**INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH**

**AND STUDIES PROGRAM**

**(84.017A)**

![](media/image1.wmf){width="1.2805555555555554in" height="1.1875in"}

###### Fiscal Year 2005 New Grants

**Summary and Abstracts**

International Education Programs Service

U.S. Department of Education

####### Washington, DC 20006-8521 

  ------------------------------- ---------------- ----------- ----------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
  **Application No., Applicant**  **Project        **Type**    **Years**   **Funding                           
                                  Title**                                  Allocations**                       

  **and Project Director**        ** **            **IM/RE**   **Req.**    **FY 05**         **FY 06**         **FY07**

  P017A050003\                    Language,        **RE**      **2**       **\$142,000**     \$150,000          
  **Carnegie Mellon University\   Literacy and the                                                             
  **Dept. of Modern Languages\    Early Foreign                                                                
  160 Baker Hall\                 Language                                                                     
  Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890\      Learner\*                                                                    
  G. Richard Tucker                                                                                            

  P017A050017\                    Punjabi Course   **IM**      **3**       **\$98,000**      \$98,000          \$78,000
  **University of California,     Materials                                                                    
  Davis**\                                                                                                     
  Consortium for Language                                                                                      
  Learning and Teaching\                                                                                       
  220 Voorhies Hall\                                                                                           
  Davis, CA 95616\                                                                                             
  Robert J. Blake                                                                                              

  P017A050019\                    Resources for    **IM**      **3**       **\$163,000**     \$105,000         \$109,000
  **University of Maryland**\     Teaching Culture                                                             
  National Foreign Language       in Grades K-12\*                                                             
  Center\                                                                                                      
  3112 Lee Building\                                                                                           
  College Park, MD 20742-6715\                                                                                 
  Myriam Met                                                                                                   

  P017A050020\                    Standards for    **IM**      **3**       **\$148,000**     \$154,000         \$154,000
  **Montgomery County Public      the Less                                                                     
  Schools**\                      Commonly Taught                                                              
  850 Hungerford Drive\           Languages\*                                                                  
  Rockville, MD 20850-1718\                                                                                    
  Robert E. Robison                                                                                            

  P017A050022\                    Research Tool    **RE**      **3**       **\$136,000**     \$138,000         \$143,000
  **University of Oregon**\       and Studies to                                                               
  5290 University of Oregon\      Improve Language                                                             
  Eugene, OR 97403-5290\          Learning\*                                                                   
  Carl Falsgraf                                                                                                

  P017A050033\                    Directory of     **IM**      **3**       **\$138,000**     \$135,000         \$118,000
  **Center for Applied            Foreign                                                                      
  Linguistics**\                  Languages Test                                                               
  4646 40th Street, N.W.\         Instruments\*                                                                
  Washington, DC 20016\                                                                                        
  Margaret Malone                                                                                              

  P017A050034\                    Understanding    **IM**      **3**       **\$115,000**     \$123,000         \$81,000
  **University of California,     Sudan\*                                                                      
  Berkeley**\                                                                                                  
  Center for African Studies\                                                                                  
  342 Stephens Hall\                                                                                           
  Berkeley, CA 94720-2314\                                                                                     
  Mariane C. Ferme                                                                                             

  P017A050036\                    Story Telling in **RE**      **2**       **\$81,000**      \$67,000           
  **George Washington             Russian Oral                                                                 
  University**\                   Proficiency                                                                  
  Suite 601, 2121 Eye Street,     Interviews (OPI)                                                             
  N.W.\                                                                                                        
  Washington, DC 20006\                                                                                        
  Anna U. Chamot                                                                                               

  P017A050040\                    Teaching and     **IM**      **3**       **\$156,000**     \$156,000         \$156,000
  **University of Pennsylvania**\ Learning                                                                     
  3541 Walnut Street, Room P-21\  Linguistically                                                               
  Philadelphia, PA 19104-2653\    Complex                                                                      
  Mohamed Maamouri                Languages                                                                    

  P017A050046\                    Assessment of    **RE**      **3**       **\$138,000**     \$138,000         \$146,000
  **American Council on the       Performance and                                                              
  Teaching of Foreign             Proficiency in                                                               
  Languages**\                    Languages\*                                                                  
  6 Executive Plaza\                                                                                           
  Yonkers, NY 10701-6801\                                                                                      
  Elvira Swinder                                                                                               

  P017A050047\                    Evaluation Needs **RE**      **3**       **\$74,000**      \$95,000          \$117,000
  **University of Hawaii**\       in College                                                                   
  Second Language Studies\        Foreign Language                                                             
  2530 Dole Street, Sakamaki      Programs                                                                     
  D200\                                                                                                        
  Honolulu, HI 96822-2303\                                                                                     
  John M. Norris                                                                                               

