vacation
01/03/09-02/28/09 - Kalimat Language and Cultural Centre, 20 hours/week

B. Option B: The 3-6 month award is split between a minimum of 2 months intensive study before the Fulbright grant, followed by 1-4 months of tutoring concurrent with the Fulbright grant. Grantees engage in a minimum of 2 months of intensive language study (20 hours per week of classroom study or 10 hours per week of tutoring) prior to beginning the Fulbright grant, followed by 1-4 months of at least 10 hours per week tutoring concurrent with the Fulbright grant.

Sample Schedule, Option B: A Critical Language Enhancement Award to Taiwan for 3.5 months of study prior to the Fulbright award and 2.5 months of tutoring concurrent with the Fulbright award:

Grant Periods:
09/22/08-03/21/09 - Critical Language Enhancement Award period
01/10/09-09/30/09 - Fulbright Full Grant period
Critical Language Enhancement Award Schedule
Intensive Study Period:
09/22/08-01/09/09 - Tunghai University Chinese Language Center, 20 hours/week
Tutoring Concurrent with Fulbright award:
01/10/09-03/21/09 - Private tutoring through Tunghai University, 10 hours/week

For China, Egypt and Jordan, the entire Critical Language Enhancement Award period must be separate from that of the Fulbright Full Grant. For Syria and Russia, the Critical Language Enhancement Award must be concurrent with the Fulbright Full Grant period. For grantees undertaking the award concurrently, language training must begin within one month of the start of the Fulbright. The time requirements (20 hours of classroom study or 10 hours of tutoring per week) remain the same. Please see Participating Country Summaries for additional information.

English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) to Russia, Taiwan and Turkey are eligible for the Critical Language Enhancement Award. However, due to scheduling constraints, all ETAs to Russia undertaking the award are required to do the Critical Language Enhancement Award concurrently with their Fulbright grant. ETAs to Turkey should have two months of intensive study prior to beginning their ETA grant, followed by 1-4 months of concurrent study.

The Critical Language Enhancement Award does not alter the duration of the Fulbright full grant. For example: a 3-month language award plus a 10-month Fulbright means a commitment of 13 months. Grantees may not begin working on their Fulbright research projects until the Fulbright grant period begins.

Recipients of an award must begin their Fulbright grant immediately following the language training. A maximum of 1 week can be taken between ending the Critical Language Enhancement Award and beginning the Fulbright grant for grantees doing intensive language study (i.e., language study not concurrent with their Fulbright grant) for longer than 4 months.

The final duration of the grant is typically determined by the applicant’s request, but can be impacted by scheduling constraints at a given institution. In some cases, the total duration of the award may be impacted by visa constraints and other country-specific factors. In other cases, budgetary constraints may influence the duration.

Please note that although the Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy has the final say, requesting a specific duration will not affect the competitiveness of the Critical Language Enhancement Award application. Applicants should request the maximum duration of time they are able to complete.

Start Dates

• The Critical Language Enhancement Award start date depends on many factors including: the availability of a suitable language program on requested dates; conditions set by the Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy; academic affiliations requiring the Fulbright Full Grant to begin on a specific date; and pre-departure orientation. Applicants should comment on their flexibility with respect to start dates when considering the entire length of time abroad.
• June is the absolute earliest that one can begin the Critical Language Enhancement Award, but for many countries grantees will be required to begin in September. The last day the Fulbright grant can begin is March 30th of the following year.
  
• The purpose of the Critical Language Enhancement Award is to provide supplemental language instruction with the goal of better preparing grantees for the successful completion of their regular Fulbright grant.  Therefore, grantees cannot shorten the duration of their Fulbright grants in order to increase language study afforded by the Critical Language Enhancement Award for any reason.
  
• Selected applicants will receive pre- and post-testing of language skills. No grantee will be allowed to begin their Critical Language Enhancement Award until they have undertaken the pre-testing component.
• Absolutely no departure will be allowed for the Critical Language Enhancement Award before Fulbright and Critical Language Enhancement Award grant documents are signed and received by IIE or the Fulbright Commission; all medical documents are submitted and medical clearance has been issued, and research clearance as required by some countries has been received.

Holidays, Recesses, and Break Periods
Critical Language Enhancement Award grantees are expected to fulfill the minimum number of instruction hours per week. The Fulbright Commission will provide guidance for this aspect for those grants which they administer directly. For those grants administered by IIE, the following rules apply:

For grant durations of less than 3 months not current with the Fulbright Full Grant:
No vacation will be authorized.

For grant durations of 3-4 months not current with the Fulbright Full Grant:
The grantee may take up to one week (7 days) of vacation without deduction in grant benefits if such absence is approved by either the local Fulbright Commission/Foundation or the Cultural Affairs Officer or other appropriate officer of the U.S. Embassy, and by the host institution. Insofar as possible, any vacation period should correspond with a local holiday period or recess at your language institution.

