# U.S. Department of Education

# Office of Postsecondary Education

# International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE)

# Title VI Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) Program

# Assistance Listing Number 84.016A

# Grantee List and Project Abstracts

# Fiscal Year 2023

# List of FY 2023 UISFL Grantee Institutions and Award Amounts

# Baylor University

## Strengthening and Revitalizing East Asian Languages and Asian Studies at Baylor University: An Interdisciplinary Approach

**Project Director:** Dr. Xin Wang Email: xin_wang@baylor.edu, Office: 254-710-2209, Baylor University, One Bear Place 97391, Waco, TX 76798-7391

**Invitational Priority:**Training in Less Commonly Taught Languages or Thematic Focus on Area Studies

This proposed single institution project seeks to strengthen foreign language and cultural learning in East Asian languages and Asian Studies at Baylor University by improving quality and access to Asian languages, and Asian Studies. The program activities include additional language instruction, cultural immersion experiences, and professional development opportunities for faculty members to develop innovative, interdisciplinary curricula and pedagogy for Asian languages and Asian Studies.

The project will target Asian Studies and three less commonly taught languages: Korean, Chinese (Mandarin), and Japanese. All three of these languages are strategically important to U.S. diplomacy, national security, global business, and global health. A team of experienced language educators and area studies scholars will work collaboratively to design and implement program activities.

Project activities will include: 1) Hiring a full-time lecturer in Korean; 2) Developing cultural and language immersion experiences through a new study abroad program in East Asia; 3) Developing thematic, interdisciplinary, team-taught courses for Asian Studies and the University Core Curriculum; 4) Developing free open resources, learning materials, and curriculum for all levels of Asian language courses.

This proposed project will accomplish the following outcomes within the two-year cycle: 1) Increase opportunities and access to the three Asian languages and Asian Studies; 2) Improve foreign language proficiency and cultural competence among program participants through newly designed cultural and language immersion programs; 3) Strengthen cross-cultural communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills by using language, cultural learning, and case studies. 4) Increase interest in Asian Studies education among students; 5) Strengthen academic collaborations and partnerships between Baylor University and its partners in Asia. Project activities will be evaluated regularly to assess their effectiveness in meeting program goals and objectives. Overall, this program will provide much-needed language and cultural education opportunities to undergraduate students, improving their access to the skills, knowledge, and foreign language proficiency needed to succeed in a global economy.

The project has the support of the university administration and also addresses a strong and growing interest by Baylor students in Asian Studies and Asian languages and cultures. The University administration has already invested in the funds will allow us to maximize, strengthen, and sustain that investment.****

# California Lutheran University

## Advancing Language Learning and Internationalization through Curriculum Enhancement (ALLICE)

**Project Director:** Rafaela Fiore Urizar, rfioreur@callutheran.edu, 805-493-3476**Co-Director:** Ryan Medders, rmedders@callutheran.edu, 805-493-3681**Co-Director:** Sophia Khadraoui-Fortune, skfortune@callutheran.edu, 805-493-3434**Priorities Addressed:** Competitive Preference Priority 1 and 2**Application Type:** Single Institutional Award

**Overview:**The Languages and Cultures department and the Communication department at California Lutheran University (Cal Lutheran) are applying for a 24-month grant under the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program (UISFL) to develop off-campus study and curricular and co-curricular opportunities to expand our existing interdisciplinary programs in Spanish, French, and Communication. Both departments support Cal Lutheran’s mission to “educate leaders for a global society” through study abroad, travel seminars, and regularly scheduled courses.

All Cal Lutheran undergraduate students need to fulfill a foreign language proficiency as part of the general education requirement, yet only 4% of our student’s study abroad. As a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with 60% of its students identifying as non-white, 37% of its undergraduates are Pell grant recipients and 33% are first-generation, we are committed to improving our study abroad opportunities by offering an engaging curriculum that professionally prepares our students for success in this global economy. The ALLICE project looks at innovative course development that provides students with the skills, knowledge, and experience to be competitive in the job market and in graduate programs, embraces international and professional contexts and is accessible to our student population. A UISFL grant will contribute to our ability to provide equal access and opportunities to students, particularly our traditionally underrepresented groups by helping us develop and expand our career oriented Spanish and French courses and programs (Spanish Media minor), and further increase our global awareness projects in our campus life and abroad.