  P017A050048\                    Minority Student **RE**      **2**       **\$143,000**     \$74,000           
  **United Negro College Fund**\  Participation in                                                             
  2750 Prosperity Avenue, Suite   International                                                                
  600\                            Programs                                                                     
  Fairfax, VA 22031\                                                                                           
  Laura M. Siaya                                                                                               

  P017A050059\                    Access Islam:    **IM**      **2**       **\$166,000**     \$8,000            
  **Educational Broadcasting      Resources for                                                                
  Corporation**\                  the Global                                                                   
  450 West 33rd Street\           Classroom\*                                                                  
  New York, NY 10001\                                                                                          
  Ronald D. Thorpe                                                                                             

  P017A050062\                    Advanced         **IM**      **3**       **\$89,000**      \$40,000          \$43,000
  **University of Hawaii**\       Filipino Text,                                                               
  2530 Dole Street, Sakamaki      DVD and Web                                                                  
  Q-200\                          Materials                                                                    
  Honolulu, HI 96822\                                                                                          
  Ruth Elynia S. Mabanglo                                                                                      

  P017A050069\                    A Door into Urdu **IM**      **3**       **\$129,201**     \$163,000         \$75,000
  **North Carolina State                                                                                       
  University**\                                                                                                
  Box 8106\                                                                                                    
  Raleigh, NC 27695-8106\                                                                                      
  Afroz N Taj                                                                                                  

  P017A050076\                    Common and Less  **RE**      **2**       **\$145,000**     \$263,000          
  **National Association for      Commonly Taught                                                              
  Equal Opportunity**\            Languages at                                                                 
  8710 Georgia Avenue, Suite 200\ HCBUs                                                                        
  Silver Spring, MD 20910\                                                                                     
  Lezli Baskerville                                                                                            

  P017A050078\                    Iraqi Arabic and **IM**      **2**       **\$154,000**     \$155,000          
  **University of California, Los Azerbaijani                                                                  
  Angeles**\                      Languages                                                                    
  10920 Wilshire Bldg., Suite                                                                                  
  1200\                                                                                                        
  Los Angeles, CA 90024-1406\                                                                                  
  Leonard Binder                                                                                               

                                                                           **\$2,215,201**   **\$2,062,000**   **\$1,220,000**
  ------------------------------- ---------------- ----------- ----------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

P017A050003\
**Carnegie Mellon University\
**Department of Modern Languages\
160 Baker Hall\
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890\
G. Richard Tucker

**Language, Literacy and the Early Foreign Language Learner:**

**Foundations for Advancing Proficiency**

The proliferation of elementary school and middle school foreign
language programs requires serious investigation of how children learn
foreign language, develop literacy skills, progress in proficiency
across the grade levels, and make the transition from elementary school
skill-based programs to a content-based middle school curriculum. Little
is known concerning the differential achievements of children learning
cognate (Spanish) and non-cognate language (Japanese) and the unique
problems for literacy that these types of languages pose. Moreover, we
have no research that addresses how participation in different foreign
language program models (e.g., time distribution; a curriculum based on
cultural topics vs. academic subject areas; receiving instruction from
one specialist, itinerant teacher vs. core language faculty members at
each grade-level) affects student outcomes.

The research here proposed will examine these topics as well as how
foreign language programs can address the needs of all students,
including those who bring varying abilities in their first language to
the classroom, and those who join a school district in the later
elementary grades.

P017A050017\
**University of California, Davis**\
Consortium for Language Learning and Teaching\
220 Voorhies Hall\
Davis, CA 95616\
Robert J. Blake

######### Punjabi Course Materials

The UC Consortium for Language Learning & Teaching (UCCLLT) seeks
funding from the International Research and Studies Program of the U.S.
Department of Education for a three-year project to develop new
instructional materials and create a Web-based course in Punjabi is a
neglected language critical for the United States as a language common
to both India and Pakistan, and the home language of 1.5 million U.S.
citizens.

This project is urgently needed, not only in the nine-campus University
of California system, but in the state and community colleges of
California and elsewhere throughout the United States. The UC student
population of Punjabi heritage (700 on the Davis campus alone) is
pressing the university to provide access to the Punjabi language; at
present, only the Berkeley (UCB) and Santa Barbara (UCSB) campuses offer
courses in Punjabi.

A new course in Punjabi will also serve the Department of the Army's
Defense Language Institute, which has identified "an immediate need for
the kind of Web-deliverable shared resource" that the UCCLLT Punjabi
project proposes.