For grant durations of over 4 months not current with the Fulbright Full Grant:
The grantee may take up to two weeks (14 days) of vacation without deduction in grant benefits if such absence is approved by either the local Fulbright Commission/Foundation or the Cultural Affairs Officer or other appropriate officer of the U.S. Embassy, and by the host institution. Insofar as possible, any vacation period should correspond with a local holiday period or recess at your language institution.

International travel is permitted during these breaks; however, language award recipients are responsible for their own travel expenses during study breaks. Grantees may not leave the host country without prior approval of IIE and the Commission or Embassy. Grantees should be aware that they will not be covered under the U.S. Department of State Accident and Sickness Program for Exchanges (ASPE) when traveling outside of the host country. Any leave taken during the Critical Language Enhancement Award is separate from and in addition to the two weeks of vacation which can be authorized under the Fulbright Full Grant.

Extensions

For grantees with Critical Language Enhancement Awards that are shorter than 6 months, extensions increasing the length of the award may be available pending availability of funding.  The total grant period, including the extension, must not exceed 6 months.  Extensions are not guaranteed.  Due to in-country policies, extensions are not available to Jordan or China.  Requests for extensions that involve shortening the Fulbright grant period will not be considered.

In order to process extension requests:

• Grantees must submit a proposal with justification for the extension.  This proposal should include: a) reason for the extension; b) what she/he hopes to accomplish; c) revised plan of study/budget worksheet.
  
• Grantees must submit this proposal to the Fulbright Commission, Fulbright Office or the Embassy for approval.  If approved, the Fulbright Commission, Fulbright Office or US Embassy is asked to provide a letter (or email) to the grantee supporting the extension request.  In addition to indicating support, the letter (or email) should address the impact of the extension on the grantee's Fulbright grant timeline and visa status (if applicable).
• If approved, the proposal and the written approval from the Commission, Fulbright Office or US Embassy are then submitted to the Critical Language Enhancement Award program officer at IIE, who reviews the material.
• The IIE program manager then submits the entire proposal to the ECA program officer, who has final approval of all requests.

Additional Grant Requirements

To monitor and evaluate grantee and program achievements, language proficiency tests and grantee reporting are required. Failure to complete these stipulations could result in delayed Critical Language Enhancement Award or Fulbright grant payments until the requirements are fulfilled.

Language Proficiency Evaluations
To track grantee language ability, grantees are required to take pre- and post- grant language evaluations or tests. Language evaluations should take place within two weeks or more prior to starting the grant and within two weeks after completion.  All costs of CLEA-related testing will be assumed by the CLEA program, except in the case of charges incurred for missed evaluation appointments.  Charges that are incurred from missed evaluation appointments will be the responsibility of the CLEA recipient.

Grantee Mid-term and Final Reports
All grantees are required to submit a Final Report detailing their experience, language growth, and feedback on program administration and general policies. An electronic report format will be made available to grantees as they near the end of their language grant. Language award recipients with grants for longer than four months will also be asked to submit a Mid-term Report.

Language Award Funding

The Critical Language Enhancement Award includes funding for:

• monthly maintenance stipend,
• tuition fees for approved language programs or tutors,
• a book allowance,
• and health and accident coverage.

The Critical Language Enhancement Award does not provide funding or reimbursement for school application fees, bank transfer/wire fees, books, transportation, excess baggage charges.

Monthly Maintenance Stipend
Critical Language Enhancement Award recipients receive the same monthly maintenance stipends as Fulbright Full Grants in the host country. The policy on dependents follows that of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program in that country. Living stipends for the period of intensive study prior to the Fulbright grant will be funded by the Critical Language Enhancement Award. If language study under the Critical Language Award occurs concurrently with the Fulbright grant, no additional living stipends or funding, beyond tuition expenses, will be provided during this period. Grantees undertaking their award in a country other than their Fulbright host country will be provided with an additional month’s stipend to cover settling in expenses.

Stipend payments are made in one or two payments depending on the length of the grant.  The first payment is for up to 3.5 months of stipend.  Grantees on intensive study grants of 4 months or more will receive a second stipend payment with the balance of the monthly stipend payments.

Tuition Fees
The tuition allowance covers the total tuition for the approved language program and/or tutoring. Tuition fees for language courses and private tutoring provided by the Critical Language Enhancement Award are paid through reimbursement, with the exception of awards in China and those managed locally by Fulbright Commissions/Foundations in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. For all other countries, grantees submit receipts to the Critical Language Enhancement Award program manager at IIE for reimbursement.