· **Objective 1:**Expansion of study abroad and cultural immersion opportunitiesTo achieve this objective we will add an additional course to deepen students’ understanding of topics in Race and Ethnicity in Latin America; collaborate across departments to develop a new course about Spanish Media and Communication topics; develop a French travel seminar in the French Caribbean to broaden students’ understanding of the Francophone diaspora; expand French course offerings by creating a new course that explicitly links linguistic instruction with students’ career aspirations; and increase global cultural awareness and competency among student participants.

· **Objective 2:** Professional development for language learnersActivities associated with Objective 2 are as follows: Develop an online format for the Spanish Bilingual Authorization Program; and monitor students’ performance with accuracy and rigor by using AVANT language assessment.

· **Objective 3:** Promotion of international studies and language learningTo engage our university community and region we will do the following: Create experiential learning opportunities to expand students’ awareness of the Francophone community in Los Angeles; create an instructive workshop to inform faculty how to develop travel seminars in new subject areas; and provide work experience in Spanish-language media and broaden coverage of Latinx issues in The Echo and El Eco.

# Illinois Wesleyan University

## Building Capacity to Increase Global Engagement across the Curriculum

**Project Director:** Dr. Carmela Ferradáns, Chair of International and Global Studies and Professor of Spanish, Illinois Wesleyan University,1312 Park Street, Bloomington, IL 61701 Phone: 309-556-3155, Email: cferrada@iwu.edu

**Overview:** Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU), a private, undergraduate, residential liberal arts institution with a strong commitment to international education, requests funds to develop capacity for increasing global engagement across the curriculum and further internationalize the campus. National data shows that employers are seeking college graduates with skills in intercultural communication as well as knowledge of a second language, such as Spanish. IWU, with its strong Hispanic Studies program and a large number of students majoring in business and healthcare-related disciplines, is well-qualified to meet this need. Through the course of the proposed two-year project, IWU will build upon its existing curricular strengths in high-impact teaching and learning practices, such as internships, study abroad, and experiential learning, to empower students with the necessary intercultural knowledge and skills to become engaged global citizens and transformers of change for future generations. Through a constellation of integrated activities, IWU will raise the intercultural competence of both faculty and students. By the end of the project, IWU students will understand the importance of responsible global engagement in our increasingly interconnected, yet culturally diverse society as the number of students who participate in an international experience or event will increase dramatically. *This single-institution project meets the requirements for Competitive Preference Priority 2 and the Invitational Priority.*

The overarching goal of the proposed project is to leverage IWU’s strengths in high-impact teaching and learning practices such as internships, study abroad, and experiential learning to deepen global engagement and develop skills and knowledge in intercultural competence for both students and faculty. To accomplish this goal, the project team will achieve four specific objectives:

· Establish a Global Engagement Fellows program at IWU. Students who complete the program requirements will earn a Global Engagement Digital Badge.

· Develop globally focused high-impact experiences for IWU students. Students will benefit from globally focused internships, additional short-term and embedded study abroad, and a new Scholar-in-Residence program.

· Increase the intercultural competence of faculty. IWU faculty will attend a series of workshops on how to introduce global engagement and intercultural competence in their courses, as well as have an opportunity to apply for small grants and integrate this knowledge into pre-professional courses.

· Enhance existing Hispanic Studies minors for Business and Health professions to incorporate additional activities related to business and healthcare, respectively. Additional software and hardware will increase the capabilities of the Language Resource Center.