This project addresses curricular needs on two fronts: face-to-face, and
at a distance. Up-to-date, coherent course materials for Punjabi are
non-existent in the United States. The majority of instructors on the
very few campuses that offer Punjabi make do with textbooks that are
antiquated in methodology and culturally inappropriate. This project
will create state-of-the-art instructional materials for a year-long
course, including authentic Web-based materials, that will serve the
needs of existing traditional classroom courses in Punjabi in year one,
will produce a distributable DVD-ROM master class in Punjabi in year
two, and will be available for distribution through the internet by the
conclusion of year three.

This project will vastly improve existing instruction in Punjabi and
greatly expand access to one of the least commonly taught languages of
South Asia. Competency in this neglected language will enable a future
generation of U.S. scholars in various disciplines (Non-Proliferation
Studies, Global Studies, South Asia Area Studies, etc.) to conduct
research in this region of the world that is critical to U.S. security

P017A050019\
**University of Maryland**\
National Foreign Language Center\
3112 Lee Building\
College Park, MD 20742-6715\
Myriam Met

**The LangNet Resources Database: Standards-based**

**Resources for Teaching Culture in Grades K-12**

The National Foreign Language Center (NFLC) at the University of
Maryland, in collaboration with the professional associations
representing teachers of Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, and Spanish,
and with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages,
proposes a project that will improve and strengthen foreign language
learning in the nation by addressing Goal 2 of the National Standards
for Foreign Language Learning. Goal 2 states: "Students gain knowledge
and understanding of other cultures." The standards related to Goal 2
state that students "demonstrate an understanding of the relationship
between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied...and
demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products
and perspectives of the culture studied." This project expands several
previous NFLC projects that resulted in LangNet---an online searchable
database of quality assured instructional materials in fourteen
languages.

The proposed project will assist foreign language teachers by expanding
the existing database to include resources that are useful, unbiased,
accurate, and developmentally appropriate for teaching culture to
students in grades K-12. It will also assist teachers and teacher
educators by identifying carefully selected and quality assured
resources useful for developing teacher competencies in teaching culture
to their students.

The resources identified in this project will be stored in a publicly
accessible online searchable database. Editorial boards appointed by
partner professional language associations will work with the NFLC to
identify criteria for the selection of materials (in addition to the
need to be bias-free, aligned with national standards, and
developmentally appropriate for the range of learners from the
elementary grades through emerging, early, and late adolescence).
Editorial boards will review available commercial and non-commercial
resources---both print and non-print---applying identified criteria and
documenting the review process. Editorial board chairs will be
responsible for final approval of materials to be included in the NFLC
LangNet resources database in order to assist foreign language
educators, teacher educators, government agencies, and the public at
large in the teaching and learning of culture.

P017A050020\
**Montgomery County Public Schools**\
850 Hungerford Drive\
Rockville, MD 20850-1718\
Robert E. Robison

######### Standards for the Less Commonly Taught Languages\*

The International Research and Studies Program supports projects that
produce instructional materials for teachers of modern foreign
languages. Linking curriculum and instruction to national standards will
improve the foreign language skills of students and reflect a
state-of-the-art approach to teaching and learning the less commonly
taught languages (LCTLs) at advanced levels.

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), the 17th largest school
district in the United States, proposes to develop curriculum materials
in four of the LCTLs---Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. The
priorities of this initiative are to develop instructional materials for
higher levels of study that contribute to advancing understanding of
Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and South Asian cultures. All materials
will be developed by a team of experts in both curriculum writing and
foreign language instruction, aligned with national standards, and
designed for use in grades 7 to 12. Teachers from across the country
will pilot and help to refine the materials. By the end of the project,
the finished materials (including video recorded demonstrations of
teachers modeling use of the curricula) will be available to teachers
nationwide.

Year one of the project will focus on revising current LCTLs curricula
of Levels one through three and creating summative assessments. In Year
two, the project will develop curriculum frameworks and assessment
templates for Levels four, five, and Advanced Placement (AP). Year 3
will concentrate on the development of instructional guides for Levels
one through five in each of the LCTLs and the completion of a
demonstration video/DVD. Evaluation will be ongoing, involving project
participants and recipients of the products generated. Additional
oversight will be provided by focus groups, a foreign language advisory
committee of notable experts in the field, and other district consumers.