Receipts must list the language institution/private tutor, course name, duration of course, type of currency, fee per hour, total amount received, and the grantee’s name. All receipts must include start and end dates for the period covered by the receipt and the number of instructional hours. If receipts are not written in English, translations must be submitted. Receipts should be mailed, scanned/emailed or faxed to the Critical Language Enhancement Award Program Manager on a monthly basis. Students must not pay tutors in advance of sessions taken.

In special cases of financial need on the part of the recipient, language award recipients may request to have IIE pay the institutions directly.  In such cases, grantees must submit invoices produced by the language institution which include the necessary bank transfer information.  Additional costs incurred by wire transfers are not covered by the grant.

In cases where the original tuition allotment is not sufficient to cover all tuition fees due to changing exchange rates, program fees, or increased instructional hours, the tuition allotment may be increased upon request to cover the increased costs, if the program budget allows.

Private Tutoring Tuition Reimbursement
Effective November 2008, the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has established the following policies regarding the use of private tutors that are not through an approved institution:

1)    Grantees must submit tutoring receipts at least every two months (or more often if desired).
2)    Grantees cannot pay tutors in advance.

To add more accountability to the role of tutoring in the Critical Language Enhancement Award, effective November 2008, all Award grantees will need to follow the below tutoring reimbursement process.  The process will require sign-off from a designated contact at the appropriate Fulbright Commission, Fulbright Office or US Embassy for the grantee to be reimbursed.  The tutoring reimbursement process does not need to be followed if tutors are used from an approved language institution – and that language institution (not the individual tutor) can issue receipts for reimbursement.

Tutoring Reimbursement Process
A standard tutoring receipt form has been developed for grantees to submit for reimbursement on a bi-monthly basis.  To submit the tutoring receipt form:

1)    Grantees must provide the signed (by grantee and by tutor) bi-monthly receipt form to a designated contact at the Fulbright Commission, Fulbright Office or PAS for review.  A copy of this form is also submitted by the grantee to the IIE Critical Language Enhancement Award program manager.
2)    The designated contact at the Fulbright Commission, Fulbright Office or PAS reviews and approves the submitted receipt forms for payment. 
3)    After approval has been received, the IIE program manager will disburse funding to the grantee.

The above process is not required for grantees whose host country is Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco, as the Fulbright Commissions in those countries administer the Critical Language Enhancement Award directly.  However, grantees to the Gulf States who receive tutoring in Egypt must submit receipts to the Commission in Egypt for approval (tutoring is not allowed in Jordan).
 

Book Allowance
All grantees receive approximately $100 to use toward the purchase of books and other related educational expenses. Occasionally, the book fee may be more or less than this amount, as noted on the grant document, due to specific country or language program requirements. The book allowance is included in the first stipend payment.

Travel
All air travel must comply with the Fly America Act.  Costs for round-trip airfare to the host country are provided through the Fulbright award.  The Critical Language Enhancement Award does not provide for costs of passports, visas, immunizations or other costs incidental to travel abroad.  The grant does not cover excess baggage fees.

Health and Accident Coverage
Health and accident coverage for the Critical Language Enhancement Award is the same as for the Fulbright Full Grant. At the start of the Critical Language Enhancement Award, grantees will be registered for the U.S. Department of State Accident and Sickness Program for Exchanges (ASPE) with Seven Corners, Inc. In Fulbright Commission/Foundation countries, the Commission/Foundation is responsible for registering the grantee for insurance. In countries where the program is administered by the U.S. Embassy, IIE is responsible for registering the grantee. Health benefits cards are issued upon grantee arrival by the Fulbright Commission/Foundation or are sent in the mail by IIE. All grantees are covered from the day of departure for their Critical Language Enhancement Award to the last day of their Fulbright full grant. Grantees should be aware that any travel outside of the host country is not covered under ASPE. For more information on this policy, please visit: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/resources_current_insurance.html.

Additional Funding
International Travel: If grantees have different host countries for their language award and Fulbright Full Grant, the cost of one-way travel from the language award host country to the Fulbright Full Grant host country will be provided by the Critical Language Enhancement Award. For example, a Fulbright grantee to Bahrain who will be studying Arabic in Jordan will have the cost of their one way flight from Jordan to Bahrain included in the funding for their Critical Language Enhancement Award. The cost of travel from the U.S. to Jordan and return from Bahrain to the U.S. will be included in the base amount of their Fulbright Full Grant.  The grant does not cover overweight baggage fees.  Grantees will need to provide proof of flight purchase for reimbursement to be issued.  Grantees may be exempt from the Fly America Act for such flights if there are no US carriers who operate the route.

Other/Incidental Funding: On rare occasions, grantees may require additional funding for institutional fees or other legitimate educational needs. These needs should be identified prior to beginning the grant and are included in the funding package.