# LaGuardia Community College

## The Community College Internationalization Initiative: Outreach, Pedagogy and Professional Development in International Studies

**Project Director:**Dr. Maria Savva: 718-730- 7449, msavva@lagcc.cuny.edu**Award Request**: Single Institutional Award**Competitive Preference Priorities:**LaGuardia is a Hispanic Serving Institution [Competitive Priority # 1] and offers up to two years of foreign language instruction [Competitive Priority #2]

LaGuardia is located in the most ethnically diverse county in the United States, making its students rich in linguistic and cultural knowledge. Students come from 150 different countries and speak 77 different languages. They are overwhelmingly low-income, minority, immigrant, and first- generation college students. The diverse student body, along with LaGuardia’s location in one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world (NYC), are invaluable resources for the cultivation of global learning. The project looks to leverage, expand and contribute further to this resource pool. This initiative is also rooted in the belief that community colleges should serve as institutions of social and economic mobility, rather than institutions of social reproduction. The proposed project seeks to do this through four global engagement pathways that focus on internationalization at the programmatic, departmental and college-wide levels:

· **Goal 1: Growing the International Studies Program**Provide multi-year professional development to 30 Academic Advisors to gain a deeper understanding of the International Studies Program, its courses, student transfer options and possible career trajectories.Collaborate with the Center for Career and Professional Development to incorporate at least three college-wide co-curricular events that explore International Studies career pathways and promote CLS and Gilman Scholarships. Compile a comprehensive database of job banks that specialize in careers relevant to International Studies. 

· **Goal 2: Offer Credit-Bearing Less Commonly Taught Language (LCTL) Courses to High School Students in the College Now/Early College Initiative Program**Partner with *College Now*and the *Early College Initiative*to offer college credits to high school seniors who complete college-level LCTL courses in Arabic or Bengali. Provide preparatory training to instructors who will be teaching early college courses. Utilize ACTFL World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages to assess quality of student artifacts. Plan and organize two LCTL student showcases.

· **Goal 3: Integrate Collaborative Online International Learning and UN Sustainable  Development Goals (SDGs)**Recruit 10 faculty members to implement a new series of COIL modules in their courses that will focus on one or more UN Sustainable Development Goals. Plan and organize two annual COIL Student Showcases to present collaborative SDG projects. Organize a career workshop for students who participated in COIL projects. Create a global alumni network of all COIL participants to be used as a student resource.

· **Goal 4: Create a Strategic Plan for Internationalization** Use the Comprehensive Internationalization Framework to conduct an analysis of sustainable college-wide internationalization efforts using the six categories of (1) leadership and structure (2) curriculum and co-curriculum (3) faculty and staff support (4) mobility (5) partnerships (6) institutional commitment and policy.

# Menlo College & Foothill College

## Menlo College and Foothill College Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Programs

**Project Director:** Erik Bakke | Executive Director for International Student Services | erik.bakke@menlo.edu | Cell: 415.722.6734 | Office: 650.543.3849

Menlo College is a private, non-profit, four-year, accredited, residential college located in Atherton, California. Foothill College is Menlo College’s consortium partner in the UISFL grant application for a consortium award. Foothill College, a public community college, is part of the Foothill–De Anza Community College District and was founded in 1957. It is located in Los Altos Hills, California. Menlo College and Foothill College have followed the UISFL purpose in taking as their goal for this proposal, “to plan, develop and carry out programs to strengthen and improve undergraduate instruction in international studies and foreign languages through Menlo College and Foothill College Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Programs." The following objectives have been designed to meet this goal. The objectives are separated by institution below, but on most of the objectives, Menlo College and Foothill College look forward to working together closely and expanding their existing partnership.