P017A050022\
**University of Oregon**\
5290 University of Oregon\
Eugene, OR 97403-5290\
Carl Falsgraf

**Second Language Acquisition Web:\
Research Tools and Studies to Improve Language Learning**

The Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS) proposes to
collect and analyze second language acquisition (SLA) data from over
10,000 second language learners and to make these data available to
researchers worldwide. Through this online relational database, called
SLA Web, researchers will have instant access to student responses to
reading, writing, listening, and speaking items that are searchable by a
variety of demographic parameters (e.g., grade level, language
background, years of study). These data currently exist in CASLS
archives and were collected in the course of online proficiency testing
using the Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP). Partnering
with the CHILDES project at Carnegie Mellon University, CASLS will
perform linguistic analysis on spoken and written texts, allowing
researchers to perform fine-grained analysis of learners' acquisition of
Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Spanish, and Turkish. STAMP
tests in Arabic, Hindi, and Persian are also planned.

In addition, CASLS and its academic partners at the University of
Hawaii, Michigan State University, and the University of Minnesota will
use this tool to conduct foundational studies on articulation and
learner interlanguage profiles. At the end of year one of this project,
CASLS will publish a major study on the proficiency levels attained by
students at various levels of instruction, providing teachers and policy
makers with information crucial to decisions regarding standards and
course goals. In year two and year three of the project, CASLS and its
academic partners will publish research on the interlanguage profiles of
various demographic groups (e.g., heritage vs. monolingual learners).

P017A050033\
**Center for Applied Linguistics**\
4646 40th Street, NW\
Washington, DC 20016\
Margaret Malone

**Directory of Foreign Languages Test Instruments**

The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) currently maintains two online
databases of foreign language tests: the Foreign Language Test Database
and the Directory of K-12 Foreign Language Assessment Instruments and
Resources. These unique databases have proved to be immensely popular
over the past several years, and they clearly have provided an important
service to users looking for foreign language tests. We propose to
enhance their usefulness to the foreign language teaching and learning
community.

The databases, as currently configured, have limitations:

-   Maintaining two separate databases is inefficient, and leads users
    to miss information that may be use of to them.

-   The databases need updating. Although the Directory of K-12 Foreign
    language Assessment Instruments and Resources was updated in 2003,
    the Foreign Language Test Database has not been updated since 1999.
    Therefore it's probably much of the information in the database is
    out of date.

-   Currently, the databases do no include user comments, which would
    assist others in test selection.

-   Neither database has been reviewed for content and format by
    external users, an important factor in light of the development of
    standards for foreign language teaching.

-   There is no guidance in choosing an appropriate test. While
    experienced educators in language testing may not need such
    guidance, those who do not have experience have no guidelines by
    which to make their choice.

This proposal addresses these limitations by taking the following steps:

-   The information in both databases will be updated including purging
    the databases of tests that longer exist and including new tests.

-   The information from both databases will be combined in a single
    database to create a new, more powerful and flexible Web interface.
    The new databases will include a feature that allows users to
    comment on tests within the database, and these reviews will be
    moderated by CAL staff.

-   The project will create a tutorial to help guide users through the
    test-selection process.

The result of this project will be an easily accessible database of
foreign language tests for all educational levels, with online,
moderated user reviews, as well as a user-friendly tutorial on how to
select appropriate tests.

P017A050034\
**University of California, Berkeley**\
Center for African Studies\
342 Stephens Hall\
Berkeley, CA 94720-2314\
Mariane C. Ferme

**Understanding Sudan: Resources for Teachers and Researchers**

"Understanding Sudan: Resources for Teachers and Researchers" will be a
Web-based portal serving as a resource for teaching materials on Sudan
created under the auspices of the Center for African Studies at the
University of California at Berkeley. This portal will offer numerous
features of interest to teachers and researchers, as well as the
policymaking community and the general public. The highlight will be
modules that teachers in high school, college and universities might
integrate into their courses. The first set of modules will cover the
2004 crisis in Darfur, economic development in Southern Sudan, cultures
of tolerance in central Sudan and especially in Khartoum, the human
ecology of pastoralism in Kordofan and Darfur, and the political economy
of oil in Sudan. The portal will also include other features, such as
primary documents, video clips, photo resources, time lines, analysis,
bibliographies, and opportunity for discussion. The modules, and the
portal in general, will be regularly updated and expanded to reflect new
scholarship and new areas of concern.

The project coordinators, module coordinators, outside experts,
pre-testers and external evaluator are all experienced teaching
scholars. The portal will be invaluable to teachers, from the high
school to the university level. Policymakers interested in Sudan will
also find the portal of considerable use.

