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 provides an opportunity for Fulbright U.S. Student Program grantees to receive three to six months of intensive language study in addition to their research or study grants. The Critical Language Enhancement Award, also sponsored by the U.S. Department of State through its Fulbright Program, 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 awardees 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 Critical Language Enhancement Award is part of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI), designed to dramatically increase the number of Americans learning critical need foreign languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Farsi, and others through new and expanded programs from kindergarten through university and into the workforce. Foreign language skills are essential for understanding and engaging with foreign governments and peoples, as well as conveying respect for other cultures, especially in critical world regions. The NSLI initiative is a coordinated federal government effort that includes the Department of State, Department of Education, Department of Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
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, Bangla/Bengali, Chinese (Mandarin only), Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Korean, Marathi, Pashto, Punjabi, Russian, Tajik, Turkish, Urdu and Uzbek.

Eligible Countries:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain*, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait*, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Morocco, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
*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 or Turkey.
   
2. Proof of a minimum of one year of study (or equivalent) 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.

*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 starting 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
03/07/09-12/07/09 - 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
12/24/08-01/02/09 - Language program recess greater than 3 days – supplemental 10 hours/week tutoring
01/03/09-02/28/09 - Kalimat Language and Cultural Centre, 20 hours/week
03/01/08-03/07/09 - One-week break between Critical Language Enhancement Award and Fulbright Full Grant

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, 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 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.

In cases when Fulbright grantees’ projects are focused primarily on language study, the Critical Language Enhancement Award must be completed after the Fulbright grant. This exception is only applicable to countries that allow Fulbright projects that are primarily focused on language study, such as Egypt and Jordan.

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.
• 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 3months 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. Grantees should be aware that any travel outside of the host country is not covered under the U.S. Department of State Accident and Sickness Program for Exchanges (ASPE). 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.

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 prior to starting the grant and within two weeks after completion.

Grantee Final Report
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.

Travel funding for recipients undertaking language study in the same country as the Fulbright grant will be provided by the Fulbright grant. For those recipients who are undertaking language study other than that of their Fulbright grant, international travel will be provided to the Fulbright host country once the award has been completed. (See the section on ‘Additional Funding’ for more information.)

Living Stipend
Critical Language Enhancement Award recipients receive the same monthly maintenance allowance (living 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.

Tuition Fees
The tuition allowance covers the total tuition for the approved language program, plus any additional 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, recipients 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, and the language award recipient’s name. All receipts must include start and end dates for the program and the number of instructional hours. If receipts are not written in English, translations must also be submitted. Receipts may be mailed, scanned/emailed or faxed to the Critical Language Enhancement Award Program Manager.

In special cases of financial need on the part of the recipient, language award recipients may request to submit invoices produced by the language institution for reimbursement prior to payment of tuition fees to have IIE pay the institutions directly.

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.

Book Allowance
All language award recipients 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. This amount is included in the first language award check.

Travel
All air travel must comply with the Fly America Act. The grant does not provide for costs of passports, visas, immunizations or other costs incidental to travel abroad.

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 with the first check sent 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 travel from the language award host country to the Fulbright Full Grant host country will be included in the Critical Language Enhancement Award. For example, a Fulbright grantee to Bahrain who will be studying Arabic in Egypt will have the cost of their one way flight from Cairo to Bahrain included in the funding for their Critical Language Enhancement Award. The cost of travel from the U.S. to Egypt and return from Bahrain to the U.S. will be included in the base amount of their Fulbright Full Grant.

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.