· Menlo Objective 1 “Create and develop pathway from Foothill to Menlo B.S. Business / International Business Major”

· Menlo Objective 2 “Expand Study Abroad Program and develop and realize Study Abroad Course and Study Abroad Certificate Program”

· Menlo Objective 3 “Expand Academic Global Immersion Program and increase diversity of participants”

· Menlo Objective 4 “Menlo Students engage in foreign language study at Foothill College”

· Foothill Objective 1 “Enrollment of traditionally underserved students in existing Campus Abroad Program”

· Foothill Objective 2 “Align Foothill’s language programs in Japanese and Spanish with Campus Abroad and Study Abroad Programs and Language learning needs of Menlo Students”

· Foothill Objective 3 “Create a transfer pathway from Foothill College to Menlo College, for Foothill students earning the Associate Degree for Transfer Degree in Business Administration.”

Menlo College the lead applicant and a Minority Serving Institution meets **Competitive Preference Priority #1**; it was designated as both a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) in 2019.

Foothill College (as Menlo College’s consortium partner) is one of the few community colleges in the United States to offer a major in Japanese language. Completion of the two-year program results in an Associate in Arts Degree. Though Menlo College does not, Foothill College meets **Competitive Preference Priority #2.**

# Montana State University, Northwest College, Little Big Horn College, Dawson Community College and Miles City Community College

## The Yellowstone Consortium for International Studies and Foreign Languages

**Project Director:** Dr. Paul M. Foster, Jr., +1 406 850 3475, **paul.foster4@msubillings.edu**

Five Institutions of Higher Education in Eastern Montana and Northern Wyoming will create a consortium to support the expansion and the development of International Studies and Foreign Languages over a vast geographic area encompassing a diverse student body with limited opportunities for the academic study of International Studies. The Office of International Studies (OIS) at Montana State University Billings (MSUB) will act as the Project home for the grant and collaborate with consortial partners Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, Little Big Horn College, in Crow Agency, Baaxawuaashe' Montana, Dawson Community College in Glendive, and Miles Community College in Miles City, Montana, to create the Yellowstone Consortium of International Studies and Foreign Languages. The primary goal is to expand international studies programs and instruction in the less commonly taught languages (Japanese, Korean, Mandarin) and to create new programs that will support the needs of our students, faculty and communities. The collaborative international studies programs will address the academic needs of students as they seek to achieve language proficiency and earn an International Studies minor degree and study an East Asian language in Japan, Korea, or Taiwan in an immersive, intensive language learning environment. Activities will support students transition to careers, both in and out of government, and graduate programs. The USIFL Project will include opportunities for faculty and program development at all consortial partners, course development and travel grants to faculty and professional development seminars on COIL, language pedagogy and incorporating international/area studies into new and existing curriculum in all disciplines. Each semester, the Project will develop a Global Studies Seminar on one of the campuses of the Consortium.

**This proposal addresses all three program priorities**: **Competitive Preference Priority 1**(application from a consortium of higher education institutions including community colleges); **Competitive Preference Priority 2**(requirement that graduating students in the program earn two years of post-secondary credit in a foreign language); and the **Invitational Priority**(training in less commonly taught languages or thematic focus on area studies or international studies programs).

# Montgomery College, Maryland

## Montgomery College International Studies Program - Asian Track (ISPAT)

**Project Director:** Dr. Joseph Stumpf, Joseph.Stumpf@montgomerycollege.edu, 240-567-7280

**Competitive Preference Priority One:** Montgomery College (MC) is a Minority-Serving Institution with designations as Hispanic-Serving Institution and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution.

**Competitive Preference Priority Two:** MC is a two-year degree granting institution and the ISPAT will offer two years of postsecondary credit in the Japanese language. MC will also strongly recommend that each graduating student within the International Studies Program earn two years of postsecondary credit in a world language.

**Overview of the Proposed Project:**The proposed Montgomery College International Studies Program - Asian Track (ISPAT) project will enable Montgomery College to boost simultaneously two separate but related aspects of our work: the promotion of Asian languages in an increasingly multicultural county demographic and the strengthening of the International Studies program.