P017A050036\
**George Washington University**\
Suite 601, 2121 Eye Street, NW\
Washington, DC 20006\
Anna U. Chamot

######## Story-Telling in Russian Oral Proficiency Interviews

This study will seek to answer three questions: (1) At what point on the
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
proficiency scale does story-telling narrative become a solidified
skill? (2) To what extent is story telling a variant of narration, as
described in the 1999 (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines? (3) To what extent
must student learners of Russian control verbal aspect to be effective
storytellers? To answer these questions we will examine data from 63
oral proficiency interviews (OPIs) ranging from Intermediate Low to
Superior. Thirty-eight interviews will come from a collection of
existing interviews, including the database of the American Council of
Teachers of Russian (ACTR). They will be second-rated and analyzed for
story telling elements. Based on these initial findings, we will conduct
an additional twenty interviews in which extended stories will be
elicited. The second group of interviews will be ACTFL certified.
Finally, we will conduct three OPIs with native speakers to obtain a
baseline for story telling. We will have these interviews second rated,
but ACTFL certification will not be necessary. We will then code all the
interviews for narrative elements and accuracy and completeness in the
use of aspect. We hypothesize that both effective story telling and
complete and accurate aspectual use arrive late at the Advanced level;
perhaps even only after the Superior boundary has been crossed. If this
is the case, it will be left to future research to determine whether it
is possible or desirable to teach narrative skills explicitly to
learners at a lower level. If, on the other hand, story telling turns
out to emerge at lower levels, then investigations into classroom SLA
will have additional information on which to base instructional
approaches. Finally, if mastery of aspect is not an outstanding feature
of story telling, then instructors who decide to teach explicit
narrative devices can afford to de-emphasize verbal aspect (one of the
hardest semantic or morphological features of Russian) when approaching
narrative.

P017A050040\
**University of Pennsylvania**\
3541 Walnut Street, Room P-21\
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2653\
Mohamed Maamouri

######## Teaching and Learning Aids for Linguistically Complex Languages

The Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC) proposes to develop online tools to
meet the pressing needs of foreign language learning in U.S. educational
institutions and particularly, to enhance the acquisition of critical
and high priority less-commonly taught languages.

This proposal focuses on the elaboration of four interlinked tools,
which facilitate the reading of textual materials in formal and
independent reading environments. We outline a research program with the
following goals: (1) to focus on Arabic as an example of a less-commonly
taught language that is politically critical, structurally complex,
educationally interesting and covered by available LDC resources; (2) to
develop four learning tools (Dictionary Lookup Tool, Reading
Facilitation Tool, Word Recognition Assessment Tool, Text Preprocessing
Tool) in support of reading in linguistically difficult and
morphologically complex foreign languages; (3) to interface the four
tools with existing technology that selects texts suited to a learner's
current level and advances the reader towards a higher learning goal;
(4) to test applications of the above computer-based tools and research
their usefulness in providing more effective methods for autonomous
self-instruction that will enable students to achieve a high level of
competency in less-commonly taught foreign languages; (5) to conduct a
qualitative evaluation of the use of the above technologies and tools by
student learners in academic foreign language programs and evaluate the
tools' contribution to and impact on the students\' autonomous learning.

Though the project will target Arabic, the tools and the development
approach will be significantly useful in the development of educational
resources for other languages of comparable difficulty and complexity.
To the above end, the following programmatic tasks and activities will
be carried out:

-   The LDC will design, develop, and disseminate (a) an electronic
    dictionary with part-of-speech fields for each word, (b) a
    morphological grammar, and (c) large, educationally pertinent and
    culturally rich text corpora.

-   The LDC will also build a graphical interface and morphological
    parser that will facilitate the look-up of inflectional forms and
    other aspects of relevant cross-linking with large corpora. Users
    would either be able to type in inflected words and view displays of
    their parsing with direct links of parsed stems to electronic
    lexicons or would be able to utilize the same tool in controlled
    (preprocessed) or uncontrolled textual analysis to facilitate
    reading and comprehension.

-   To meet the above objectives, the LDC will marshal its significant
    resources in computational linguistics, database management, and
    sound processing as well as other facilities that it brings to the
    project.

P017A050046\
**American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages**\
6 Executive Plaza\
Yonkers, NY 10701-6801\
Elvira Swinder

**ACTFL Assessment for Performance and Proficiency of Languages**

The publication of the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning
continues the impetus towards teaching languages for real world
competence. However, as is stated in the Goals 2000: Educate America
Act, the establishment of content and performance standards will not, in
and of itself, create appropriate measures for determining whether the
standards are being met. Despite numerous local and state initiatives,
no project exists at the national level to coordinate efforts to develop
appropriate assessments for measuring the competencies described in the
standards. In short, we lack a standardized, national assessment for
determining if students "know how, when and why to say what to whom."

