Excerpts from the Wall Street Journal, March 2, 2005 by Gary Fields
The bill would authorize $12
million for a federally funded program providing grants to US
universities and colleges to establish high quality, intensive
in-country language study programs in a broad range of countries
around the world. Institutional grants of up to $400,000 per language
will be provided to establish new programs. The initial target
will be the languages identified by the government-wide needs
assessment conducted regularly by the National Security Education
Program (NSEP). The NSEP, which already oversees the National
Flagship Language Initiative (NFLI), will also administer the
program. The intent of IFLI is to results and will report directly
to Congress.
The bill authorizes $15 million in grants to institutions of higher education to establish programs that encourage students to develop foreign language proficiency as well as science and technological knowledge. Eligible institutions will develop programs in which students take courses in science, math and technology taught in a foreign language. Funds will also support immersion programs for students to take science and math courses in a non-English speaking country.
The bill would authorize the Secretary
of Education to assume the obligation to repay a total of not
more than $10,000 of the principal and interest for a student
borrower who has obtained an undergraduate critical need foreign
language. To qualify the recipient must be employed in a full-time
position in an elementary or secondary school as a teacher of
one the aforementioned subjects or in an agency of the United
States Government.