MC currently has two years of course instruction for Chinese (Mandarin) and Korean, but only one year in Japanese. Japanese is currently one of the most popular and fastest growing Asian language courses at MC. Funding from the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program grant will be used to develop a second year of Japanese instruction. This second year of Japanese instruction will allow for further support in the form of tutoring and mentoring for all three Asian languages, alignment of all three languages, and the enhancement of calligraphic skills to assist students with learning the mechanics of a writing system very different from that in the west.

Moreover, by providing students with the opportunity to study Asian languages for two years, MC will be helping students in the International Studies (IS) program, which strongly recommends two sequential years of a single language for skills development. The goal is to design within IS an “Asian Track” studies certificate program. Working with the MC Curriculum Committee and Maryland Higher Education Commission, MC will redesign programs within the IS program, including adding the option of taking POLI 270 – Politics in Action – as a course in local outreach and advocacy with and for the Montgomery County Asian-American community. Additionally, the ISPAT project will provide funding for a select number of eligible students in the Japanese language and international studies programs, to embark on a study abroad trip in the summer of 2025. For students of International Studies and Japanese culture, study abroad will reinforce and expand classroom-based learning, thereby enhancing the student experience. Based on current enrollments (694 over two years for Asian Languages and 120 currently enrolled in International Studies) a conservative estimate is that the grant will serve 800 students: 400 in year one, and 400 in year two.

# Morgan State University

## Developing A Global Mindset: A Program in Middle East and North Africa Studies at Morgan State

**Project Director:** Dr. Sara Rahnama (sara.rahnama@morgan.edu)**Project Assistant Director:**Dr. Samia Kirchner (samia.kirchner@morgan.edu)

This is a single institutional award requesting support for planning, capacity building, and implementation of an interdisciplinary Middle East and North African Studies (MENAS) program at Morgan State University. To our knowledge this will be the first MENAS program at a Historically Black University (HBCU) and the first to connect MENAS to the study of the African Diaspora.

The grant will support the implementation of a MENAS minor, a speaker series on the African Diaspora in MENA in Year 1 and on the strategic geopolitical position of the region in Year 2, a one-day pedagogy workshop in Year 1, a film festival on gender in MENA in Year 2, a faculty development trip to the Middle East in Year 1, a study abroad trip to the United Arab Emirates in Year 2, a Summer Arabic Institute both years, as well as release time for the program’s director and assistant director to plan future student and faculty exchanges. This grant will also fund course development of new courses related to MENA in a wide range of disciplines including departments such as World Languages, History, English, and Performing Arts. It will serve our university population, the majority of which are racial minorities and reach out to the surrounding academic communities as well as to foreign universities with which we will partner.

# Seton Hall University

## From Local to Professional Success and the Common Good

**Project Director:**Dr. Peter Shoemaker, Professor of French

Seton Hall University is a national Catholic university with a strong tradition of servant leadership, located 14 miles from New York City in a highly diverse region. We are beginning the process of revamping our language curriculum, which is a core component of our undergraduate liberal arts education, in order to meet the professional needs of our students, as well as the local and global communities that we serve.

This proposal is for a single institution award and has two primary components. The first is to provide language training to allied health students. 31.5% of NJ residents speak a language other than English at home. As part of this initiative, we will create a Spanish for Healthcare certificate program at both the advanced and introductory levels, and offer a pilot program of medical language instruction in Chinese and Tagalog. One hallmark of this program will be experiential learning, including internships and clinical placements (instruction in real medical settings).

The second component of our proposal aims to integrate the language curriculum and the curriculum of the School of Diplomacy and International Relations by offering:

· a special 3-credit course in French, Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese, with a linguistic and cultural component;

· an OPI-based certification program with support for students seeking such credentials;

· opportunities for study abroad programs with strong curricula in languages and international affairs; and

· collaboration with the School of Diplomacy and International Relations in placing students in internships that require linguistic proficiency.

As part of these initiatives, we anticipate offering proficiency certification that will eventually reach all of the languages that we teach to our students. This will require training faculty in conducting OPIs (Oral Proficiency Interviews). For students who demonstrate need, we want to be able cover the full cost of any external testing through grant funding and philanthropy. We will also support, leverage, and expand the existing PALS (student language mentoring program) to provide students with authentic linguistic experiences. This grant thus serves to build out the University's infrastructure for excellence in language instruction and provide additional capacity.