This proposed project intends to:

-   Articulate a blueprint to assess performance and proficiency in
    languages on a national scale across the educational spectrum K-16;

-   Create a framework appropriate for a national test;

-   Develop a prototype with language-specific items; and

-   Disseminate information on the project in order to inform the
    profession and build consensus through collaboration

This will be accomplished by:

-   Building upon experience and expertise of nationally respected
    educational and research organizations (ACTFL, AIR, CAL);

-   Confronting the need for a valid, reliable, nationally normed
    assessment; and

-   Designing a mechanism for accountability in a core curriculum area
    that is currently not assessed nationally.

P017A050047\
**University of Hawaii**\
Second Language Studies\
2530 Dole Street, Sakamaki D200\
Honolulu, HI 96822-2303\
John M. Norris

######## Identifying and Responding to Evaluation Needs

**in College Foreign Language Programs**

College foreign language (FL) programs are asked to engage in evaluation
of many kinds and for many reasons, such as traditional program reviews
and more recent accreditation pressures to assess student-learning
outcomes. Often, however, evaluation within FL programs is perceived as
an onerous bureaucratic task that is imposed from the outside. Further,
distinctions between student assessment and program evaluation are
poorly understood, as are the links between evaluation and the
improvement of curriculum and instruction. This project is designed to
help FL educators build their capacities to engage in evaluation for
understanding, improving, and ensuring FL program quality across
colleges in the United States.

In year 1 (needs analysis phase), the project will focus on identifying
the primary uses and demands for evaluation in U.S. college FL programs
and on appraising current capacities to meet such demands. In year 2
(strategies and resources development phase), the research team will
develop strategies and resources, such as self-study modules, evaluation
instrument templates, and workshops on evaluation procedures, which will
be made available on the project web-site in conjunction with a
searchable database. In year 3 (field-testing phase), the developed
strategies and resources will be field-tested, evaluated, and revised,
via implementation in and close collaboration with five representative
foreign language program sites.

This project will raise the awareness of FL educators about the actual,
concrete evaluation demands that face them; provide a basis for
increasing the capacity of FL educators to engage in useful evaluation
practices; and produce immediately useful strategies and resources for
helping FL educators meet evaluation demands. In doing so, the project
will contribute a model approach to building capacities for evaluating,
improving, and ensuring the quality of FL educational programs.

P017A050048\
**United Negro College Fund**\
2750 Prosperity Avenue, Suite 600\
Fairfax, VA 22031\
Laura M. Siaya

######### Minority Student Participation in International Programs

The proposed project has four goals: (1) to provide relevant and
comprehensive data about the attitudes and participation patterns of
minority undergraduates with respect to international education
activities and programs; (2) to identify factors that impact minority
student participation; (3) to develop replicable strategies and
assessment tools that institutions can use to assess and increase
minority participation; and (4) to widely disseminate the results in an
effort to broaden the national dialogue among Federal, state, and campus
leaders on international education issues to include topics of access,
diversity, and minority student interests and needs. Major project
activities will include:

-   A comprehensive literature review of research on minority attitudes
    about and participation in international education activities and
    programs.

-   The creation of an Advisory Board that will bring together experts
    in the fields of international education and minority education to
    help guide the project and evaluate the process and results.

-   A series of four undergraduate minority student focus groups to
    provide a qualitative perspective as well as aid in the assessment
    of survey questions.

-   A nationally fielded web-based survey of minority undergraduates at
    two- and four-year HBCUs.

-   Aggregated data tables developed for each participating institution
    as a method to provide them current and relevant data about their
    own students. Institutions will be able to use this data to guide
    them as they advance their own international education efforts.

-   A final report that will provide a "resource kit" for institutions
    and include: (1) aggregated data tables derived from the student
    survey; (2) a narrative of the literature review and major findings
    from the focus groups and web survey; (3) the survey instrument and
    a detailed methodology that institutions can use to assess their
    students and; (4) a discussion of institutional strategies for
    increasing the participation of minority students in international
    education activities and programs.

One of the proposed project's strength is that it builds on prior
research. One United Negro College Fund Special Program (UNCFSP)
project, currently underway and funded by the U.S. Department of
Education, assesses the resources available and extent HBCUs have
engaged in teaching foreign languages. This project also will build on
and complement new data that has been collected by the University of
Pittsburgh under a Title VI grant. The University of Pittsburgh project
correlated institutional data with student participation in
international education, specifically at four-year public institutions.
Our study would take these studies a step further by (1) focusing on the
student perspective, (2) examining a group of institutions that have up
to now been absent in the research on international education and (3)
expanding the project scope to include a broad range of international
programs and activities that include study abroad, foreign language
learning study and area studies.

P017A050059\
**Educational Broadcasting Corporation**\
450 West 33rd Street\
New York, NY 10001\
Ronald D. Thorpe

**Access Islam: Resources for the Global Classroom\***

Thirteen/WNET New York, public television's flagship station, requests
funding for Access Islam: Resources for the Global Classroom, a
materials development and distribution initiative designed to help
students learn about the world's 50+ Islamic countries through access to
high quality, multi-media tools, streaming video, and downloadable
lesson plans related to Islamic holidays, traditions, and culture. The
initiative will reach 39,000 schools and 15 million students, with a
special focus on students in grades 4-8. We are requesting \$180,000 to
support the development of this resource, which can be ready for
distribution as early as February 2006.

The core content of Access Islam will be built around video segments
from Thirteen's award-winning program, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, now
in its eighth season covering events, controversies, people, and
practices of all religions, denominations, and expressions of faith.
Video segments will have associated lesson plans and other classroom
materials aligned to state standards and created by Thirteen's National
Teacher Training Institute, which has provided quality professional
development for over 155,000 teachers nationwide since 1989. Through an
agreement with Discovery Education, Thirteen will deliver Access Islam
to 39,000 schools that use Discovery's Video-On-Demand service. This
service, which is expected to reach even more schools in the future,
gives students and teachers access to Internet-based video and
associated materials, and is one of the fastest growing uses of
computer/Internet technologies in schools. In order to obtain the
deepest possible understanding of Access Islam's impact on student
learning, Thirteen will utilize software connected to Video-On-Demand
that tracks which schools use the video and materials and can be used in
both quantitative and qualitative assessment. Thirteen also will host
Access Islam on its own educators' Website to ensure additional
penetration into schools that do not have access to Discovery's service.

P017A050062\
**University of Hawaii**\
2530 Dole Street, Sakamaki Q-200\
Honolulu, HI 96822\
Ruth Elynia S. Mabanglo

**Advanced Filipino Textbook with Accompanying DVD**

**and Web-Based Interactive Multimedia Exercises**

This project proposes the development of a reader/textbook of 40
readings accompanied by a DVD of 40 audio and video materials for
listening comprehension and a Website featuring interactive extended
reading, listening and grammar exercises for content-based teaching and
learning of advanced Filipino. This project aims to fulfill the
increasing demand for advanced level materials in the teaching and
learning of this less commonly taught language both by a growing number
of U.S. learning institutions and individual learners. The proposed
instructional media will include authentic materials with fully
developed lessons and interactive exercises designed for both classroom
use and independent learning. The goal of the project is to include at
least 80 articles/texts with accompanying lessons aimed at developing in
the learners not only reading and listening comprehension skills but
also appreciation and analysis of the materials' contents through a five
step process. This process involves the following: (1)
Pre-reading/listening activities designed to activate the readers'
schema on the subject; (2) Comprehension activities that will evaluate
the readers' global and specific information comprehension; (3)
Appreciation/ evaluation activities that will focus on the development
of cultural understanding, appreciation or analysis of specific items in
the text; (4) Language activities that will include exercises in
grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and advanced linguistic functions;
and (5) Post-reading activities that will integrate the reading and
listening skills with other communication skills such as writing, and
speaking. In addition to addressing the development of the learners'
linguistic skills, the materials will also expand their cultural
knowledge and understanding.

The materials in the textbook and DVD will be classified under the
following categories: (1) myths and legends; (2) history: events and
people; (3) rites and rituals; and (4) folk beliefs and practices. Texts
from various genres, songs, clips from movies and TV programs, debates,
interviews, speeches, panel discussions, Philippine celebrations, etc.
will be included, all designed to develop linguistic skills as well as
cultural understanding. The Website will feature interactive exercises
related to the lessons presented in the book and the DVD. It will also
function as a resource site for advanced level learners and will be set
up to allow for periodic updates and revision.

P017A050069\
**North Carolina State University**\
Box 8106\
Raleigh, NC 27695-8106\
Afroz N Taj

**Darvazah: A Door Into Urdu\
Web-Mounted Elementary Language Instruction**

Afroz Taj, Associate Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages
and Literatures, North Carolina State University, proposes to develop a
twenty-four lesson course in first year Urdu language instruction,
mounted on the Internet. Urdu, spoken by 150 million people in Pakistan,
India, Kashmir, and Afghanistan, has been identified by the U.S.
government as a critical language. However, currently available Urdu
learning resources, electronic and otherwise, are remarkably few. Based
on the templates and materials developed by Taj for the successful "A
Door Into Hindi" (ADIH) project[^1], the proposed "Darvazah: A Door Into
Urdu" will take the next leap forward, using emerging technologies and
pedagogical principles derived from the burgeoning field of computer
assisted language learning (CALL) to create a fully interactive
elementary Urdu course.