These two projects will serve as cornerstones for a broader push to integrate languages into the professional training of our undergraduates, raise the visibility of Seton Hall as a center of language instruction, and live out Seton Hall's mission of service to local and global communities. We are applying under Preferential Priority #2 and the Invitational Priority on less commonly taught languages.

# University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

## Hindi, Urdu Language Learning and South Asian Studies: Innovating an Interdisciplinary Curriculum with Digital Storytelling

**Project Director:** Sai Bhatawadekar, Professor of Hindi and Urdu, Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures, Cooperating Graduate Faculty in Theatre and Dance, Philosophy, and Asian Studies. Email: saib@hawaii.edu  

University of Hawai‘i is a unique and diverse institution that is committed to the Asia-Pacific region. Within Asia, Hindi, Urdu, and South Asian Studies create their own educational setting in an international, interdisciplinary, and intercultural context. We have a Center but not a Department of South Asian Studies, and students who come to study Hindi and Urdu come from various disciplines, departments, and research interests: Religion, Philosophy, Urban and Regional Planning, Sociology, Interdisciplinary Studies, Theatre and Dance, Music, Geography, Indian Ocean history, Travel Industry Management, Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Mathematics, to name a few. Students are also from diverse and mixed backgrounds including South Asian heritage, East Asian, Southeast Asian, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and so on. Their personal interests vary too from exploring cultural heritage, religion, spirituality, and food, to poetry, film, dance, and creative self-expression. Our experience shows that if these students learn through personalized and creative language projects that are directly related to their disciplines and interests, it is transformative both for their language proficiency and its relevant and immediate use in their own research. Additionally, in the last three years, COVID has necessitated new modes of pedagogical delivery and learning. Teaching now has to integrate technology in unprecedented ways in order to facilitate in-person and online, synchronous and asynchronous learning, and this has to be done meaningfully, so students do not feel isolated and distant, but personally and creatively invested in their learning. With these motivations - interdisciplinary, international, and intercultural studies, project-based, person-invested, and social emotional learning, and technology-assisted, multimedia, and creative learning - our project has been developing. 

Our objectives and plan are the following: 

1. To revise, strengthen, and innovate the Hindi and Urdu language curriculum and South Asian Studies by creating specialized multimedia instructional material, that is project-based, creative, and interdisciplinary. This will include digital storytelling, lyrical short films, video interviews, narratives, and other material for elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels, designed flexibly for face-to-face as well as online teaching. These projects will be collaboratively created, evaluated, and revised with currently enrolled students themselves, and with faculty, community, as well as South Asia scholars and artists worldwide. 

2. To infuse and integrate this material and methodology into language curriculum as well as South Asia Area Studies courses. Additionally to disseminate these multimedia projects free and online with subtitled videos, transcribed texts, project- and lesson plans, step-by-step action plans, and other language structure and scaffolding resources, so teachers and students worldwide can use and implement them in their classrooms. This is especially important, as even if teaching material may be available in the market, how it is implemented in the classroom and how (far) it succeeds in actual student work is not always documented and made clear to instructors, especially in Less Commonly Taught Languages. The online dissemination of these materials will be done through the Center for South Asian Studies website and also through the well-established website and network of the National Foreign Language Resource Center at UH Mānoa. 

3. To develop additional faculty and student expertise in digital storytelling and multimedia project-based pedagogy that will empower them to create authentic material (not just consume) in their own fields that will have meaningful impact. This will be done by offering workshops through the Office of Faculty Development and Academic Support, Center for the Study of Human Language, Interdisciplinary Studies Program, and Center for South Asian Studies.