The course will employ the full range of multimedia capabilities of the
Internet, and integrate video, audio, and animation into graded lessons
that emphasize performance and proficiency in the target language.
Glossaries, grammar units, cultural concepts, and other learning tools
will be hyperlinked to lesson movie texts. This project will result in
the equivalent of a two-semester university class in Urdu language that
can serve as the basic text for formal classroom instruction, for
supplemental tutorials and drills, or for self-directed learning. For
the classroom environment the materials will be designed to dovetail
with course delivery platforms like WebCT. The duration of the project
is 30 months (2.5 years) beginning in July 2005 and ending in December
2007.

P017A050076\
**National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education**\
8710 Georgia Avenue, Suite 200\
Silver Spring, MD 20910\
Lezli Baskerville

**A Research Project to Enhance the Internationalization of Historically
and Predominately Black Colleges and Universities**

The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
(NAFEO), will conduct a survey of HBCUs to understand their current
status and capacity to provide instruction in common and less commonly
taught foreign languages as well as international studies. Information
will be gathered using a detailed survey instrument that is administered
to presidents/chancellors, academic affairs administrators, relevant
department chairpersons and appropriate faculty at HBCUs. After
extensive analysis of results, NAFEO will develop specific strategies
for strengthening the programs. These strategies will be communicated in
a comprehensive report to HBCUs and policymakers as well as to other
higher education institutions and organizations for consideration and
possible replication.

It is expected that the implementation of the strategies developed will
significantly contribute to the development of a corps with advanced
foreign language skills and perspectives that will facilitate the
country's ability to compete economically, forge strong relationships
with other countries and serve in national security roles. Although
interest has increased in the postsecondary study of foreign languages
and areas, African Americans' participation still lags behind others,
which can be attributed to access as well as recognition of their
importance. Since our nation's HBCUs continue to play a significant role
in educating African Americans, it is logical for these institutions to
advance foreign language and international studies programs.
Furthermore, they can provide meaningful insights to non-HBCUs on
enhancing programs and effectively engaging African Americans.

P017A050078\
**University of California, Los Angeles**\
10920 Wilshire Bldg., Suite 1200\
Los Angeles, CA 90024-1406\
Leonard Binder

**Iraqi Arabic and Azerbaijani Tutor for Language Learning**

This project aims to improve and strengthen instruction in modern Middle
Eastern and Central Asian languages by developing and publishing
specialized instructional materials in two vital albeit less commonly
taught languages. The project will produce 16 Web- and CD-ROM-based
modules that support teaching in Iraqi Arabic and Azerbaijani. The
exclusive focus of the project is listening comprehension, a skill that
is key to acquiring proficiency in reading, writing and speaking.

There are several commonalities among these two languages and the
countries where they are spoken -- oil-rich states situated in strategic
regions that are experiencing turmoil. They also represent language
groups (Arabic and Turkic) whose impact on the region and the entire
world is immeasurable. Another commonality is the marked absence of
authentic teaching materials to supplement instruction in these
languages.

Authentic materials and cultural scenarios will provide the content for
the Iraqi and Azeri Tutor programs, each consisting of eight elementary
and intermediate modules. The materials will be drawn from a variety of
sources including television, home movies and documentary footage of
life in the capital cities of Baghdad and Baku. These integrated yet
stand-alone modules will be anchored in the ingenious cyber architecture
and Web interface that the project team developed during a pilot phase.

This project involves the collaboration of the UCLA Middle East and
Europe and Eurasia National Resource Centers and the Department of Near
Eastern Languages and Cultures where Iraqi and Azerbaijani are taught in
Arabic and Turkic degree programs. The project is fortunate to have two
leading instructors and scholars of the target languages conceptualizing
and writing the modules and a seasoned team of experts and professionals
at all levels of development and production. The modules will complement
recently published Iraqi Arabic and Azerbaijani textbooks, thereby
insuring their long-term use.

Beyond UCLA classrooms, Iraqi Tutor and Azeri Tutor will be used across
the University of California system and beyond through Distance
Learning. The Web-based modules are certain to be used in courses
offered by the network of Middle East, Europe/Eurasia and Central Asia
NRCs. As we have already ascertained, the Iraqi and Azeri Tutors will
readily find application in government and commercial language training
programs. The tutors will be freely accessible on the Internet to
independent students everywhere.

[^1]: "A Door Into Hindi" was developed under an IRS Grant received by
    the NC Center for South Asia Studies in 1999. The original Hindi
    grant proposal was written by Tony K. Stewart (NC State University)
    based on the concept developed by Afroz Taj.