# University of Maine at Farmington

## Finding the "Right" Balance in Our Global Classrooms: Virtual, Hybrid and In-Person Learning to Promote ISFL (FRB)

**Project Director:** Linda J. Beck, Associate Dean, Linda.Beck@maine.edu

The COVID-19 pandemic created the need for new technologies and approaches to remote learning while generating new opportunities for virtual classrooms with students from around the world. The University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) was fortunate to have received funding to explore the possibilities and advantages of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) under a 2020 UISFL grant. While the pandemic gave impetus to new technology; it also compounded the economic constraints universities like UMF face to keep critical curriculum like ISFL despite declining enrollments. As we enter a post-COVID era, we need to find the “right” balance among virtual, hybrid, and in-person learning to retain ISFL and promote it through our global classrooms.

Even prior to the pandemic, the United States was witnessing a national decline in the study of world languages and study abroad that has serious implications for US National Security that depends on the training of regional studies experts. Under its 2020 UISFL grant, UMF began to address these trends through the creation of Virtual Global Experiences (VGE) for ISFL courses in seven disciplines with collaborators across five continents, and is about to pilot two Global Seminars (GS), delayed by COVID, that combine VGE with international field work in Japan and Senegal. This new FRB project permits UMF to strengthen its Global Classrooms by developing new VGE courses in the natural sciences and professional fields in which students are seldom exposed to ISFL in college, while supporting revision of its VGE pilots based on feedback from faculty, staff, students, and an external evaluator. The project also strengthens the GS program by rotating in two new world regions and disciplines based on successful VGEs in Peru and France.

Drawing on an external assessment of the World Language Education program, the FRB project also includes a three-pronged approach to diversify world languages offerings, format and content, broadening student exposure to and interest in World Languages and Cultures (WLC) by 1) extending its Japanese WLC fellowship to include Portuguese and Mandarin; 2) supplementing remote learning in French and Spanish with on-campus learning labs; and 3) developing professional WLC modules to be embedded in pre-professional seminars as well as WLC courses, labs and other ISFL courses including the GS and VGE programs.

The assessment and dissemination of information about these activities will be spearheaded by two symposia on best practices in VGE and WL education over the two-year grant period. The FRB project will permit the development and revision of courses and programs that provide an affordable and sustainable approach to increase student exposure to and interest in ISFL. With ongoing administrative support from the Office of Experiential & Global Education and financial support from the UMF Global Education Fund, the project’s focus on faculty training and curriculum development will ensure the sustainability of the project’s activities which are in clear alignment with UMF’s strategic plan and identity as a leader in Global Education.

# University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College

## Leveling the Playing Field in International Education: Increasing Capacity and Access in Area Studies and Foreign Language Education

**Project Directors:** Frances Hayashida (UNM; fmh@unm.edu) and Brandon Morgan (CNM; bmorgan19@cnm.edu)

The University of New Mexico (UNM) and Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), two Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) with the largest student populations in the state, have joined forces to build and strengthen faculty and student capacity in international education and training in less-commonly taught languages (LTCLs). With the assistance of a US/Department of Education Title VI UISFL grant, we will enhance and create new courses, support the professional development of area studies and LCTL faculty, promote careers in areas of national need, increase study-abroad and fieldwork opportunities in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and East Asia, and broaden the CNM-UNM pipeline. Building on years of successful collaboration resulting in long-lasting exchanges, common programming, and student transfer pathways between CNM and UNM, we will expand student global competence and career readiness at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) by bolstering international education through the goals and proposed activities stated below. As a consortium of two MSIs—requiring two years of secondary school foreign language instruction to incoming students (UNM) and offering at least two years of postsecondary credits in a foreign language (CNM)—with a focus on LCTL training, this project addresses the Invitational and Competitive Preference Priorities (1 and 2).

· **Objective 1: Promote and strengthen LCTLs**by supporting instruction and course sharing with CNM of three less-commonly taught Latin American Indigenous languages: Quechua, Nahuatl, and Yucatec Maya; offering courses in Arabic, Portuguese, and Mandarin Chinese; and supporting LCTL-focused study abroad (see *Objective 3*), LCTL topics course development (see *Objective 2*); LCTL faculty professional development; and LCTL-related career advisement (see *Objective 4*).

· **Objective 2: Generate and enhance knowledge in area studies**through curriculum development support for courses on relevant and timely interdisciplinary topics; LCTL-related topics; and STEM and the professions. Activities will also include area studies faculty and staff professional development; development of a new certificate program in Latin American Studies; a Latin American Studies lecture series at CNM; a pipeline initiative with Albuquerque High School to increase visibility of international opportunities and recruit students; study abroad (see *Objective 3*); and area studies related career advisement (see *Objective 4*).

· **Objective 3: Deepen LCTL and area studies engagement through experiential learning**to include (1) LCTL-focused faculty-led study abroad in Oman (Arabic), Kenya (Swahili), and Taiwan (Mandarin Chinese); (2) topics-focused faculty-led study abroad opportunities in Latin America (Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, and Brazil); and (3) mentored international field research opportunities.

· **Objective 4: Prepare students for a global workforce**through public events, enhanced learning opportunities, and career preparation support. These will include career workshops that address timely topics of international significance and languages (including LCTLs) for career paths in areas of national need. Activities will be enhanced by partnering with alumni, the Diplomat in Residence, the Peace Corps Diversity Recruiter, other professionals, and UNM’s Center and the career service offices at both UNM and CNM.

# University of Pittsburgh

## Expanding African Languages and Deepening African Studies at Pitt

**Project Director:** Dr. Catherine Koverola. Email: koverola@pitt.edu

The Center for African Studies at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is applying for FY 2023 grant under the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) program to support initiatives that will widen access to learning African languages; enrich our curriculum; and fortify study abroad and immersive learning and interdisciplinary research opportunities. We are requesting $298,919 for the two- year grant period to supplement our resources and allow us to carry out the proposed project activities successfully. This proposed project aims to accomplish the following goals:

· **Goal 1:**Expand and deepen our African Language Program. This will be accomplished by adding Wolof and Yoruba courses and seeding the support of a new assistant African language coordinator, as well as improving our language instruction of Amharic and Swahili by supporting Language Teaching Assistants.

· **Goal 2:**Establish a new study abroad program in Senegal that focuses on language, history, media, and interdisciplinary research. Students will experience the country first-hand, learning and practicing the language of Wolof to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the host cultures and societies.

· **Goal 3:**Enhance Africanist faculty engagement with colleagues on the African continent. We will use small grants to support faculty interdisciplinary and collaborative research and strengthen partnerships with institutions in the African continent.

· **Goal 4**: Enhance student engagement on the African continent. We will offer scholarships to support undergraduate students in professional and preprofessional schools in learning an African language and carrying out Africa-related study, research, and internship activities on the African continent.

· **Goal 5:**Enhance student engagement with Africa from home institutions. We will expand student engagement and knowledge of Africa through education about the African Union by offering an “Introduction to Contemporary Africa: Exploring the African Union” course and strengthening our Model African Union (MAU) student club on campus with modest funding for students participating in the International Model African Union Conference. A Graduate Student Assistant will lead this effort.

The proposed project is firmly grounded in CAS’ mission of promoting a comprehensive and critical understanding of the continent through experiential learning and the interdisciplinary study of Africa. We will build on the assets and structures already in place at Pitt and abroad by leveraging current resources with the Less Commonly Taught Languages Center, Global Experiences office, the Department of Africana Studies, and The University Center for International Studies, and our partners in the African continent.

Our proposal addresses the (1) Competitive Preference Priority 2 because Pitt requires incoming students to have successfully completed at least 2 years of secondary school foreign language instruction or each graduating student to earn 2 years of postsecondary credit in a foreign language (or have demonstrated equivalent proficiency in the foreign language); (2) Invitational Priority because our proposed activities will focus on language training and immersion, program development in interdisciplinary research and experiential learning opportunities overseas.

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